Bullying can be performed by employers on employees, employees on employees, customers on employees and employees on customers.
Practically, the first thing that an employer must do is recognise either an allegation of bullying when it is raised or a situation that appears to involve bullying and then not ignore it. Ignoring it is not an option.
The Employment Relations Authority will not accept the excuse of “I didn’t know it was happening” if it would have been obvious to a reasonable employer that it was.
The second thing that an employer needs to do is have a process for receiving a complaint in the first place. There must be a way for someone suffering bullying to bring it to someone in authority’s attention.
Then, there has to be a way of investigating the claim. This should be done independently and impartially protecting the person being bullied (and also the alleged bully in case the accusation is found to be unjustified).
Once the matter has been investigated then there must be a way of dealing with the outcome. If bullying has occurred there has to be consequences for the bully and protection for the bullied.
In some cases it will be appropriate to dismiss the bully; in other cases counselling, a warning and training for the bully will be the appropriate outcome. There is no one “right” answer or outcome.
Note though, when the employer goes into the investigation process it is important that they keep an open mind about things.
We tend to throw the word “workplace bullying“ around a lot these days. But, being told by a supervisor to follow a lawful and reasonable direction is not bullying. Being forthright (or blunt) at work does not mean a person is a bully. It has to be remembered that sometimes a person has to “harden up” and be willing to accept direction from others when it is reasonable and necessary.
Employers have to be careful that the allegation that someone is a bully is not used maliciously and employees need to know also that there will be consequences for making a malicious or frivolous complaint.
Bullying can be a truly insidious act and can undermine a whole business or workplace. If you are an employee or an employer and feel that you need to know more about the subject or what to do if it occurs then talk to your lawyer or human resources professional.
