Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Employment lawEquality, diversity and inclusionBullying and harassment

Case round-up: Rayment v Ministry of Defence, High Court

by Personnel Today 29 Apr 2010
by Personnel Today 29 Apr 2010

This is a decision of the High Court which considered the legal test for establishing a claim of harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA). Under the PHA, employers can be held to be vicariously liable for acts of harassment carried out by their employees.

For a claim of harassment to succeed, the claimant must satisfy the threefold test set out in PHA. To constitute harassment, the conduct must:



  • Amount to a course of conduct (two or more incidents)

  • Be targeted at an individual

  • Be calculated to produce alarm or distress.

Type of conduct

Case law has provided further guidance on the type of conduct that constitutes harassment. The House of Lords held that the conduct must be “oppressive and unacceptable” (Majrowski v Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust). Subsequently, the Court of Appeal (in Veakins v Kier Islington) held that for conduct to constitute harassment under the 1997 Act, it must also be of a type that would “sustain criminal liability”. Taken together, these decisions set a high hurdle for claimants to overcome.

Donna Rayment worked for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at the Honourable Artillery Club, as a driver for the commanding officer. She had a difficult relationship with her line managers and was described by the High Court as a “challenging employee”.

Rayment brought a claim for harassment based on a number of incidents which took place during the period from April 2004 to June 2005. The allegations included that she had been told that an administrative error meant she had no job and must repay a month’s salary, the decision to discharge her from the Army while on stress-related sick leave; and the re-posting of pornographic pictures in the toilets after she had removed them.

The High Court found that three of the incidents did amount to harassment as they satisfied the oppressive and unacceptable test. Interestingly, in reaching its decision that Rayment had been subject to harassment, the High Court did not consider whether the conduct would sustain criminal liability.

Key points

In failing to explicitly consider whether the conduct would sustain criminal liability, the High Court appears to have applied a lower threshold for establishing a claim of harassment than previously set out by the Court of Appeal, potentially making it easier for a claim to succeed.

However, this is only a High Court decision and the previous decisions of the House of Lords and Court of Appeal remain binding. Given the absence of consideration by the High Court of the criminal liability test, there is an opportunity for the MoD to appeal the High Court’s decision. We should await any further judgment.

What you should do

Although this case casts doubt on previous guidance, it is a helpful reminder of the legaltest for harassment.

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
RAF awarded for encouraging school girls to consider engineering careers
next post
PearceMayfield is number one in change management

You may also like

One in five employers planning ‘no jab no...

19 May 2022

BNP Paribas banker accused of ’emotional terrorism’ wins...

19 May 2022

Ethnic diversity: report highlights disparities in school leadership

18 May 2022

Police Scotland pays out £948,000 to female officer...

16 May 2022

Gender equality facing growing backlash from male managers

16 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

Ethnicity pay gaps: Not making reporting mandatory is...

16 May 2022

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

Employment tribunal: use of word ‘bald’ can amount...

13 May 2022

How to build a compelling talent attraction strategy...

12 May 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+