Sabina Hellborg

Project summary

Liability for workplace bullying and harassment
Bullying and harassment are serious problems in the workplace. Such behaviour affects the working environment and requires action by the employer, often directed towards the person or persons responsible. Above all, bullying and harassment can have significant consequences for the individual employee affected, including psychological distress and financial loss. This raises questions about the legal remedies available to employees to bring such behaviour to an end and to obtain compensation for the harm they have suffered.

At present, there is no single, comprehensive legal framework governing workplace bullying and harassment. Instead, several different sets of rules apply, each addressing different parties and serving different purposes, while also interacting with one another. This gives rise to a wide range of legal questions. The aim of the project is to examine issues of liability relating to bullying and harassment in working life by analysing different aspects of the problem under the various applicable legal frameworks.

One overarching question concerns how the interests of the parties involved – the employer, the employee subjected to harassment and the employee responsible for the harassment – are taken into account and balanced in matters of labour law concerning reassignment, termination of employment and summary dismissal. The project also examines questions of compensation, including the individual employee’s ability to obtain compensation for losses arising as a result of workplace bullying.