Bullying and Harassment at Work: A Guide for UK & Irish Employers

Almost every organisation says it does not tolerate bullying or harassment, yet the two words get used interchangeably far more often than the law allows. That matters, because in Great Britain and Ireland they sit on different legal footing, trigger different complaint routes, and call for different employer responses. Getting the distinction right is not just a legal nicety — it shapes how confidently staff raise concerns and how fairly those concerns get handled. It also sits alongside the wider work most employers are already doing on building an inclusive workplace, since harassment law and equality law are two sides of the same coin.

What Is the Difference Between Bullying and Harassment?

In everyday language, bullying and harassment describe overlapping behaviour: persistent criticism, exclusion, intimidation, humiliating remarks, unreasonable workloads targeted at one person, or an aggressive management style. The practical difference is legal, not behavioural. Harassment is a defined statutory concept tied to a protected characteristic — things like sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender reassignment. Bullying is a broader, non-statutory term for unwanted, repeated conduct that undermines someone’s dignity at work, regardless of whether it is connected to any protected characteristic. Put simply: harassment related to a protected characteristic is unlawful discrimination; bullying is not automatically unlawful in the same way, even though it can be just as damaging and can still expose an employer to real legal risk through other routes.

Harassment Under the Equality Act 2010: The Legal Test in Great Britain

In England, Scotland and Wales, harassment is defined by section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. It occurs where someone engages in unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that either violates a person’s dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Intention is not the test: conduct can amount to harassment even if the person responsible did not mean to cause offence, provided it is reasonable in the circumstances for the conduct to have that effect. This can include a single serious incident as well as a pattern of behaviour, and covers spoken or written words, images, gestures and physical conduct.

Because harassment claims are tied to a protected characteristic, conduct that is unpleasant, unfair or intimidating but unconnected to any of those characteristics generally falls outside section 26, however unacceptable it may be. Employers also have a statutory defence if they can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment from happening — one of the strongest practical reasons to have robust policies, training and reporting routes in place, not just a policy document sitting unread on the intranet.

Bullying in Great Britain: Serious, But Not a Standalone Legal Claim

There is no legal definition of bullying in GB employment law, and no free-standing tribunal claim simply titled “bullying”. Acas describes bullying as unwanted behaviour from a person or group that is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting, or an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates or harms someone — but that description is guidance, not statute. Where bullying is linked to a protected characteristic it becomes harassment, or potentially direct discrimination or victimisation, and the Equality Act applies. Where it is not linked to a protected characteristic, an employee cannot bring a standalone bullying claim in the same way.

That does not mean bullying is legally risk-free. Persistent, unaddressed bullying can breach the implied term of mutual trust and confidence that exists in every contract of employment. If an employee resigns because their employer failed to deal with serious bullying, they may be able to claim constructive dismissal, with related stress or personal injury claims sometimes following. So while bullying alone is not a statutory claim in Great Britain, ignoring it is still a genuine legal and organisational risk — which is exactly why well-run employers prohibit it through policy even though the law does not force them to name it as a separate offence.

Ireland: Bullying Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

Ireland takes a notably different statutory approach. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, employers have a general duty to manage and conduct work activities so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any improper conduct likely to put the safety, health or welfare of employees at risk — and workplace bullying falls squarely within that duty. This gives bullying a statutory anchor in Irish law that simply does not exist in the same form in Great Britain.

The Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work, issued jointly by the Health and Safety Authority and the Workplace Relations Commission, defines workplace bullying as repeated inappropriate behaviour, direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or more persons against another, which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual’s right to dignity at work. A single incident, however serious, generally does not meet the “repeated” threshold for bullying under the Code — though it may still amount to harassment or another workplace complaint in its own right.

Ireland also has a separate legal route for harassment linked to a protected ground under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015, enforced through the Workplace Relations Commission, which mirrors the logic of the Equality Act in Great Britain: harassment tied to a protected characteristic is unlawful discrimination, while general bullying is addressed through the health and safety framework and the employer’s own procedures.

Why Every Employer Needs a Clear Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy

Even though bullying is not a standalone statutory claim in Great Britain, and Irish bullying complaints usually proceed through internal procedures first, a written anti-bullying and harassment policy is not optional in practice. It gives staff a clear route to raise concerns, sets out what behaviour is unacceptable, supports the “all reasonable steps” defence to harassment claims in GB, helps meet the statutory duty to manage risk in Ireland, and signals from leadership that dignity at work is taken seriously rather than treated as a personal problem for the individual to absorb. A policy that exists but is never trained on, referenced or enforced offers very little real protection to staff or the organisation.

Practical Actions for Managers

• Treat every complaint seriously on first report, even an informal or hesitant one — do not wait for a written grievance before responding.
• Avoid minimising language such as “just banter” or “personality clash”, which can discourage people from coming forward again.
• Keep a factual, dated record of concerns raised, conversations had and actions agreed.
• Model the standard of behaviour expected, since managers set the tone for their team more than any policy document does.
• Recognise when a matter needs to move from an informal conversation to a formal process, and act promptly once it does.
• Signpost available support, such as HR, an employee assistance programme or a trained contact person, rather than leaving someone to manage the situation alone.

Informal vs Formal Resolution Routes

Most policies in both jurisdictions distinguish between informal and formal resolution. Informal resolution might involve a direct but supported conversation between the individuals, facilitated discussion, or mediation through a trained contact person — often the fastest way to resolve a one-off issue or an early-stage pattern of behaviour. It is not appropriate for serious allegations, such as those involving discrimination, violence or repeated misconduct.

Formal resolution is a structured process: a written complaint, a proper investigation, and a decision based on the evidence gathered, with the right to be accompanied and, where appropriate, to appeal. Because getting this stage wrong creates its own legal exposure, it is worth following a consistent, well-documented approach to any formal case — our guide to conducting workplace investigations sets out how to run that process fairly from first complaint to outcome.

Related Complaint-Handling Processes

Bullying and harassment complaints do not always arrive in isolation. Sometimes a bullying complaint surfaces alongside a separate report of wrongdoing, such as safety breaches, financial irregularity or a cover-up of earlier misconduct, which needs to be handled through the correct channel rather than folded into a single process. Where that overlap arises, it is worth being clear on the distinct legal protections involved — see our guide to handling whistleblowing disclosures for how managers should treat a protected disclosure differently from a standard grievance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bullying illegal in the UK?

Not on its own. There is no standalone law against bullying in Great Britain. It becomes unlawful when it amounts to harassment, discrimination or victimisation related to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Unaddressed bullying can also support a constructive dismissal claim if it breaches the implied duty of trust and confidence.

What is the legal difference between bullying and harassment?

Harassment is a statutory concept under the Equality Act 2010 (or, in Ireland, the Employment Equality Acts) and must be connected to a protected characteristic. Bullying is a broader, non-statutory description of repeated unwanted conduct that undermines someone’s dignity at work, whether or not it relates to a protected characteristic.

Is workplace bullying covered by law in Ireland?

Yes, differently from Great Britain. Irish employers have a statutory duty under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to prevent improper conduct that endangers employees’ safety, health or welfare, and the Code of Practice on bullying sets out how complaints should be resolved, first informally and then formally through internal procedures.

Do employers have to have an anti-bullying and harassment policy?

It is not a strict legal requirement in every case, but it is strongly expected in both jurisdictions. In Great Britain it supports the “all reasonable steps” defence to harassment claims. In Ireland it forms part of meeting the employer’s statutory duty to manage risk to employee welfare. In practice, employers without a clear, enforced policy are far more exposed when a complaint does arise.

Understanding where bullying ends and harassment begins is the foundation for handling both fairly and lawfully — but policy on paper only goes so far. Managers and HR teams who can confidently apply these distinctions, run consistent informal and formal processes, and document decisions properly are the ones who keep small issues from becoming tribunal claims. Learnsignal’s CPD courses cover workplace conduct, investigations and manager responsibilities in more depth, giving your team the practical skills to handle these situations with confidence.