Harassment meaning

Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA 1997), pursuing a course of conduct that amounts to harassment is a criminal offence; the Act also creates a civil wrong permitting claims for damages and supporting injunctions. Both the High Court and the county court may grant injunctions restraining harassment to protect individuals. Where a client cannot rely on Pt IV of the Family Law Act 1996 (FLA 1996) because eligibility criteria are not met, or where compensation is sought for anxiety caused by harassment and for any resulting financial loss, recourse may instead be available under the PHA 1997. Conversely, if the harasser and the victim are ‘associated persons’ as defined in FLA 1996, s 62(3), the FLA 1996 often provides broader and potentially more suitable remedies, particularly where occupation of the family home is in issue. Proceedings brought under the PHA 1997 are not treated as ‘family proceedings’, and applications are determined under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, SI 1998/3132 (CPR). Criteria The relevant statutory provisions are...

In this issue: Employment contract Horizon scanning Pensions Tax Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Data protection and employee information Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Employment resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Employment contract Supreme Court reinstates High Court injunction preventing Tesco from ‘firing and rehiring’ employees on less favourable terms. In Tesco Stores Ltd v Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) [2024] UKSC 28, the Supreme Court, unanimously and led by Lord Burrows and Lady Simler, upheld the High Court’s stance, reviving the injunction that bars Tesco from dismissing staff in order to strip them of a ‘permanent’ contractual entitlement to retained pay, then proposing re‑engagement without it. An implied term in the contracts curtailed Tesco’s ability to rely on dismissal rights for that end. Commentary on the ruling is provided by Neil Todd of Thompsons Solicitors; Jonathan Chamberlain and Connie Cliff of Gowling WLG; Philip Harman...

In this issue: Horizon scanning Status and worker categories Cross-border, international and jurisdictional issues Benefits Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) TUPE and asset purchases Bribery, modern slavery, tax evasion and fraud Employment Tribunals Immigration IRLR Highlights—January 2025 Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Employment resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Employment Highlights 2024/2025 Horizon scanning Employment Law—looking back at 2024 and ahead to 2025: The Lexis+® Employment team provide a concise overview of the standout employment law changes across 2024 and signpost what to watch in 2025, including movement on the Employment Rights Bill, the forthcoming employer duty to prevent sexual harassment, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, plus other impending legislation and significant cases. See News Analysis: Employment Law—looking back at 2024 and ahead to 2025. Status and worker categories MoD loses application to rehear army reservists pension bias case: In Milroy v...

In this issue: Brexit highlights Post-Brexit transition guidelines Brexit SIs Constitutional and administrative law Subsidy control and State Aid Judicial review Equality and human rights Other Public law news Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New and updated content Useful information Brexit highlights EAC sets out recommendations on future of UK-EU data adequacy The House of Lords European Affairs Committee (EAC) has issued a letter to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, summarising the principal conclusions and recommendations from its inquiry into UK‑EU data adequacy. It found that the loss of EU data adequacy in June 2025 would bring substantial costs and added administrative burdens for businesses and organisations, create obstacles to international trade and economic co‑operation, and detrimentally affect Northern Ireland under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the Windsor Framework Agreement. The EAC therefore advises that the government engage with...

The public sector equality duty (PSED) Set out in Part 11 of the Equality Act 2010 (ss 149–159), the public sector equality duty (PSED) comprises a general equality duty applying UK-wide to public bodies listed in Schedule 19 of the EqA 2010, alongside specific duties intended to support delivery of the general duty and enhance transparency. Although the general duty is identical across England, Wales and Scotland, the specific duties made under EqA 2010, s 153 vary. In Wales, listed public bodies must meet particular specific duties that sit alongside the UK-wide general duty. These specific duties bind listed Welsh bodies only. They do not extend to non-devolved public authorities operating in Wales. Under EqA 2010, s 149, the general duty requires public authorities and those exercising public functions to have 'due regard' to the need to: eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other behaviour prohibited by or under the EqA 2010 advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and...

This Practice Note provides an overview of the legal framework and practical context for whistleblowing under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). It offers high-level guidance for organisations and supports the drafting of your whistleblowing policy and procedures. It is not a handbook for managing whistleblowing claims, which is an employment law issue. What is whistleblowing? Whistleblowing refers to a worker disclosing information about wrongdoing (ie making a disclosure), usually—though not always—arising in the workplace. For whistleblowing protections to apply, the worker must reasonably believe they are acting in the public interest and that the disclosure points to past, current, or likely future wrongdoing within one or more of these categories: criminal offences (eg fraud) failure to meet a legal obligation miscarriages of justice risks to someone’s health and safety damage to the environment from 6 April 2026, sexual harassment concealment of wrongdoing in these categories Whistleblowing legislation is contained in the ERA 1996, as...

This Practice Note examines the legal framework governing a student’s relationship with their higher education provider in the context of discipline. It reviews the contractual position, its interface with public law, statutory obligations and criminal law. It also outlines categories of misconduct that may prompt disciplinary proceedings, and the factors to assess before any action is initiated. What power does a higher education institution have to discipline a student? Although a student’s dealings with their university are regulated by several areas of law, including: public law, including discrimination law (as set out in the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010)) statutory duties relating to freedom of speech on campus, human rights law data protection laws tort law, in respect of negligence claims, and property law concerning student accommodation the institution’s relationship with the student is predominantly contractual (Clark v University of Lincolnshire and Humberside). An institution’s authority to impose discipline therefore derives from that contract. See Practice Note: Higher...

1 Policy statement The Company is committed to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). By this we mean: equality: delivering fair treatment and equal opportunity for all employees, workers and job applicants, and eradicating unlawful discrimination; diversity: acknowledging, respecting and valuing the differences in our people’s protected characteristics, backgrounds, skills and experience, and encouraging gender, age and ethnic diversity, alongside diverse physical ability and neurodiversity across our workforce; inclusion: creating a fair, safe workplace for everyone that values difference and enables each person to be themselves, reach their potential and thrive at work. The Company will not unlawfully discriminate against any employee, worker or job applicant on the basis of any protected characteristic recognised by current legislation, namely: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage or civil partnership status; pregnancy and maternity; race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin); religion or belief; sex; or sexual orientation...

[ Insert in para 8.2 of claim form ET1: ] The Respondent engaged the Claimant as a [ job title ]. She was based at the Respondent’s premises at [ insert address ], where she was one of only three women employed. [ It was an implied term of the Claimant’s employment contract that the Respondent would not behave in a way calculated or likely to erode the mutual trust and confidence between employer and employee. ] The Claimant contends that the Respondent subjected her to [ a course of ] discrimination, sex-related harassment, harassment of a sexual nature, and victimisation, which encompassed discriminatory and constructive unfair dismissal. On or around [ insert date ], her colleague, [ insert name ], asked her to send him certain sales reports. She informed [ insert name ] that she was in the process of compiling the figures and would supply the full report after lunch. He replied, ‘No need to bite my head off. Is it that...

1 Purpose and scope of the procedure 1.1 A grievance is any concern, issue or complaint an employee brings to their employer. Such matters may involve, amongst other areas, terms and conditions of employment, health and safety, workplace relationships, new working practices, organisational changes, equal opportunities [ and bullying and harassment ]. [ If your grievance concerns discrimination, bullying, harassment [ or whistleblowing ] please refer to the [ discrimination AND/OR bullying and harassment AND/OR whistleblowing ] policies, which set out the procedure to follow in those circumstances and are available from [ specify contact ]. ] 1.2 We will endeavour to deal, as swiftly as possible, with any grievance you may have regarding your employment. This procedure is available to any employee who has a grievance about their employment and is the process you should use if you wish to raise a formal grievance. Where appropriate, you should first try to resolve the issue informally with the person to whom you directly report. If it cannot be...