The law of harassment in the UK: a growing concern
The International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations
2010
25
2
June
191-205
bullying at work ; EU law ; labour law ; sexual harassment
Law
English
"This article considers recent changes to legal provisions governing harassment at work, in particular sexual harassment, in the UK, in the light of EU Directive 2002/73/EC, and the remedies available in the courts and employment tribunals. This article then provides a statistical profile of a total of 21,335 sex discrimination cases brought to nine employment tribunals in the UK between 2003 and 2008, highlighting the fact that the claims submitted by employees are successful in only a small percentage of cases, due to the fact that many cases are withdrawn or settled out of court, and the fact that many claimants do not have legal representation, whereas nearly all of the defendants have the benefit of legal representation in hearings at the employment tribunal, enabling them to present their evidence in a more effective manner. This is particularly important in cases of this type, where witness credibility is crucial to successful outcomes, as highlighted by the cases cited by the author."
Paper
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.