91AV

This bullying and harassment support line is for:

• every RSC member worldwide and
• everyone working in the chemical sciences in the UK and Ireland

who has been in any way affected by workplace bullying or harassing behaviour.

So, whether you’re being bullied, are a bystander or have been accused of bullying and harassment – if you’re working in the chemical sciences then our impartial and confidential support is available for you.

We will listen to anyone affected by or concerned by workplace bullying and harassment. We can also signpost you to services and support most relevant to you.

Our and telephone lines are open 8am–8pm (UK time) Monday to Friday. If our advisors are busy we will answer as soon as possible.

If you are feeling distressed or at risk of serious harm you can call the on 116123 (UK).

You can chat with us using the below. Alternatively, you can send us an email through our web contact form. We aim to respond to your enquiry within three working days. The email response you receive will be sent from a no-reply email address, meaning that if you have a further query or question, you will need to use our web contact form again, rather than replying to the email directly.

For an overview of bullying and harassment, watch our video.

Bullying may be characterised as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.

Harassment can be defined as unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women in the workplace. It may be related to age, sex, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or any personal characteristic of the individual, and may be persistent or an isolated incident.

The key difference between bullying and harassment, is that harassment is linked to a personal characteristic of the recipient, and therefore linked to anti-discrimination law in the case of protected characteristics in this country.

It is against the law under the Equality Act 2010 to discriminate against someone because of a protected characteristic. These protected characteristics are:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion and belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Bullying and harassment isn’t always obvious. It can happen between individuals or within groups. It may be persistent or isolated and it can occur in face-to-face interactions, on the phone, online and in writing.

Key to understanding whether either bullying or harassment has occurred is not whether the conduct was intended on the part of the perpetrator, but whether it was unwanted on the part of the recipient.

Some examples of bullying and harassment are:

• Unfair treatment, exclusion or victimisation
• Ridiculing, demeaning someone, or setting them up to fail
• Insulting or spreading malicious rumours about someone, particularly on the grounds of age, race, sex, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief
• Overbearing supervision
• Deliberately undermining a competent worker
• Misuse of power or position
• Preventing progression by intentionally blocking promotion or training opportunities
• Failing to give credit where it’s due
• Unwelcome sexual advances such as touching, standing too close, the display of offensive materials
• Making decisions on the basis of sexual advances being accepted or rejected
• Isolating employees from normal work interaction
• Verbal abuse such as yelling, screaming or angry outbursts, name-calling, inappropriate comments about a person’s appearance, malicious teasing or being made the brunt of pranks or practical jokes.

If you’re not sure, a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself ‘would a reasonable person observing such behaviour see this as bullying or harassment?’

The person being bullied

Those experiencing, or who have experienced, bullying or harassment can feel emotional distress, low morale and it can negatively impact on their performance. In the workplace, those experiencing these behaviours are more likely to be depressed and anxious, less satisfied with their work, have a low opinion of their managers and want to leave the organisation.

Victims of bullying and harassment may try to avoid talking about it for fear of the consequences.  They need to be shown that they’ll be protected if they choose to speak out.

The accused

People accused of bullying or harassment. They may be unaware that their behaviour has caused upset or offence.

The bystander

Bystanders are people who witness bullying or harassment but are not involved directly. 

There is increasing focus in the workplace on training staff to become ‘active bystanders’. Active bystanders challenge the poor behaviour they witness and help to change organisational cultures by reinforcing what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

We can all help to improve our working environment and our wider community by being active bystanders.

If individuals and teams that exhibit bullying or harassing behaviours are not challenged then they are likely to continue thinking their behaviour is acceptable. Active bystanders can influence people to re-think what kinds of behaviour are appropriate, bringing about positive change.

To be an active bystander:

• Try to be aware of situations where someone may feel bullied or harassed by someone else’s behaviour.
• If a situation has the potential to be unsafe, tell another person you are going to intervene before you do so.
• Also before intervening, where possible, try to ask the victim if they’d like you to intervene. Simply asking if they are OK is often enough to establish this.
• Then, carefully attempt to support the victim, intervening in that situation on their behalf and challenging the negative behaviour you’ve noticed.
• After you intervene ask the victim if they’d like to exit the situation with you.

Any information that you provide will remain confidential.

However, if you or someone else is in immediate danger or at risk of serious harm we may need to tell someone else. We will inform you if this is the case during your call. 

Please also note that over time the 91AV may collate evidence of overall themes of bullying and harassment within our community, to further understand and tackle these issues. All of this information will be anonymised.