PM Gordon Brown staff 'contacted bullying helpline'

[EmployEasily HR Services]

Well last week it was the Police Services and Staff Absence, this week its Downing Street and Workplace Bullying. Christine Pratt, CEO of The National Bullying Helpline, claimed several people in Gordon Brown's office had contacted her anti-bullying charity........it would appear that the public sector face the same sorts of employment law challenges the private sector face every day but unlike the public sector, private employers don't have the same budget to spend and so often leave themselves vunerable as a result.

So how serious is bullying in the workplace? What impact could it possibly have on Employers? Well just ask News of the World who recently had to pay out £790,000 in Damages to a bullied reporter.

Bullying in the workplace is a complex area of employment and getting it wrong can have a significant impact on Employers in many different ways - the obvious impact is costly employment tribunal actions but productivity, staff morale and general staff performance can all be affected too!

There are a number of things Employers can do to help prevent bullying in the workplace:

• Have clear policies and procedures in place on how staff can raise any concerns with a structured reporting process so victims will know how to report the behavior and feel safe doing it.
  
  
• Provide training that ensures managers know how to effectively manage people in the right way and provides a basic understanding of employment legislation relative to the company's specific work situations and/or industry.
  
  
• Build awareness by ensuring all employees are aware of the different ways bullying can occur (humiliation, insults, rude remarks, etc.) so all employees understand that there are serious consequences for workplace bullying and not just a "slap on the wrist."
  
  
• Those identified as bullies should be referred to experts that can help them understand the nature of their behavior.

Prevent Problems and Protect Your Business by seeking expert employment law advice when dealing with the complexities of workplace bullying. At EmployEasily HR we provide cost-effective solutions that can be tailored to meet most budgets.

[Mike Lewis]

Christine Pratt, CEO of The National Bullying Helpline, claimed several people in Gordon Brown's office had contacted her anti-bullying charity.

So much for client confidentiality.

Mike

[frockery]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

So much for client confidentiality.

My thoughts too, Mike. I have no time for GB (and that's putting it mildly), but this was a pretty unprofessional stunt on the part of a 'support' organisation.

My own favourite anti bullying site is the one set up by the late great Tim Field, Bully Online.

[johnthesearcher]

Total agreement with the previous comments.........

Politics ....... is one thing but a breach of client confidentiality, even though it would be considered 'technical breach' asks more questions than it answers!

John