Bullying Fact sheet 6 - Prevention of Workplace Bullying
Bullying can occur in any workplace, given certain circumstances. While an organisation
might appear to be free from bullying, it still may be happening.
Bullying can be difficult to detect. Incidents of bullying may not always be reported
because employees might:
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Fear retribution or “payback” from the bully
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Believe that no one will act on the problem
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Fear being labelled “weak” or “whinging”
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Think that reporting will affect their career prospects

Accept bullying as a normal part of work culture
As bullying can occur wherever people work together, this fact sheet recommends that
employers implement a range of prevention measures.
Because any one measure by itself will not adequately reduce the risk of bullying, it is
important that these measures are used in conjunction with each other. An employer may,
in consultation with health and safety representatives, decide which measures are best to
implement in their workplace.
Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter
The Labor Council of NSW has developed a Dignity and Respect in the Workplace charter
to help prevent bullying at work. The charter is set out below.
Draft
Dignity & Respect in the Workplace Charter
This organisation is committed to a workplace that provides dignity and respect to all its
employees. Dignity and respect requires our workplace culture to consist of acceptable
behaviours.
Preamble
Everyone in the workplace, irrespective of their position, deserves to be treated with
dignity and respect. No one should suffer bullying or harassment while going about their
work. This can put at risk the health, safety and wellbeing of all employees. This
organisation has therefore adopted a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ to bullying or harassment at
work.
Definitions
Dignity and respect requires an organisation to have and maintain a certain behavioural
culture. Acceptable and unacceptable behaviour are defined below.
What is unreasonable or inappropriate behaviour?
Bullying
Workplace bullying, or harassment, is repeated unreasonable behaviour directed toward
an employee, or group of employees, that creates a risk to health and safety.
Within this definition:
“repeated” refers to the persistent nature of the behaviour, not the specific form the
behaviour takes. Behaviour is considered ‘repeated’ if an established pattern can be
identified. It may involve a series of diverse incidents – eg verbal abuse, deliberate
damage to personal property etc
“unreasonable behaviour” means behaviour that a reasonable person, having regard to
all the circumstances, would expect to victimise, humiliate, undermine or threaten.
“…having regard to all the circumstances” does not mean that this hypothetical person has
total knowledge of every aspect of the situation. Rather this person knows as much as the
alleged bully could reasonably be expected to know.
“behaviour” includes actions of individuals or a group, and may involve using a system of
work as a means of victimising, humiliating, undermining or threatening.
“risk to health and safety” includes risk to the mental or physical health of the employee.
Types of Bullying Behaviour
The following types of behaviour, where repeated of occurring as
part of a pattern of behaviour, could be considered bullying:

Being overloaded with work, or not being given enough work to do;
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Being required to perform tasks without proper training or instruction, and which
may place an employee at risk from injury;
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Unreasonable overtime, unfair rostering, allocation of work or being asked to
perform non-work related tasks;
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Being excessively supervised or criticised;
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Subjected to constant ridicule and being put down in front of co-employees;
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Damage or interference with personal belongings, sabotage or undermining of
work;
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Being the victim of loud and abusive, threatening or derogatory language usually
when co-employees are present;
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Open or implied threat of the sack, or demotion or being pressured to resign;
Creation of an oppressive and/or unhappy work environment to coerce or intimidate
employees;
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Intimidation or threats to employees not to report or complain about conditions,
unacceptable behaviours or health, safety and welfare;
Leaving offensive messages on email or by telephone;

Maliciously excluding and isolating a person from workplace activities, and
promotional opportunities;

Humiliating a person through gestures, or sarcastic, racist, or derogatory
comments, often in front of clients, management or co- employees;

Spreading gossip, false or malicious rumours about a person with intent to cause
damage to a employee’s employment or reputation;

Inequitable use of performance management.
There are bound to be occasional differences of opinion, conflicts and problems in working
relationships – these are part of working life.
However, if workplace behaviour is repeated, unnecessary, deliberate and unprovoked,
offensive, and is used to intimidate, humiliate, or threaten a employee, then workplace
bullying exists and this will not be tolerated by our organisation.
Single Incidents of Harassing Type Behaviour
A single incident of harassing type behaviour may not consider to be bullying.
Nevertheless, this will not be ignored or allowed. This organisation will intervene to ensure
that these incidents do not escalate. This will help prevent future incidents occurring.
Examples of acceptable behaviour
Managerial Actions
Legitimate managerial actions include:
 Performance management processes;
 Action taken to transfer, make redundant or terminate an employee in a fair and
equitable manner;
 Justified decisions not to provide a promotion in connection with an employee’s
employment;
 Disciplinary procedures for proven misconduct, and other behaviour or actions
involving proven breaches of discipline;
 Managed business processes, such as workplace change or restructuring
conducted in consultation with the employees and their representatives, which is
required under the NSW Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (‘the Act’).
Management and Supervisory Responsibilities
This organisation has a ‘duty of care’ under the Act in relation to the health safety and
welfare of all our employees. This includes a commitment to the psychological wellbeing of
every employee employed by this organisation.
Employee participation is a key element in effective Health and Safety management
systems. It promotes commitment to health and safety and develops a positive health and
safety culture. This organisation committed to fostering an environment consistent with
consultative processes.
Employers have responsibilities under legislation, including the responsibility to provide a
safe workplace.
Key areas of legislation that provide for dignity and respect at work include:
 NSW Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (‘the Act’) and
 NSW Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 (‘the Regulation’)
Clause 9 of the Regulation requires all employers in NSW, regardless of size, to identify
workplace risks. Violence and psychological hazards are defined as workplace risks. This
clearly identifies bullying, as a psychological hazard, to be a risk. The OHS Regulation
requires employers to eliminate risks associated with bullying and the only way to
eliminate these risks is to have policies and procedures that respect dignity in the
workplace. These policies and procedures should effectively deal with the issue by clearly
setting out processes for complaints and appeals, provision of training for managers and
supervisors and promotion of awareness amongst employees.
Employers, in order to meet their primary ‘duty of care’ obligations under the Act and the
Regulation, have an obligation to conduct risk assessments to ensure risks from hazards,
including bullying, are appropriately managed.
This includes having processes to ensure respect and dignity exists in the workplace, as
well as an anti-bullying policy and program.

NSW IRA 1996 & Federal WRA 1997: both prohibit harassment on the grounds of
trade union activity and both include unfair dismissal procedures.

NSW Anti Discrimination Act 1977: prohibits workplace harassment on following
grounds: Sex, pregnancy, race – colour – nationality – descent – ethnic or ethno
religious background, marital status, disability (actual, past future or presumed), age
transgender, sexual harassment, carer’s responsibilities.

Federal HREOC Act 1986: prohibits workplace harassment on the following
grounds: Political opinion, social origin, medical record, criminal record, trade union
activity and religion.
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Federal RDA 1975: prohibits workplace harassment on the following grounds:
Race, colour and nationality.
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Federal SDA 1984: prohibits workplace harassment on the following grounds: Sex,
marital status and pregnancy.
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Federal DDA 1992: prohibits workplace harassment on the following grounds:
Disability and impairment.

Federal Age DA 2004: recently passed & probably prohibits workplace harassment
on the grounds of age, but you need to check this.
Employee Involvement
Employees will be committed to:
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Reporting hazard, risk, or incident to the employer
Participating in consultation during Risk Assessment
Participating in training and awareness of the development of a dignity and respect
in the workplace policy and procedures

Adherence to a Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter

Promoting a culture of respect and dignity for their fellow employees
Five Steps To A Bully-Free Workplace
This organisation is committed to the five steps to a workplace with dignity and respect:
STEP 1 - Workplace Consultation
Set up appropriate consultative mechanisms involving our employees and their
representatives to develop this organisation’s Dignity and Respect in the Workplace
Charter.
Employees must be involved in the development of this code. It is important that the
Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter reflect the needs and nature of this
organisation.
A risk assessment will be conducted to ensure that this organisation is not ‘at risk’ by
fostering a culture that encourages or tacitly condones harassment and bullying.
STEP 2 - Workplace Awareness campaign
All employees from senior management down will be made aware of the meaning and
application of the Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter, the meaning of zero
tolerance, and be given the ability to identify workplace bullying or circumstances including
 How to recognise bullying
 The possible effects of bullying
 Where to get further information
The organisation will do this through OH&S induction and other training, posters, stickers
and flyers explaining the Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter.
STEP 3 – Training and Development
The organisation will establish an effective training program for management and
supervisors specifically tailored to the needs of our organisation and to meet the zero
tolerance objectives.
Management and supervisors will be trained in how to develop a workplace culture that
encourages dignity and respect and is consistent with the Dignity and Respect in the
Workplace Charter, and the zero tolerance objectives. The training will include the skills
necessary to manage the issue including skills in mediation and negotiation.
In addition to the training supervisors, managers, OH&S representatives and staff will be
provided with a Dignity and Respect toolkit to assist them in the ongoing risk management
process.
STEP 4 – Procedures To Deal With Complaints
This organisation will establish a complaints mechanism that includes:
 A time frame for complaints - complaints investigated immediately.
 A process that includes a record of the problem (e.g. an incident report form) and any
other relevant information about the allegation, which should be forwarded to a
designated responsible person and acted upon immediately.
 A trained, designated and impartial mediator who has authority to act to resolve the
problem to ensure a fair and equitable outcome. In some instances it may be
appropriate for the mediator to be sourced from outside of this organisation.
 Support for parties involved; including counselling, formal apologies and any other
appropriate action.
Ultimately prevention through an effective Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter,
and zero tolerance for bullying is the best way to ensure a productive and harmonious
workplace.
STEP 5 - Consultation and feedback
A 6 monthly review of the Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter and grievance
procedures and mechanisms ensure that the policy remains effective and relevant.
The review will involve consultation between senior management, relevant
unions, OH&S Representatives and employees on the performance of the
organisation on how it has met the objectives of the Dignity and Respect in
the Workplace Charter in the previous 6-month period.
The review will identify, any relevant matter, strategy or performance targets
for inclusion in the Dignity and Respect in the Workplace Charter for the next
6 months.
This organisation is committed to the wellbeing of our entire workforce and has agreed to
meet the objectives outlined in this Charter
SIGNATURES
EMPLOYEE ELECTED UNION REPRESENTATIVES
EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVES
OH&S COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVES
OH&S COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVES
Consultation
An employer has a duty to consult with his or her employees’ elected health and
safety representatives about health and safety matters. This can be done through
whatever consultative mechanisms are decided upon as appropriate in the
workplace. There are broadly three forms of workplace consultative arrangements for
occupational health and safety in NSW:

Individual safety representatives directly represented in the work-group

Occupational Health and Safety Committees with representatives from various
workgroups

Other agreed arrangements.
The acceptable forms of occupational health and safety consultative structures are
set out in Chapter 3 of the OHS Regulation2001.
It is good business practice to consult directly with employees on health and safety
matters that affect them. Consultation allows managers and supervisors to hear
directly from employees about how safety policies affect the workplace and how they
can be best implemented.
Consultation will help an employer to:

Establish whether bullying is a problem in the workplace

Determine the best way of communicating the prevention message

Successfully implement prevention measures
There are a number of other ways in which an employer can consult in the
workplace, including direct discussion, staff meetings, toolbox meetings, health and
safety committee meetings, and special working groups.
When developing prevention methods, consultation should take place as early as
possible. Enough time should be allowed for health and safety representatives to
discuss bullying issues with employees in their designated work group and with the
employer.
When consulting, an employer should consider the needs of any employees from
non-English speaking backgrounds.
What to consult about
Consultation should occur regarding the development of:

Strategies for raising awareness, including appropriate training of staff
including managers and supervisors

A Code of Conduct Policy for the workplace

Procedures for reporting incidents

Procedures for investigating incidents

Bullying resolution procedures
Consultation should also occur when identifying bullying risk factors and developing
measures to address risk factors.
In most of the situations above, it will be practicable for an employer to consult with
health and safety representatives.
Refer to check list
Create Awareness
As a first step in creating a workplace free of bullying, employers should promote
awareness of the issue among employees, including managers and supervisors.
By raising awareness, employers will be in a better position to identify workplace
bullying, or circumstances in which bullying could occur. In workplaces with
preventative measures in place and no record of workplace bullying, awareness
raising reinforces management commitment to a bullying-free working environment.
In workplaces considering steps to manage the issue of bullying for the first time,
awareness raising should make clear to everyone that bullying is unacceptable and
that incidents of such behaviour should be reported.
Awareness-raising information should communicate:

How to recognise bullying
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The possible effects of bullying

Where to get further information
Channels of communication may include formal, training sessions, staff bulletins,
intranet, staff meetings and informal discussion groups.
In particular, information should be provided when:

Recruiting employees (including appointing or promoting managers and
supervisors)

Running induction training
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Engaging contractors or supplying services to others

Involving health and safety representatives and employees in the development
of in-house policies can also play an important role in raising awareness.