Bullying at Work: When Does It Become a Personal Grievance?

Bullying at work is more than just teasing or banter.  It can seriously affect your mental health, your confidence, and your performance. If you are being bullied at work it may qualify as a personal grievance.

What Is bullying?

Bullying in a work context means repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed at an employee or group of employees. This can include:

• Verbal abuse (yelling, insulting, swearing),

• Humiliation (public teasing, belittling),

• Social exclusion or isolation,

• Excessive or impossible workloads,

• Unfair criticism or unjustified performance management, or

• Spreading harmful rumours.

  
  

It is behaviour that makes you feel miserable, unsafe, or targeted at work.  Bullying at work can affect your mental and physical health, can affect your ability to do your job well, reduces trust and morale among colleagues and can damage your reputation

When does bullying become a personal grievance?

Under the Employment Relations Act 2000, a personal grievance arises when an employer or manager does something that seriously affects your employment in an unfair or unjust way. Bullying qualifies when it is:

Unreasonable – beyond what any decent employer would allow.

Repeated – more than once or part of a clear pattern.

Serious – impacts your ability to work or your health.

To win a personal grievance based on bullying, you must show the behaviour was repeated and unreasonable, caused detriment (hurt, damage, distress) and is attributable to the employment relationship.  

Five questions to ask yourself if you think you are being bullied

1. Am I being treated unfairly or differently from others?

2. Is the behaviour repeated or part of a pattern?

3. Does it make me feel upset, anxious, depressed, or unsafe?

4. Has my work suffered, or have I taken sick leave or lost confidence?

5. Do I feel excluded from normal work conversations or opportunities?

If you answered "yes" to any of these, you might have grounds for a workplace bullying claim and to raise a personal grievance.

What to do if you think you are being bullied

Taking action early helps. Here’s a step-by-step plan:

1. Keep a track of evidence relating to the bullying behaviour. Record any incidents with date, time, place, who was involved, and exactly what happened. Save emails, text messages, or written notes. Take a note of the effects it has had on you like anxiety, sleep loss, medical appointments.

2. Talk to someone you trust, a colleague, a close supervisor, or someone in HR. Tell them what is happening and ask if anyone else has experienced it. Get their view on any incidents they were witness to.

3. Try informal resolution. Ask the person to stop in a calm, firm way, if you feel sage to do so. Send a polite email or message saying how their behaviour makes you feel.

4. Make a formal complaint following your employer’s policies, providing the evidence you have gathered on the bullying behaviour. Ask for a formal meeting and record the outcome.

Raising a personal grievance

If these steps don’t resolve the bullying, you can raise a personal grievance.  You must raise it within 90 days of the incident or end of the bullying behaviour, put it in writing and refer to bullying at work being the reason for the complaint including the date(s) of any incidents.  Your employer must respond and hold a meeting to identify a resolution pathway in line with your workplace policies.  If unresolved, you can take the matter to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).

Possible outcomes from a personal grievance for workplace bullying include an apology, changes to the bully’s behaviour or training, compensation for harm (distress, lost income) and/or reinstatement of lost duties or career progression. 

How can an advocate help with a personal grievance for bullying?  

Having an employment advocate by your side from the start gives you protection and strength. An advocate understands the law and supports you in knowing what is bullying and what is not and they can guide you on gathering effective evidence. 

Your advocate can help write letters, complaints, and emails and can accompany you to meetings, and ensure fair treatment.  An advocate can negotiate with your employer early, sometimes resolving issues without needing an ERA claim.  Early advocacy can stop work situations from worsening.  An advocate can also help protect you from stress, anxiety, and burnout associated with a workplace dispute and allow you to maintain your confidence and job performance.

  

Tips to cope with workplace bullying

If you are being bullied at work, here are some tips to help you cope:

• Talk with friends or family (outside the workplace) - you don’t have to go through it alone.

• Seek counselling or help through your employer's Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP).

• Get a doctor’s certificate if you're mentally unwell due to bullying.

• Take care of yourself by taking breaks, eating well and exercising.

• Try to keep calm and professional no matter how upsetting it is.

  
  

Bullying at work isn’t normal and you don’t have to just cope with it. If behaviour is repeated, unreasonable, and seriously affecting you, it could be a personal grievance. Early action, including documenting incidents and talking to an employment advocate can protect your rights, your health, and possibly your job.  If you're dealing with workplace bullying, you do not have to face it alone. Get in touch with an expert for a free consultation.  Mathewswalker.co.nz | 0800 612 355

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