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Latest News

HR must look out for workplace bullies

by Personnel Today 24 Feb 2003
by Personnel Today 24 Feb 2003

HR
professionals are being warned to watch out for the increasing problem of
workplace bullying. 

Employment
lawyer David Bickford highlighted the issue in the wake of a case involving TV
production company, Twenty Twenty, who successfully defended itself against a
wrongful dismissal claim by a director, Paul Woolwich.

The
judge accepted Woolwich was a systematic bully and that his removal was as a
direct result of a number of incidents which left one employee unable to sleep
at night.

Although
the judge accepted he was "working extremely hard and was under considerable
stress caused by tight production timetables", his manner was
"unreasonably harsh", "hyper-critical" and allied with a
"natural impatience and abrasive manner" when dealing with junior
colleagues.

The
case illustrates that increasing pressure at work cannot justify poor treatment
of colleagues and the need for organisations to buy into anti-bullying
philosophies from the top down.

Bickford,
whose firm Fladgate Fielder acted for Twenty Twenty, said it is usually the
case that a bully will be in a position of authority and often a high
performer. When allegations are made, they must be taken seriously, properly
investigated and appropriate action taken – no matter how senior the accused
is.

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Active
steps should be taken to ensure that everyone is made aware of what is not
acceptable behaviour, with a written policy and training preferable.

By Quentin Reade

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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