What is bullying at work?

A bully is a person who deliberately intimidates or persecutes someone they work with.

• Bullying is defined by the Health and Safety Executive as: 'Prolonged conflict between individuals, including bullying or where staff are treated with contempt or indifference', (Employers' Guide to Stress at Work, HSE). This definition emphasises that bullying affects your health because it goes on for days, weeks, or even months.
• The independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) definition of bullying is often used in Employment Tribunal cases: 'Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, involving an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.' This definition concentrates on how bullies abuse their power relationship.