Are you being bullied or is your child being bullied?
Whether it’s bullying of children or adults directly or online, it can have profound effects on health and emotional welfare. Be brave, stand up for yourself or your child and collect the evidence, using our app, that will enable you to bring it to an end.
If an organisation is involved, such as a school or a business, you should, wherever possible, report it to them. If they do not deal with it properly or adequately you can turn to other options.
State schools must all have a behaviour policy which includes measures to prevent bullying among pupils. If you are unhappy with the way the school deals with your concerns, you can complain about the school using the school’s own complaints procedures and if that is unsatisfactory you can complain to the Department for Education (DfE).
Of course, if what’s happened amounts to a criminal offence, for example if you or your child is assaulted, you can go straight to the police.
Types of Bullying
- Cyberbullying
- Bullying at school
- Physical bullying
- Verbal bullying
- Sexual bullying
How can I prove I, or my child is being bullied?
Whatever the circumstances our app is ideally suited to helping you overcome this kind of problem. You can keep a detailed record over time of what happens and the records are kept securely and confidentially on our database. You can either record everything as a single issue (‘label’) or separate them under several different headings, using a label for each of them. For example you might keep separate records of bullying incidents that are face to face, as opposed to being made by text or through social media. Then in addition we always advise you to create and maintain a label to record how you are reporting the bullying, who to and what response you get.
Bullying in the Workplace
Bullying is a major cause of stress in the workplace and by law, stress must be dealt with in the same way as any other health and safety hazard. Employers who fail to tackle bullying can pay a high price:
- In lost time – because staff are affected by stress and ill-health
- In lost incentives – because morale is low
- Reduced work output and quality of service
- Lost resources – because people who are trained and experienced leave the organisation
If it goes to an Employment Tribunal or to Court they also face financial penalties and loss of reputation
Most importantly, employers who fail to tackle bullying are breaking the law. That’s why it is in everyone’s interest to take workplace bullying seriously.
Employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees. If they do not do this they are breaching an individual’s contract of employment. It may also be a breach of sexual harassment and racial discrimination legislation and the bully him/herself could may be guilty of discrimination and harassment. Employers and/or the bully may find themselves facing fines, compensation and in some cases even a prison sentence.
How can ONRECORD help with my bullying case?
Record each and every event on the correct label as soon as you can after it’s happened.
Make sure you include all the important detail in the text box or dictate it and upload your account of events.
If there were witnesses, name them and make sure you have their contact details for future reference.
Upload any supporting evidence such as a screenshot of a text or email, a photograph if you were hurt and there’s a visible injury or torn clothing.
Rate the severity of the event on you.
Record what you did and said. Who did you inform, was it in writing or by speaking to them?
Record what response you got – what did they say, promise to do? Record what was done and whether it was a satisfactory outcome.
Upload anything you put in writing.
If the problem continues, keep recording events and report it again once you have collected enough further evidence. Make reference to the previous events and the fact that the outcome was unsatisfactory. If you hear nothing in response to your report then complain and continue recording if the bullying continues.
Above all, don’t give up!