Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle workplace bullying and harassment.

Any form of bullying and harassment is unacceptable and has no place in today’s workplace.

The Government is supporting the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill introduced by the Hon Member for Bath. This Bill will strengthen protections for employees against workplace harassment.

While bullying is not itself illegal, the Government believes that the best way to address bad behaviour in the workplace is through cultural change.

The Government has published guidance that sets out the steps that employees can take if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment.

Acas provides free and impartial advice for employers and employees and has published guidance on how to deal with bullying in the workplace. This is available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/if-youre-treated-unfairly-at-work/being-bullied.