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can exclusively reveal.
A recommendation to make employers responsible is con- tained in the report of the Expert Advisory Group on Workplace Bullying, which 1s due to be published by Clare Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Tony Kileen tomor- row (Wed).
Sources have revealed that the report will recommend that legislation be put in place, making Ireland one of the only countries in Europe to imple- ment such laws and causing a major headache for bosses.
It could pave the way for thousands of employees to take legal actions.
In the last study of bullying carried out here in 2001, it was revealed that 115,000 people in Ireland had suffered serious workplace bullying.
Deciphering the difference between bullying and legiti- mate management techniques could become a legal mine- field, with employees claiming bullying tactics and managers CP YAU OTSA Ooh Va DUcmmN LUCID AYA DOTA KO get the job done.
Ennis Chamber of Com- merce CEO, Triona MclIn- erney, said that drawing up legislation to make employers culpable will make life “very difficult for businesses. While the health and safety of em-
ployees is obviously a very important issue, legislation can be very sweeping and to what real benefit, it has to be asked.”
Ms McInerney said _ that before making anti-bullying laws, the Government should conduct a cost-benefit analy- Sk
“At the momment, industry and businesses are struggling to pay taxes, pay VAT, pay the bills, yet the increased costs on business seem to coming largely from Government im- posed measures. What needs to be asked is what would be the real cost of implementing this legislation and how could we make it work? There should be a clause which says that if employers do all they can to prevent bullying and deal with it when it happens, then they can’t be totally culpable.”
The expert advisory group on workplace bullying was established a year ago with terms of reference to advise and report to the Minister on the effectiveness of current measures to prevent work- place bullying, and to identify improved means of prevent- ing it. They were also asked to look at how to address the contribution made by bullying to the incidence of workplace stress.
The group was chaired by Mr Paul J Farrell, Partner at IBM’s Business Consulting Services.