The award of £828,000 in damages for a Company Secretary Assistant, who endured a long-running campaign of bullying and harassment at the hands of her workmates, serves as a further warning to employers who allow such behaviour to go on in the workplace.
36-year-old Helen Green was driven to the point of a mental breakdown as a result of her treatment by fellow workers at Deutsche Bank. She suffered a nervous breakdown in late 2000, followed by a relapse in 2001. On 18 October 2001 she stopped work and was unable to return to her job. The Human Resources department at the bank had referred Miss Green for stress counselling and also arranged for her to have assertiveness training. In addition, in March 2000 the entire Secretariat Department had attended a course on harassment awareness.
Miss Green sued the bank for her psychological injury as well as loss of earnings. In the High Court, Mr Justice Owen commented that Miss Green, who had earned £45,000 per year, ‘was subjected to a relentless campaign of mean and spiteful behaviour designed to cause her distress’, which was tolerated by the bank’s ‘weak and ineffectual management’.
The Court held that the bank was in breach of the duty of care it owed to Miss Green and was vicariously liable for the bullying she suffered. It followed the recent ruling in the case of Majrowski v Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Trust that even without negligence an employer can be liable to pay damages under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 for harassment by one employee of another in the course of his or her work. In this case, the damages included an award of £640,000 for future loss of earnings and pension benefits as the Court was of the view that Miss Green, who is now training for an academic career, would not be able to earn the level of salary she had previously enjoyed for many years to come.
The problem of workplace bullying is very real and appears to be on the increase. Employers must do everything they can to prevent it. A zero tolerance policy should be adopted and any complaints must be treated seriously and dealt with to the satisfaction of the complainant. Failure to eliminate bullying and harassment of employees by other employees could prove very expensive indeed.
Contact us for advice on how to act if there is a problem with bullying or harassment at your business.
