Harassment and Bullying is defined as unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. Protected characteristics refer to race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief.
Harassment can also be described as repeated mistreatment of certain people (targets) at work by one or more perpetrators.
Examples of harassment and bullying may include:
- Threatening, humiliating or intimidating an individual
- Unwanted physical contact
- Verbal abuse
- Offensive remarks about a person’s age, dress, appearance, race or sexual orientation
- Offensive jokes, language and swearing
- Isolation or non-cooperation and exclusion from social activities
- Coercion for sexual favours
- Insulting or personal comments
- Unnecessary criticism or setting unachievable deadlines and targets
- Revealing confidential information to other employees
- Unfounded threats about job security
Harassment and bullying does not need to necessarily be face-to-face, it may be by letter, telephone or social media
We can help if you have been subjected to bullying or harassment at work and provide you with expert legal advice. Every case is different so the amount of compensation you could get for your harassment and bullying at work claim will vary depending on the facts of your particular situation. Once we have reviewed your particular claim, we can advise you on the amount of compensation that you could receive.
Our services for harassment and bullying claims include the following:
- Taking your initial instructions, perusing your documents and advising you on the merits and likely compensation
- Negotiation / pre-claim conciliation through ACAS to explore whether a settlement can be reached
- Preparing claim form ET1 and Grounds of Claim setting out your case
- Reviewing and advising on the claim or the response from the other party
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- Preparing or considering a Schedule of Loss
- Preparing for (and attending) Case Management Hearing
- Exchanging List of Documents and copies with the other party
- Taking witness statements and drafting statements
- Preparing the bundle of documents for the Final Hearing
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including preparing instructions to the barrister
The time frame from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation/negotiation, your case is likely to take 3-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9-12 months.
This time frame is an estimate and may change should any unforeseen complexities arise. We will always inform and provide you with a revised estimate.