Case law: employer liable for bullying and harassment at work
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Businesses may be held liable for bullying or harassment by their employees in the course of their work, the House of Lords ruled recently.
An NHS Trust employee complained that he was being harassed by his line manager who was rude to him in front of other staff, excessively critical of his time-keeping and work, and imposed unrealistic performance targets. An internal enquiry upheld his complaint. Subsequently, he brought proceedings against the Trust under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, claiming damages for distress and anxiety and consequential losses caused by the harassment he suffered while employed by the Trust. The county court originally struck out the case, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal. The House of Lords has now confirmed that an employer is liable for bullying or harassment by its employees when a clear link between work and the harassment is established. Significantly, under this legislation the victim does not need to show that they have suffered physical or mental injury as a result of the perpetrator's 'course of conduct', which need only comprise conduct on two occasions. Also, certain defences under the anti-discrimination legislation may not be available to employers (eg that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct of the perpetrator). Furthermore, the time-limit for bringing an action under the 1997 Act is six years, as opposed to the time-limit of three months for an anti-discrimination claim under the employment legislation. For all these reasons, firms need be able to show not only that they have effective measures in place to prevent bullying and harassment, but also, importantly, that they are monitoring the situation. Immediate
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