Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work

In accordance with the provisions in the legislation referred to above, the HSA and the WRC consulted with several representative organisations and stakeholders, within their respective remits, including the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC) and some Government departments.

A draft of this Code was also put to public consultation. The inputs made by those organisations and from public consultation were considered and where appropriate, included in the material developed for this Code.  The purpose of this Code is to provide guidance for employers, employees and their representatives on good practice and procedures for addressing and resolving issues around workplace bullying.

Specifically, the Code:

• provides practical guidance on identifying, managing and preventing bullying at work arising from employers’ duties under section 8 (2)(b) of the 2005 Act;
• is based on good industrial relations principles governing effective engagement and processes in the workplace;
• highlights the procedure to be put in place by employers and the need to clearly state that bullying in the workplace is not acceptable and complaints of bullying will be dealt with sensitively. The Code reinforces obligations for employers to progress complaints informally where possible, and otherwise, as appropriate, formally;
• emphasises the importance of records being kept of interventions and decisions in line with General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act 2018; and
• clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of both organisations responsible for this Code and outlines these graphically by way of a flow chart.

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Status and scope of the Code under health and safety legislation. . . . . . . . 3

Status and scope of the Code under workplace relations legislation . . . . . 4

Introduction .....................................................5

1.1 Consultation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2 Aim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Whatisharassmentandbullyingatwork?..........................6

2.1Whatisharassmentatwork? ............................................ 6

2.2Whatisbullyingatwork?................................................ 6

2.3Howdoesbullyingmanifestitselfwithinworkplaces?.................... 7

2.4Whobulliesatwork?.................................................... 8

2.5Whydealwithbullyingatwork?......................................... 8

2.6Whatisnotbullyingatwork?............................................ 8

2.7Whoisinvolvedinbullyingatwork?..................................... 9

2.8 What are the effects of bullying at work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Managementofbullyingatwork .................................11

3.1 Prevention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.2 Preventative measures/actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.3 Contact person role. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Interventioninworkplacebullying................................14

4.1 Informal process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.2Formalprocess ........................................................18

Conclusionofformalprocessandfollowup........................22

5.1 If internal procedures do not resolve a bullying complaint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

5.2Communicationsofoutcomes .........................................22

RoleoftheHSAandtheWRC .....................................23

6.1 Role of the HSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 \

6.2 Role of the WRC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

6.3 Role of the HSA and the WRC in the Prevention of Workplace Bullying . . . 26

Published in January 2021 by the Health and Safety Authority and Workplace Relations Commission 

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