All practices should have a policy on bullying and harassment.

It can be difficult to distinguish between the two

Bullying and harassment are some of the of the most unpleasant things that can occur in the workplace, but it is in fact harassment that is against the law and has been since the Equality Act of 2010.

Harassment is centred around unwanted, offensive and intrusive behaviour related to one of the following, age, sex, disability, gender, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

Bullying as defined by Tim Field - who founded UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line in 1996 - is conduct that cannot be objectively justified by a reasonable code of conduct, and whose likely or actual cumulative effect is to threaten, undermine, constrain, humiliate or harm another person or their property, reputation, self-esteem, self-confidence or ability to perform. (see BullyOnLine.org)

Although we have these two separate behaviours it can in fact be very difficult to distinguish between the two as both as described on www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment include:

• Spreading malicious rumours
  
• Unfair treatment
  
• Picking on someone
  
• Regularly undermining a competent worker
  
• Denying someone's training or promotion opportunities
  

All practices should have a policy on bullying and harassment and a very clear explanation as to how they will deal with any person within the practice who is discovered either bullying or harassing another individual. Most importantly individuals must feel able to talk to someone in authority without fear if they feel they are being bullied or harassed and understand the process that will be gone through once a complaint is made.

Recognising bullying behaviour is not easy most bullies are very subtle in their approach, so it is often the reactions of the victim and their lack of wellbeing that are the first signs that something is wrong. This is where a practice appraisal system can be very helpful as it gives both manager and employee an opportunity to discuss these issues in the context of job satisfaction and progress. However appraisals may only occur once or twice a year so managers must always be attuned to changes in behaviour of their staff.

It is important to be prepared for instances of bullying and to have a strategy should a member of staff make accusations of bullying or harassment against a colleague. Below are some simple guidelines taken from BullyOnLine.org on what to do if one of your employees is accused of bullying:

• Do not ignore it
• Sometimes a complaint may be 'made up' or the complainant may be mistaken. So do not presume anything and do not make decisions based on rumours
  
• Be aware of how bullies operate, how they flatter and often have a following.
  
• Bearing the above point in mind, in any dispute the bully is initially likely to be the one with the most witnesses until enough people decide that it is safe to speak out
  
• Do not try to understand the bully, just concentrate on their actions rather than the psychology behind them
  
• Get support. Use HR professionals and occupational psychologists, especially if there are likely to be issues of objectivity within the practice environment
  
• Be prepared to dismiss an employee who bullies. Bullying destroys individuals and teams so employ zero tolerance
  
• Leave no doubt in your employees' minds that it is always safe to speak out
  
• Act quickly, get to the bottom of any complaint as soon as possible
  
• Listen very carefully to the complainant
  
• Establish whether the incidents complained of actually occurred
  
• If you do not believe the complainant, get some help from an expert
  
• Put your employees' health before anything else
  
• Think about the interests and agendas of the people who give you evidence
  
• Follow policies and procedures
  
• Be 100% fair and reasonable