Bullying at work corrodes health, confidence and careers — and most victims are told it's "just a personality clash". The law sees it differently, through several routes at once. Connaught Law's employment solicitors act for people across London and the UK facing workplace bullying and harassment, with advice you can act on while still in the job.
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How We Can Help
When Bullying Becomes Unlawful
"Bullying" isn't a standalone claim — which is exactly why employers get away with it, and why the right legal frame matters. The same conduct can be unlawful as harassment under the Equality Act, as a fundamental breach of contract forcing you out, as a course of conduct under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, or as a breach of your employer's duty to protect your health. We identify which routes your facts support — usually more than one.
Harassment & the Equality Act
Where the conduct relates to a protected characteristic — race, sex, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation — it's harassment under the Equality Act 2010: unwanted conduct violating your dignity or creating a hostile environment, with uncapped compensation. For sexual harassment, employers now owe a positive legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent it — a duty many still haven't understood, and one that strengthens claims when they fail.
Your Employer's Liability
Employers are legally responsible for harassment by their staff done in the course of employment — unless they can prove they took all reasonable steps to prevent it, a defence that stale policies and ignored complaints do not satisfy. A grievance that was brushed aside is not just unfair: it's evidence, and often the strongest evidence in the case.
What to Do While It's Happening
Keep a contemporaneous record — dates, words used, witnesses, screenshots — and raise a written grievance under the ACAS Code before taking any irreversible step. Above all, don't resign in the heat of the moment: leaving without the groundwork can convert a strong claim into none. Get advice while you still hold your options.
When It Affects Your Health
Sustained bullying makes people ill — anxiety, depression, breakdown — and where your employer knew and did nothing, the harm itself can be compensated. Our work-related stress compensation guide explains when workplace stress becomes a claim and what the medical evidence needs to show.
Your Legal Options
Depending on the facts: a grievance pressed properly, a negotiated exit with a settlement agreement, a tribunal claim for harassment or discrimination within three months less one day via ACAS early conciliation, a constructive dismissal claim if you're forced out, or civil proceedings where the conduct is severe. The right sequence depends on what you want — to stay, to leave well, or to be compensated — and we plan around that, not around litigation for its own sake.
How We Work
First we listen to the whole pattern — bullying cases live in accumulation, not single incidents — then we frame it legally and honestly: what's actionable, what's evidence, what's missing. Most clients come to us wanting it to stop rather than wanting a lawsuit; a well-drafted grievance with legal weight behind it often achieves exactly that.
Where it doesn't, we escalate on your timetable: ACAS early conciliation protecting the three-month tribunal deadline, negotiation for a properly-priced exit, or a claim prepared to be heard. Whichever route, you decide with a clear view of costs and realistic outcomes first.
Why Connaught Law
01The right legal frameBullying claims fail when framed wrong. We choose the route — harassment, contract, health — your evidence actually supports.
02Act while still employedAdvice you can use inside the job: grievance strategy, record-building and protection against victimisation.
03Senior attention throughoutYour case is run by our experienced employment team, not passed down — with direct access to the person handling it.
04Discretion as standardThese cases are personal. We run them with the privacy and care your situation demands.
Fee structures and funding options are set out on our fees page — we discuss costs openly before you commit to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is workplace bullying illegal in the UK?
Not as a single named claim — but the conduct usually is unlawful through other routes: harassment under the Equality Act where it links to a protected characteristic, breach of contract where it destroys trust and confidence, the Protection from Harassment Act for severe courses of conduct, and your employer's duty to protect your health. The frame matters more than the label.
Can I claim compensation for bullying at work?
Often, yes. Harassment linked to a protected characteristic carries uncapped compensation including injury to feelings; bullying that forces you out supports a constructive dismissal claim; and bullying that makes you ill can found a personal injury claim where the employer knew and failed to act. Which applies depends on your facts — we assess all three.
Should I resign because of bullying?
Not before taking advice. Resignation is irreversible, and done wrongly it can cost you a constructive dismissal claim. The sequence — record, grievance, response, then decision — protects both your health and your legal position. If it's already unbearable, call us first; the plan takes days, not months.
What evidence should I keep?
A dated log of incidents with exact words and witnesses, emails and messages, screenshots before they disappear, your grievance and the employer's response, and medical records where your health is affected. Contemporaneous notes carry real weight at tribunal — start the log today.
Being bullied or harassed at work?
You don't have to choose between your health and your job. Tell us what's happening and we'll map your options — while you still hold them.
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