A bully is a person who deliberately intimidates or persecutes someone they work with.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says that while there is no legal definition, bullying can take many forms and can involve:
- ignoring or excluding someone;
- spreading malicious rumours or gossip;
- humiliating someone in public;
- giving someone unachievable or meaningless tasks; and
- constantly undervaluing someone's work performance.
It says that bullies are often, but not always, more senior than the person they are bullying and that they may target groups as well as individuals.
The independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) definition of bullying is often used in employment tribunal cases: "Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, involving an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient." This definition concentrates on how bullies abuse their power relationship.
Mental health charity Mind defines work bullying as "when someone persistently acts in a discriminatory way towards an employee which hurts, criticises or condemns them."
