Harassment and bullying
Bullying and harassment are often talked about as the same thing, but the law treats them differently. Harassment under the Equality Act 2010 only applies if the behaviour relates to a protected characteristic, such as your sex, race, disability or age. Bullying that isn’t tied to a protected characteristic falls outside that Act entirely, but that doesn’t mean you have no options. Read the full breakdown of bullying vs harassment to see where the line sits and what you can still do.
This hub covers what counts as harassment under the Equality Act, your employer’s duty to prevent it, and the separate routes available when you’re being bullied without a protected-characteristic link, including your employer’s common-law duty of care and the grievance process.
Real cases below show how this plays out: from an employer having to promise you won’t have to work with someone you’ve accused of bullying, to a sustained pattern of small acts adding up to something an employer is liable for.
Where to start
Plain-English explainers, each one a focused answer to a specific question.
Bullying at work: how it differs from harassment, and what you can do about it
Bullying and harassment get used interchangeably, but the law draws a hard line between them. Here's where that line sits, why bullying still matters even when it falls outside the Equality Act, and why it's so often where bigger disputes begin.
Read the guide → 02NDAs are about to lose their power to silence you about harassment and discrimination
A new law is coming that voids NDAs used to silence harassment and discrimination complaints. Here is what protection will look like, and what it does not change yet.
Read the guide → 03Toxic work environment: what the law actually says, and when it crosses a line
Wondering if what you're dealing with counts as a toxic work environment, or something the law actually covers? Here's the difference between a bad atmosphere and unlawful conduct, and what to do about either one.
Read the guide → 04Who can be held responsible for harassment at work
Vicarious liability doesn't stop at your employer's name. The colleague who harassed you, and anyone who pushed them into it or covered it up, can be named and held responsible too.
Read the guide → 05Your employer’s duty to prevent harassment is getting stronger, and now covers harassment by customers and clients too
From October 2026, employers face a stronger duty to prevent harassment, and can be held liable for harassment by customers and clients too. Here is what is changing and what it means for you.
Read the guide →What the tribunals have decided
Real decisions, rewritten for what they mean for you, not for HR professionals.
A comment comparing you unfavourably to a colleague, using a racially loaded word, can be harassment, even if it wasn’t meant as an insult.
A manager’s abusive language and a botched grievance process can add up to constructive dismissal, even without one knockout incident.
A sustained pattern of small, spiteful behaviour from colleagues can be bullying, and your employer can be liable for not stopping it.
Burying your race complaint, then coming down hard on you later, can itself be discrimination.
If you’ve been bullied by a colleague, your employer may have to promise you won’t have to work with them again.
If your employer knows a colleague is freezing you out and never fixes it, that can be constructive dismissal, even years later.
Working in a hostile environment created by others doesn’t always make your employer liable.
You don’t have to prove your manager meant to discriminate against you for it to count as harassment related to your race.