The act of harassment
With recent press reports about employees complaining of bullying and workplace mistreatment, it is not surprising that, according to statistics published by the National Bullying Helpline, one in four people allege they are being bullied at work, and that 80% of managers are aware of occurrences of bullying behaviour.
Many employers are mindful of their obligations to protect their employees from bullying or harassment on the grounds of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation or religious or philosophical beliefs. However, under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, employers can even be responsible for acts of harassment that do not fall under one of those headings.