PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT

When the Protection from Harassment Act (‘the Act') was introduced in 1997, it was with the intention of closing a gap in the law surrounding stalkers who, whilst menacing, were not directly threatening. However, as reported this week in the Law Section of the Times Newspaper, the Act is now pleaded in ways that were almost certainly not envisaged at the time.

In one case, Ms Gina Singh successfully brought a civil claim under the Act after suffering ill treatment by her mother-in-law from an arranged marriage. This claim was the first of its kind and relied upon the wide drafting of the Act to extend the scope of the Act's protection to a domestic bullying situation. Ms Singh's mother-in-law was ordered to pay £35,000 in compensation.
The application of the Act was widened further still when, earlier this year in the case of Majrowski v Guy's & St Thomas NHS Trust, it was successfully pleaded that employees "bullied" at work could also bring a claim under the Act. This case has caused significant concern to employers, primarily because such a claim cannot be defended on the basis that all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent the bullying or harassing behaviour.

Since the Majrowski case there has been a growing trend to plead claims under the Act in employment related cases. The Employment Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear Protection from Harassment cases and consequently such claims are brought in the High Court - where a 6-year limitation period applies. Whilst an employee does need to show harassment on more than one occasion for a claim to succeed, the test is a relatively easy one to satisfy, as it is the impact of the harassment on individuals that is assessed. The fact that there is no cap on the level of compensation that can be awarded tends to lead to high profile claims with often significant levels of compensation.

In light of the ambit of the Act, employers must ensure that they remain vigilant to office antics that could be perceived by an employee as bullying or harassment, and take immediate action.