Complaint Of Bullying In The Workplace

A complaint of bullying in the workplace is assessed against a definition requiring repeated behaviour, so a complaint built on one bad week rarely goes anywhere.

What makes one substantiable is the pattern, set out plainly.

• Dated incidents. Several, described factually rather than characterised. Four specific dates beat a general account of months.
• The effect on health or work. What you could not do, sleep affected, medical attention sought.
• Comparators. How others in the same role are treated differently.
• Witnesses. Named where possible, and asked early while they still remember it clearly.
• What you have already done. Whether you raised it before, and what happened.

The first is where most complaints are weakest, because people only start recording once things have already become serious, and by then months have gone unrecorded.

The Fair Work Ombudsman covers the process. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s workplace bullying course and records management software.