We believe bullying and harassment are never okay.
Bullying and harassment are contrary to the Equality Act 2010 and UCL’s ethos, values and mission and are never acceptable. No member of the UCL community is expected to tolerate such behaviour.
Bullying
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation.
Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. Non-verbal conduct includes postings on social media outlets. Bullying may include, by way of example:
- shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others
- physical or psychological threats
- overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision
- inappropriate and/or derogatory remarks about someone's performance
- abuse of authority or power by those in positions of seniority
- deliberately excluding someone from meetings, communications or presentations without good reason.
Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of performance or behaviour, or reasonable instructions given to staff in the course of their employment, will not amount to bullying on their own.
Harassment
Harassment under the Equality Act 2010 includes unwanted behaviour or conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment because of, or connected to, one or more of the following protected characteristics: age; disability; gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.
In deciding whether conduct has the effect of violating a person's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment towards that person, it is necessary to take into account: the perception of the person who is at the receiving end of the conduct; the other circumstances of the case; and whether it is reasonable for the conduct to have that effect.
Harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is defined as a course of conduct conducted on at least two occasions that harasses one other person, or a course of conduct that harasses two or more persons at least once each. References to harassing a person include alarming the person or causing the person distress.
An offence is committed only if the person knows the conduct amounts to harassment of the other, or a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other person.
Find out more
- Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) provide further information on unlawful harassment