Unite, the union for workers in Gibraltar, has described the Court of Appeal judgment as a “big blow” for worker protection from bullying, but "supports the critique in the judgment of the legislation and calls for urgent reform of the Bullying at Work Act".

A statement from Unite follows below:

Unite, the union for workers in Gibraltar, today (25^th January) described the Court of Appeal judgment as a “big blow” for worker protection from bullying, but supports the critique in the judgment of the legislation and calls for urgent reform of the Bullying at Work Act. The Court of Appeal judgment, whilst not changing the findings of the employment tribunal regarding the events that occurred on 20^th September 2017, found that inappropriate behaviour had to be deemed persistent to reach the threshold for bullying under the Act. The Court of Appeal also posed important questions around whether the employer can be primarily or vicariously liable for any bullying behaviour that their employees are responsible for, which presents a real threat of employers seeking to duck responsibility for any bullying activities of their employees.

Stuart Davies, National Officer for Unite Gibraltar said: “This judgment is a big blow for anyone that has been subjected to bullying behaviour in the workplace and for those that will unfortunately be bullied in the future. This litigation was not just about protecting Unite members that were subjected to inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, but creating case law that others working in Gibraltar could rely upon for protection and to place employers on notice as to their responsibilities to eradicate bullying.

“The Court of Appeal, following the Supreme Court has unpicked the successful employment tribunal judgment and we are left with an unsatisfactory interpretation of the legislation when it comes to the definition of bullying and whether an employer can be held responsible in law for bullying behaviour in their workplace. The Court of Appeal did comment that the Act was not “easy to interpret or apply” and that there is a lack of clarity as to “precisely what amounts to unlawful bullying and when the employer will be personally liable for the acts of bullying”. The judgment cited that Parliament “might think it appropriate to amend the legislation to clarify these difficult and important issues” and Unite will be campaigning for these changes. If the law remains ineffective in dealing with issues of bullying in the workplace and we see no reform, in future these issues will have to be addressed industrially”.