(I'm indebted to Daniel Barnett for circulating news of this important decision)
The Court of Appeal has decided on Veakins v Kier Islington Ltd, a case dealing with the extent of duty of employer under Protection from Harassment Act 1996
In Majrowski v Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust [2006] UKHL 34 The House of Lords ruled that for conduct to constitute harassment it would have to be conduct of an order that would sustain criminal liability. As a consequence, many workplace harassment claims were dropped on the basis that lawyers felt the bar was too high for their clients.
The new ruling requires courts to keep the Lords' proposition in mind, but to remember that the main focus is on whether the conduct complained of is oppressive and unacceptable.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay, in his judgment, said:
"... there is nothing in the language of the Act which excludes workplace harassment. It should not be thought from this unusually one-sided case that stress at work will often give rise to liability for harassment. I have found the conduct in this case to be “oppressive and unacceptable” but I have done so in circumstances where I have also described it as “extraordinary”. I do not expect that many workplace cases will give rise to this liability. It is far more likely that, in the great majority of cases, the remedy for high-handed or discriminatory misconduct by or on behalf of an employer will be more fittingly in the Employment Tribunal."
Elsewhere the outline facts of the case are provided, and I have to say they are not unlike the experiences of some subscribers to these forums. Of the alleged harasser's conduct LJ KAy said:"For my part, I consider that the undisputed evidence in this case is susceptible to a finding of malice. I find it impossible to escape the conclusion that Mrs Lavy’s extraordinary conduct must have been motivated by a desire to do whatever she could to force out an employee for whom she had a profound personal dislike." This judgment provides a new glimmer of hope for targets of bullying
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed