How to deal with bullying at work

The fast-paced nature of hospitality jobs, combined with lots of contact with the public, means you’re likely to be snapped at now and then. This is different from bullying or harassment, which can be extremely upsetting and stressful.

Bullying at work is when someone tries to intimidate another worker, often in front of colleagues. It usually happens to someone who’s less senior than their bully – although not always. It’s similar to harassment, where someone's behaviour is offensive, e.g, sexual comments, or abusing someone's sexual orientation, race or religion.

If you’re working in bar jobs, pub jobs, restaurant jobs or other roles where you have contact with the public, you might also be bullied by a customer. Your employer should treat this just as seriously.

What is bullying?

You’re being bullied if you’re suffering abuse, physical or verbal violence, humiliation or having your confidence deliberated undermined. Bullying can be any of the following:

Being picked on all the time
Regularly being treated unfairly or differently from your colleagues
Being humiliated in front of your colleagues
Being blamed for problems that aren’t your fault
Always being given too much to do
Regularly being threatened with the sack
Being unfairly passed over for promotion or training
Suffering physical or verbal abuse

What you can do

If you think you’re being bullied, it’s best to talk to your colleagues first. You can get support from them and find out if anyone else is suffering or has seen what's happened to you, plus it always helps to get another point of view.

If you can, talk to the person you feel is bullying you. They might not realise how you feel about their behaviour. Work out what you want to say beforehand – you can even write it down so you don’t forget anything. Describe what’s been happening and why you object to it. Stay calm and be polite. If you don't want to talk to the person yourself, you could ask someone else to do so for you.

If this doesn’t solve the problem, keep a record of every incident and copies of any relevant documents.

What your employer should do

Employers have a duty of care to all their employees, which includes dealing with bullying at work. Your employer should ensure all workers understand what bullying is and that it’s absolutely unacceptable. They should also emphasise that the recipient's feelings about the behaviour are important, even if the perpetrator doesn't intend to upset them.

If you want your employer to help, you should speak to someone about how you could deal with the problem informally. You could choose an employee representative (like a trade union official), someone in HR, or your manager/supervisor.

If this doesn’t work, you should make a formal complaint using your employer's grievance procedure.

Advice and support

Sometimes even following a formal grievance procedure may not solve the problem.

If you’re a member of a trade union, you can get help, advice and support from them. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) also offers free, confidential advice.

You can think about legal action if your employer hasn’t helped you, which could lead to an employment tribunal. If you’ve left your job because of bullying, you might be able to claim unfair (constructive) dismissal. But you must get professional advice from a lawyer or other professional who specialises in this field before taking either of these steps.

*The information on these pages is provided for your information and reference only. Before making any important decisions regarding your employment or any legal matter, you should consult a qualified professional advisor who can provide specific advice based on your individual position.