Bullying and Respect at Work Bill

A new Bill has been proposed – the Bullying and Respect at Work Bill. It proposes, amongst other things:

• Introducing a statutory definition of bullying at work. Unlike discrimination and harassment, there is currently no statutory definition of bullying.
  
  
• Make provisions relating to bullying at work, including enabling claims relating to workplace bullying to be considered by an employment tribunal in their own right.
  
  
• At the moment, if an employee has been bullied they will often need to bring a claim to an employment tribunal as a constructive unfair dismissal case.
  
  
• Provide a ‘Respect at Work Code’ to set minimum standards for positive and respectful work environments.
  
  
• To give powers to the ‘Equalities and Human Rights Commission’ to investigate and take enforcement action against organisations where there is evidence of a culture of, or multiple incidents of, bullying.