Danger: UK at Work!

With the Lords ruling allowing employees to sue their bosses for negligence if they are subject to violence or harassment at work, IES questioned whether UK employers were facing a potential glut of litigation in the courts from distressed employees.

Our evidence showed that the UK had a very poor record in comparison to most core EU countries on violence and intimidation in the workplace, although it had cleaned up its act to a degree since the very violent 1990s.

The evidence also suggested that employers should act decisively, and now, to prevent a wave of court cases under the new legislation. If they fail to address these issues they are potentially open to litigation from upwards of four million UK workers.