Asurprising trend has emerged amid the uncertainty of the current job market – an increase in the number of bullying claims. Interestingly, however, many of these are false claims made by employees trying to protect themselves from redundancies through contrived or exaggerated workplace allegations.
Joydeep Hor, managing partner of Australian law firm Harmers Workplace Lawyers, has seen an increase in false bullying claims in recent months. “When employees feel that their employment is threatened, many feel cornered and helpless. Bullying and harassment cases are typically high profile and very negative for employers, and employees can see the bargaining power a claim like this might give them,” he said.
Claims of bullying and harassment have steadily increased over the past 10 years as employees are now better educated about these issues and have clearer avenues to report cases. The Workplace Pulse Quarterly Survey of 2,140 employees, conducted by online learning and information management provider WorkPro, found that almost 30% of employees have been bullied at work, 24% have been discriminated against, and 44% have witnessed bullying in the workplace.
Hor said that while employers should be wary of false claims, they must ensure the appropriate steps are taken to deal with every bullying claim in order to avoid litigation.
“What many employers fail to realise is that they don’t have to be directly involved in an incident to be liable. They can be prosecuted for an incident that happens between other staff members, as well as for not providing employees with adequate OHS and EEO information and training,” he said.