How to Handle Unfair Treatment at Work: An Employer's Guide

Unfair treatment in the workplace can be highly problematic for both workers and employers, leading to emotional distress and monetary loss for both parties. Bullying, harassment, discrimination, and victimisation are all forms of unfair treatment in the workplace. Employers must implement clear policies that enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment in the workplace, and, when unfair treatment occurs, should follow a thorough misconduct investigation protocol.

In an ideal world, no workers in the UK would receive unfair treatment at work. But sadly, this is not the case in the real world of work. As an employer, it is important to track and resolve unfair treatment at work as soon as you are aware of it.

If unfair treatment at work is not effectively prevented, managed, and resolved, it can lead to decreased worker morale, leading to a drop in worker performance and productivity

In the worst cases, unfair treatment at work can result in discrimination claims and hefty financial penalties. This is why ensuring your workforce is fairly treated, and your working hours are legally compliant, is in the best interest of your business's wellbeing.

In this article, Croner will outline what is counted as unfair treatment under the law, why it can lead to employment tribunals, and how to correctly prevent unfair treatment at work.

Do you need HR and Employment Law support for a case of unfair treatment at work? For FREE, same-day support, call one of Croner's team of experts on 01455 858 132.

• What is unfair treatment at work?
• Four signs of unfair treatment at work
• Employment law and unfair treatment at work
• Consequences of unfair treatment at work
• Examples of unfair treatment at work
• How to handle unfair treatment at work
• Grievances and disciplinaries
• The bottom line: lead by example
• Get expert HR & Employment Law support

What is unfair treatment at work?

Unfair treatment at work is where individuals or systems within an occupational context discriminate against others.

In other words, this is where a manager, peer and/or subordinate treats workers unfavourably for inappropriate/discriminatory reasons, this would be unfair treatment. However, it is important to note that there isn’t not a set definition of unfair treatment in UK employment law.

Four signs of unfair treatment at work

Unfair treatment usually occurs when one or more of the following occurs:

• Bullying
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Victimisation

It is important for employers to understand the differences between the forms of unfair treatment above. This is because workers have different rights and resources, set out by current employment laws, depending on which kinds of unfair treatment they experience.

For example, whilst bullying at work is unacceptable, it is not illegal, whereas sexual harassment in the workplace is most certainly unlawful. It is important to see how employment law distinguishes the forms of unfair treatment listed above, so you, as an employer, can best prevent and manage it.

Employment law and unfair treatment at work

You should implement measures to avoid unfair treatment from occurring, taking steps to tackle them immediately, whilst remaining compliant with UK employment law.

Whilst all forms of unfair treatment at work are problematic, and you should immediately address them as such, the forms that break UK law are to be taken as especially unacceptable.

Bullying, for instance, can include demeaning, distressing, and/or humiliating behaviour enacted by one person or group against another; as we have said, this is problematic, but not illegal.

Whilst bullying is not unlawful, it can still lead to legal issues in the workplace such as grievances and constructive dismissals. Bullying is unacceptable and should be taken seriously. Allegations should be fully investigated.

If workplace bullying transitions into sexual harassment, it can become a legal issue which you, as the employer, can be held liable for.

This is because harassment is a form of discrimination in the workplace, which is unlawful as per the Equality Act 2010.

By law, harassment occurs when unwanted behaviour must have either:

• violated the person's dignity.
• created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person.

If harassment occurs based on a Protected Characteristic, this can be very serious. There are nine Protected Characteristics, and they are as follows:

• Age
• Race
• Sex
• Gender reassignment
• Disability
• Religion or belief
• Sexual orientation
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity

It is important to note that the law on harassments does not cover the Protected Characteristics of marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

Remember, as an employer your duty of care requires you to take necessary steps reasonable steps to prevent unfair treatment and bullying in the workplace. When it comes to harassment, employers need to, by law, take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace.

If, for example, an employment tribunal finds that you, as the employer, have not taken all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring in your workplace, and it occurs, you could be held liable for hefty financial penalties.

If serious unfair treatment occurs in your workplace, this will typically have a lasting reputational impact on your business.

Consequences of unfair treatment at work

But what if there are no direct financial ramifications because of unfair treatment? Ensuring the workplace is fair is still something you should focus on, as failing to do can negatively impact your business's finances in several important ways, such as:

1. Lower morale: When unfair treatment of other workers occurs, you can expect worker morale and productivity levels to plummet.
2. Constructive dismissal claims: Bullying that is not discriminatory or based on a Protected Characteristic can still be problematic. For example, if it becomes so damaging that it forces the bullied worker to resign, then it could result in a constructive dismissal claim. But remember, in this instance, they would have to be an employee to claim constructive dismissal.

This can become an incredibly stressful situation that will only be resolved during a long and arduous employment tribunal case.

Constructive dismissal claims are typically incredibly costly to employers due to:

• Controversy and reputational damage
• Significant compensation payouts
• Damaged worker morale
• Hefty legal costs

3. Reputational damage: With the rise of social media, it does not take just a tribunal case to negatively affect your reputation. Workers detailing their issues with your business's working environment online will seriously hinder your chances of acquiring the best talent. This is, in fact, a long-term financial risk.

Examples of unfair treatment at work

Unfair treatment can take several forms, and many individuals can enact it. Let’s discuss a few example scenarios below:

• Unfair treatment at work by a peer: Spreading gossip or slander about a worker by their colleagues.
• Unfair treatment at work by a supervisor: A manager could take a dislike to a particular worker and intentionally orchestrate working obstacles for their subordinate. This might include unfairly criticising their work or setting them menial tasks.
• Unfair treatment at work by a subordinate: A newly hired staff member going over the head of their manager, resulting in the senior being undermined.

If employers and line managers can spot these types of unfair treatment before they become a formal issue, much time, trouble, and frustration can be saved.

Workers also highly appreciate employers that safeguard them through clear and proactive policies and procedures that deal with unfair treatment at work.

Need HR support? Croner are HR experts with more than 80 years' experience helping businesses just like yours. We can help you create, formalise, and implement policies that save you time and money.

For FREE, same-day advice, call 01455 858 132.

How to handle unfair treatment at work

1. Begin by informing your workers, new and current, that you are committed to operating and enforcing anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies.
2. Secondly, it is vital that you formalise these policies by including them in your staff handbook, ensuring all workers receive a copy of the book when they are inducted into your organisation. Whenever you update a policy, email the most up-to-date version to your teams.
3. Then, you will need to ensure your workers know how to raise an issue regarding unfair treatment at work. Remember, dealing with matters internally, before they have spiralled into a larger crisis, will cost you less in the long run.
4. Finally, explain the procedures and reasonable steps you have and will take if/when an investigation needs to be undertaken due to unfair treatment.

Next, let’s discuss grievance and disciplinary procedures.

Grievances and disciplinaries

A staff member may raise a grievance informally. They are also within their right to raise a formal grievance against their line manager or someone else they believe to be treating them unfairly.

As an employer, when an employee approaches you with a grievance, you will need to follow a compliant grievance procedure.

• Included in this procedure should be the investigation and evaluation of their claims.
• One-off incidents can usually be dealt with using a well-mediated hearing; here, you will need to try to resolve the problem between the parties. The outcome might be that you give the offender a disciplinary and then, thereafter, a written warning.
• Where your investigation has revealed unfair treatment to be gross misconduct, you might dismiss the individual in question as part of a formal disciplinary process.

Remember, it is vital that you engage in a thorough misconduct investigation. If you unfairly dismiss an employee under investigation, they can make an unfair dismissal claim in an employment tribunal. This is why it is essential to conduct misconduct investigations carefully, documenting every step of the process.

The bottom line: lead by example

Your staff’s behaviour will often reflect the underlying state of your business. Ensure management and key employees behave in line with the values of your business. Their behaviour will undoubtedly set the standard for the rest of your staff.

Also, if these key individuals do not enforce your values, this will encourage unacceptable behaviour in your workforce. So, ensure you appoint senior staff members who embody your values.

Get expert HR & Employment Law support

Problems, such as unfair treatment at work, can often become long, complicated, and extremely time-consuming. But, as an employer you must handle them, and handle them correctly.

Croner can offer you professional, up-to-date advice on how to prevent and manage unfair treatment at work. Reach out to one of our experts for FREE, same-day support on 01455 858 132.