Why I had to quit when bullying charity went public over Downing Street claim

Prominent figures on both sides of the divide were quick to come

forward, with Conservative leader David Cameron calling for an inquiry into allegations of bullying in Downing Street, saying he was sure that Number 10 and the civil service would want to "get to the bottom" of such a serious matter. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson hit back claiming the allegations were unfounded and part of a "political

operation" to undermine the Prime Minister.

The storm may well have abated had it not been for Christine Pratt, founder of the National Bullying Helpline, who disclosed that the charity had received "three or four" calls from those working close to the Prime Minister. Her intervention appeared to give credence to unsubstantiated rumours that have been circulating at Westminster for months.

However, as the row escalated, she found her own position under

scrutiny when one of the patrons of her helpline resigned in protest. Professor Cary Cooper stepped down from his position after describing Mrs Pratt's actions in naming an employer as "completely

inappropriate", warning that they could leave callers open to identification. The charity's boss defended her stance, saying the issue was not about confidentiality, but was to do with the denials coming out of Downing Street and what she called the lack of "due process" being followed by officials at Number 10.

But Prof Cooper, who holds the chair of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, says one of the most important things for any counselling service to retain was the confidentiality of the people calling up.

"A confidential helpline, or service like this is supposed to help people who are being bullied in the workplace, it's all about confidentiality. You can't release their name or the employer's name because it could identify the individual, and that's not the contract between the helpline service and the user.

"They have a psychological contract that is completely confidential and breaching that could lead to someone losing their job, or being intimidated and you just don't do that. I am involved in a range of charities, none of whom do that kind of thing. It is not the way you behave."

Prof Cooper initially resigned on Sunday but Mrs Pratt asked him to "sleep on it". He agreed, but his mind was made up.

"It's an issue of confidentiality and that's been totally ditched and that's the reason why I resigned," he explains. "Even though the names may not be revealed, particularly with something like bullying, confidentiality is crucial to the trust that exists the moment someone calls a helpline. They might have issues about job security, or they might be worried that making a complaint about being bullied could end up on their HR record. They turn to helplines for advice about what their legal rights are and how to approach the issue at work, so the minute you name the employer you breach that trust."

Prof Cooper, an expert on workplace stress and the author of several books on the subject, believes counselling services have a clearly defined role.

"Helplines like this are there to provide advice and support, it's not their job to name and shame employers and that line was crossed. A helpline is not an anti-bullying campaign – that is a different kettle of fish."

It's eight years since the last major UK report was carried out into bullying at work, although last November a Unison study claimed it had doubled since 1997.

In a survey of 7,000 workers', more than a third said they had

experienced bullying in the previous six months, with rudeness, intimidation and excessive workloads among the main complaints.

About 80 per cent of victims said bullying affected their physical and mental health and one in three admitted they took time off work, or left their jobs as a result.

All of those questioned said they thought bullying was embedded in the workplace.

Prof Cooper defines bullying as the "persistent harassing, demeaning and devaluing" of somebody and says the latest evidence suggests that as many as one in 10 people suffer from bullying in the workplace today. "It can be carried out by a manager against a subordinate, or the other way round, or between colleagues."

He fears that it's getting worse at the moment because of the economic downturn. "People are feeling greater job insecurity, managers are under more stress because they have fewer staff to share the workload and that can lead to a more abrasive management style." This then has a knock-on effect on the victims who are less likely to report bullying for fear that it could put their jobs in jeopardy, which means they often suffer in silence.

Prof Cooper believes it's time that bullying in the workplace was

tackled properly rather than turned into a game of political point scoring.

"The issue is still there and it's more prominent than ever. We need to take bullying seriously and not turn it into a political issue, which sadly is what we've seen happen."

BULLYING: WHEN WORK BECOMEs A NIGHTMARE

Q: What constitutes bullying at work?

A: According to Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), bullying can mean offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour. It can also be an abuse or misuse of power, intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure an individual.

Q: What sort of behaviour can that include?

A: Spreading malicious rumours, insulting someone by word or behaviour, copying memos that are critical about someone to others, ridiculing or demeaning someone, setting them up to fail and overbearing supervision may all constitute bullying, according to Acas.

Behaviour classed as bullying may also include making threats or

comments about job security without foundation, deliberately undermining a competent worker by overloading and preventing individuals progressing by intentionally blocking promotion or training opportunities.

Acas stresses that bullying does not have to be face to face, it can occur in written communications, by email, by phone, or even in behaviour like automatically recording a worker's downtime if it does not apply to all workers.

Q: What effect can bullying have on the victim?

A: They may feel anxious, humiliated, angry and frustrated at being unable to cope. Some may try to retaliate, others become frightened and demotivated.

Q: What should someone do if they think they are a victim of bullying?

A: Acas advises anyone who is not sure whether their treatment is acceptable to consider if there is a change of management or organisational style to which they need time to adjust. It suggests talking over any worries with the personnel manager, line manager, union representative or colleagues and consulting the organisation's guide on expected standards of behaviour.

Q: What can I do if my employer does nothing to stop the bullying?

A: Employers are responsible for preventing bullying in the workplace and have a duty of care to their employees. If that trust is broken, an employee can resign and claim constructive dismissal on the grounds of breach of contract if they have worked there for at least 12 months.

While it is not possible to make a direct complaint to an employment tribunal about bullying, it may be possible to bring a complaint under laws covering discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sex, race, ethnic or national origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age.