H for Harassment

Aisling Butler writes:

1. Introduction

The cost for organisations of bullying and harassment in the workplace can be considerable in terms of high staff turnover, impaired morale, sick leave, industrial relations problems and loss of productivity. Furthermore, if not adequately managed internally, an instance of harassment or bullying could result in an employer being brought before a tribunal and/or the Courts.


2. What is harassment?

Harassment is closely aligned to the concept of bullying and the terms are often used interchangeably. However, the two are distinct concepts in law and the remainder of this piece looks at harassment as a discrete topic.

Harassment is regulated by the Employment