CAMBRIDGESHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE
UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING WITH
BULLYING AND HARASSMENT AT WORK1
INTRODUCTION
Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect at work. Bullying and
harassment of any kind are in no-one’s interest. But if you are suffering from
bullying and harassment it can be difficult to know what to do about it. If you
manage staff you need to be able to manage issues of bullying and
harassment effectively.
AIM
The aim of this guidance is to:
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give employees basic information about bullying and harassment.
outline some options open to employees.
summarise the responsibilities of managers.
offer practical guidance to managers to help them prevent bullying
and harassment and to deal with any cases that do occur.
point to other sources of information, advice and support.
WHAT ARE BULLYING AND HARASSMENT?
These terms are used interchangeably by most people, and many definitions
include bullying as a form of harassment
Harassment is:
Unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women in the workplace.
It may be related to age, sex, transgender, race, sexual orientation, disability,
religion or nationality or any personal characteristic of an individual, like
personal appearance or the kind of job they do. It may be persistent or an
isolated incident and is often unintentional. It can range from extreme forms
of violence to less obvious actions like ignoring someone at work.
The key is that the actions or comments are viewed as demeaning and
unacceptable to the recipient.
Harassment can also have a specific meaning under certain laws, (for
instance if harassment is related to sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief
or sexual orientation then it will be unlawful discrimination).
Bullying may be characterised as:
Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour. It is an abuse or
misuse of power (either through position or by force of numbers), through
means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.
Bullying or harassment may be by an individual against an individual (perhaps
by someone in a position of authority such as a supervisor, manager or
trainer) or involve groups of people. “Upward” bullying also occurs when a
supervisor is forced into doing what his/her team wants or where the team
ignores a manager’s reasonable directions because they don’t agree with
them. It may be obvious or subtle. Whatever form it takes, it is unwarranted
and unwelcome to the individual.
1
Adapted from Acas Advice to Emloyees and Advice to Employers and Managers leaflets.
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Examples of Bullying or Harassing Behaviour
Behaviour that is considered bullying by one person may be considered firm
management by another. Most people will agree on extreme cases of bullying
and harassment but it is sometimes the “grey” areas that cause most
problems. Examples of bullying and harassing behaviour include:
Harassment
Bullying

Spreading malicious
rumours or insulting
someone by word or
behaviour (particularly on
grounds of sex, race,
disability, sexual orientation,
religion or belief, age).

Deliberately undermining a
competent worker by
overloading and constant
criticism

Swearing and obscene
gestures
Stereotypical impressions of
gay men and lesbians,
people of different cultures
or with regional/foreign
accents.

Tampering with another’s
work or possessions

Preventing individual’s
progress by intentionally
blocking promotion or
training opportunities.
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Taking credit for another’s
work
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Unwelcome and
inappropriate sexual
advances – touching,
leering, standing too close
Overbearing and excessive
supervision or other misuse
of power or position.

Display of offensive
materials e.g. sexually
explicit or racist materials,
graffiti or media images.
Practical jokes which
humiliate or demean (even
when this was not the
intention).

Exclusion or purposefully
ignoring someone
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Name calling, jokes,
mockery, remarks that are
sexist, racist, homophobic,
ageist, or offensive on
grounds of disability or
religion or belief
Obscene, offensive language or gestures
 Simulating sexual acts
These examples are provided for guidance only and are not exhaustive. The
impact on the victim, the reasonableness or otherwise of the behaviour will
always be taken into account. Bullying and harassment are not necessarily
face to face. They may also occur in written communications, e-mail, and
phone or through “horse-play” and practical jokes.
HOW DO PEOPLE RESPOND TO BULLYING AND HARASSMENT?
Bullying and harassment may make someone feel anxious and humiliated.
Feelings of anger and frustration at being unable to cope may be triggered.
Some people may try to retaliate in some way. Others may become
frightened and demotivated. Stress, loss of self-confidence and self-esteem
caused by harassment or bullying can lead to job insecurity, illness, absence
from work and even resignation. Almost always job performance is affected
leading to poor service to the public (and loss of reputation within community),
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higher risk of accidents, lack of trust and breakdown in workplace relations.
Additionally:
 Bullying and harassment can often be hard to recognise – they may not
be obvious to others and can be quite subtle.
 The recipient – particularly new staff - may think, “perhaps this is
normal behaviour in this organisation”. They may be anxious that
others may consider them weak, or not up to the job, if they find the
actions of others intimidating.
 They may be accused of “overreacting” and worry that they won’t be
believed if they do report incidents.
 People being bullied or harassed may sometimes appear to overreact
to something that seems relatively trivial but which may be the “last
straw” following a series of incidents.
 There is often fear of retribution if they do make a complaint.
 Colleagues may be reluctant to come forward as witnesses as they too
may fear the consequences for themselves. They may be so relieved
not to be the subject of the bully themselves that they collude with the
bully as a way of avoiding attention.
THE LEGAL POSITION
Discrimination and harassment
It is not possible to make a direct complaint to an employment tribunal about
bullying. However, employees might be able to bring complaints under laws
covering discrimination and harassment. For example:
 Sex: the Sex Discrimination Act gives protection against discrimination
and victimisation on grounds of sex, marriage or because someone
intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender
reassignment.
 Race: the Race Relations Act 1975 and Race Relations (Amendment)
Act 2000 give protection against discrimination and victimisation on the
grounds of nationality, national origin, ethnicity, race or colour.
 Disability: the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 gives protection
against discrimination, bullying and victimisation on grounds of
disability, including failure to make reasonable adjustments.
 Sexual Orientation: the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation)
Regulations 2003 give protection against discrimination and
harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation (orientation is defined
as “same sex” – lesbian/gay – “opposite sex” – heterosexual – and
“both sexes” – bisexual).
 Religion or belief: the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)
Regulations 2003 give protection against discrimination and
harassment on the grounds of religion or belief.
 Age: the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 give protection
against discrimination and harassment in the grounds of age.
Constructive Unfair Dismissal
Employers have a “duty of care” for all their employees. If the mutual trust
and confidence between employer and employee is broken – for example,
through bullying and harassment at work – then an employee can resign and
claim “constructive dismissal” on the grounds of breach of contract.
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Health and Safety
Breach of contract may also include the failure to protect an employee’s
health and safety at work. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act,
employers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare at work of all
employees. This includes “taking steps to make sure employees do not suffer
stress-related illness as a result of work”. (source: Health and Safety
Executive)
What can you do if you consider you are being bullied or harassed?
Bullying and harassment are often clear cut but sometimes people are unsure
whether or not the way they are being treated is acceptable. If this applies to
you there are a number of things to consider:
 Has there been a change of management or organisational style to
which you just need time to adjust – perhaps because you have a new
manager or work requirements?
 Read the Service’s Policy on Preventing Bullying and Harassment.
How does the behaviour you are experiencing compare with the
Standards of Behaviour given in the policy and the examples given in
this guidance?
 Can you talk over your worries with your line manager, a colleague or
union representative who you may find share your concerns?
 Can you agree changes to ways of working or workload that will make it
easier to cope?
If you are sure you are being bullied or harassed then there are a number of
options to consider and these are set out in the Policy and Procedures for
Resolving Incidents of Bullying or Harassment which you can find on the
Service intranet or obtain in print from your Human Resources Adviser or
Diversity Adviser. You should take any action you decide upon as quickly as
possible.
Seek Support
Find someone with whom you feel comfortable to discuss the problem. It may
be a colleague, Trade Union representative, Human Resources Adviser,
Welfare Adviser or Diversity Adviser. Try to find out if anyone else is suffering
or if anyone has witnessed what happened to you. You may want to contact
one of the bullying helplines available (see page 6).
Keep a Note of Incidents
Note dates, times of incidents and include details of any witnesses, your
feelings etc. Keep copies of anything that is relevant (letters, e-mails, notes
etc). Although a singe occurrence or incident may seem minor, harassment
or bullying often reveal themselves through a pattern of behaviour or
frequency of events.
Use Service Procedures
If you decide to talk to the person responsible face to face (Informal Action
Option 1) then you might find it helpful to have a support person with you. Be
firm, not aggressive and try to stay positive and calm. Stick to the facts and try
and talk about the behaviour that upset you, rather than direct criticism at the
individual.
If you decide to make a formal complaint, use the procedures in place for this
(Procedures for Resolving Incidents of Bullying and Harassment – Formal
Action). If after this process has been followed, you are not satisfied with the
outcome or the way your complaint was managed, you can appeal against
this by using the Appeals process of the Grievance Procedure.
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Take External Action
Employment tribunal
Seek Medical Help
It is recognised that making a complaint about bullying and harassment can
be very stressful. If you feel your health has been negatively affected by
either the inappropriate behaviour or the management of your complaint, you
should consider seeing your GP or Occupational Health Adviser.
What can you do if you witness bullying or harassment behaviour?
Challenge unacceptable behaviour wherever you witness it by telling those
responsible it is not appropriate behaviour at work. If you don’t feel
comfortable about doing this, tell a manager or Human Resources Adviser
about what you have seen. Talk to the person on the receiving end and offer
them support.
Why, as a manager, do I need to take action on bullying and
harassment?
If unchecked or badly handled, bullying and harassment can create serious
problems for individuals and organisations including;
Individual
Organisations
stress
poor service to public
loss of self-confidence
loss of reputation with public
loss of self-esteem
lack of trust
job insecurity
poor team morale
illness
higher risk of accidents
absence from work
breakdown in working relations
high staff turnover
tribunal cases and payment of
unlimited compensation
What do managers need to do about bullying and harassment?
 Know the Authority’s policy on bullying and harassment, including the
standards of behaviour expected of all staff and your specific
responsibilities.
 Always challenge unacceptable behaviour wherever you witness it by
telling those responsible it is not appropriate behaviour at work.
 Follow the principles and procedures for managing and resolving
complaints about bullying and harassment.
 Seek advice from your Human Resource Adviser or Diversity Adviser if
you need support in managing this.
 Set a good example. Your watch/team will be looking to you to see
how to behave. Strong management can unfortunately sometimes tip
over into bullying behaviour. Consulting staff and discussing problems
is more likely to encourage a trustful, inclusive culture and discourage
bullying and harassment than an authoritarian management style.
 Take advantage of training and development opportunities available
within and outside the Service.
 Let your staff know that complaints or information from staff relating to
bullying and harassment will be taken seriously and treated fairly,
confidentially and sensitively. Staff will be reluctant to come forward if
they feel they may be treated unsympathetically or are likely to be
confronted aggressively by the person whose behaviour they are
complaining about.
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Make sure the person making the complaint is supported either by a
colleague or union representative and is encouraged to use
occupational health services.
Where can you get help?
Additional advice can be obtained from:
The Fire Brigades Union Confidential Stress and Support line 0800 783 4778
Acas (Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service) - Helpline: 08457 474747
www.acas.org.uk
Commission for Racial Equality – 020 7939 0000
www.cre.gov.uk
Equal Opportunities Commission – 08456 015 901
www.eoc.org.uk
Disability Rights Commission - 08457 622 633
www.drc-gb.org
Andrea Adams Trust – 01273 704900
www.andreaadamstrust.org
NB The roles, advice and support offered by Equal Opportunity Commission
and Disability Rights Commission will be taken over by the Commission for
Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) in October 07.
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