WORKPLACE bullies may face the sack and their companies hefty fines if ministers implement recommendations made by an expert group.

The government’s taskforce on bullying will recommend that powerful new laws be introduced to tackle victimisation and stress at work. It has concluded that bullying is on the increase, adversely affecting workers’ health and company productivity.

Set up nine months ago, the expert group calls on the government to give the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) power to hear intimidation complaints and impose sanctions where necessary. At the moment, bullying claims are handled mostly by companies, and workers who are not satisfied with in-house investigations must take their case to court or sue for constructive dismissal in the employment appeals tribunal. Under the new system, they could file a complaint with the LRC which would investigate it and make a ruling. That could be appealed in the Labour court and the verdicts of both bodies would be enforced by the courts.

While the report does not outline specific sanctions, the fact that it calls for new laws means the government would be likely to set guidelines for punishments, a senior political source indicated.

Professor Mona O’Moore, of the anti-bullying centre at Trinity College Dublin, is a member of the expert group. “Legislation is all important,” she said. “Any recommendation that comes from an authority should be legally enforceable . . . that has been the problem to date. We all tend to respond when there are consequences, and, if there are not, there is a risk that people may not take the appropriate action.”

Research published by O’Moore in 2000 found that nearly one in four workers (23%) had been bullied at least once in the previous year. Seven per cent of those surveyed had been victimised on an ongoing basis during the previous 12 months.

The group’s report, seen by The Sunday Times, concluded that no clear mechanism existed for dealing with bullying. “This is at the heart of the problem of treating workplace bullying primarily as the responsibility of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA),” the report states.

At the moment, workers who have been bullied have to sue their bosses for stress and injury to their health in court. That process can prove traumatic and costly, a deterrent to many of those who have suffered at the hands of employers.There is no state agency that will hear cases while an individual is still working for their employer.

The report will recommend: oWorkplace health and safety statements must address the risk of bullying and include policy for dealing with it. HSA will police this. oThe victim and the alleged bully can reject mediation in the workplace, and can reject the outcome of any subsequent internal investigation. oComplaints not fully resolved by internal mediation or investigation will go to the LRC. oLabour Court or the Employment Appeals Tribunal will be the court of appeal.

Tony Killeen, labour affairs minister, said he was expecting the expert group’s report on bullying within the next few weeks. “I will publish it when I receive it and I will make proposals to government based on its recommendations,” he said.

The 16-strong expert advisory group on workplace bullying, chaired by Paul J Farrell of IBM Ireland, included trade unionists, employers, human resources managers, academics and lawyers.

It is understood differences emerged among some groups represented on the committee — trade unions favoured the Employment Appeals Tribunal over the Labour Court as the avenue for appeal from the LRC. And the employers’ group Ibec was not in favour of third-party rulings on complaints being legally enforceable. Brendan McGinty, a director of Ibec, said the body was concerned that efforts to manage poor performance by individuals could be misinterpreted as bullying.

“Any proposal must ensure that internal resolution procedures are exhausted before referral to a third party,” he said.

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