National Bullying Helpline, help with bullying of all descriptions

Unlike any other bullying advice-line, The National Bullying Helpline provides 24/7, all year round, practical and timely support. During Bank Holiday's support is available. At any time of the day or night, even throughout the Christmas and New Year period, you can download both our FREE documentation and The Complete Guide (£10). Seasonal Wishes to you all !

Poor Conflict Management skills cost the UK £24 billion a year in lost working days.

Lack of both a) funding and b) resources, combined with c) high stress levels - results in a culture of bullying and discrimination in our view. Where there is interaction with the public also, bullying and harassment is prevalent in our experience and this is confirmed through the statistics we keep. The above combination of factors is found in just about every Public Sector establishment.

80% of the calls to our helpline are from the Public Sector (NHS, Education, Council's and Emergency Services). If you are responsible for personnel or for Training in one of these sectors, you should know about us and you should certainly understand how we can help you.

We are often asked what is bullying? Bullying is discrimination (less favourable treatment). Bullying is unreasonable behaviour directed at one person, or a group of people, which creates risk. The risk can be to an individual or an organisation but a bully is not necessarily the one who is held personally accountable by the Courts. This treatment does not have to be repeated, in our view, to be regarded as unacceptable conduct or malpractice. The Health & Safety Executive focuses on the employers Duty of Care but we must never underestimate the risk to the individual once distress turns to stress. The majority of people targeted by bullies, in our experience, are high achievers, or they excel in their field. They may simply have above average family responsibilities or religious or cultural requirements that differentiate them from others in the community or workplace. Those who bully fail to value or acknowledge the importance of flexibility and diversity. This 'failure' and inflexible manner may be permanent or momentary and can be for a variety of reasons. It is often dependent upon the bullies personal inability to manage or communicate but it may be due simply to pressure placed on them as an individual - combined with a reluctance to accept that they are the one with the problem.

We are a Charity set up to help eradicate Bullying in the Workplace and the Playground. Don't struggle, whether you are the bully or the bullied, we can help you. If you need specific advice and would like a copy of our £10 Complete Guide to Dispute Resolution to enable you to take the necessary actions yourself, see our Employee section and download the information, day or night, as you need it. This document contains sample letters and policies and is worth in excess of £300 - and may even save you from incurring legal costs during the initial phase. This guide includes a sample Grievance and Appeal letter and sample policies, so you can compare the statutory recommended policies with your own Company Policies! Your £10 will be put towards the Charity utility / running costs.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST : Since its inauguration this helpline has been funded by HR & Diversity Management Limited, an HR consultancy established by Christine and David Pratt, who also founded this helpline (Charity). The Consultancy does not profit from the helpline - quite the contrary! The Consultancy funds the helpline entirely. This is not a Government funded helpline. The processes between the Consultancy and the Charity are open and transparent and were vetted and approved by both Companies House and The Charities Commission when the Charity was founded. Furthermore, the Charity works closely with a number of Lexel Accredited Employment Law Solicitors who have also audited and approved processes in compliance with Law Society Regulations. Governing bodies and Associate Partners are satisfied that there is no conflict of interest as the relationship between the two operations are transparent and lawful. If you are concerned about conflict of interest, or do not understand the term, please contact our Trustees. There is a complaints procedure on this website. Write in with any concerns and our Trustee's will always respond.

We are not a Samaritans lookalike. We help people in distress in a practical, positive, timely, way and in some cases we will put callers in touch with professional service providers ; (solicitors, investigators, mediators etc). Where a fee changes hands this is declared up front. Everyone who calls the helpline is given 'open and transparent' choice - and advice and guidance to enable them to ascertain and understand both their legal options and/or statutory obligations.

TRIBUNALS: The average cost to an employer in defending a Tribunal claim is £15,000 to £20,000. Last year there were 189,000 Tribunal applications - up one third from 2006. During this period the average compensation awards were; £7,974 for unfair dismissal, £14,049 for race discrimination and £10,053 for sex discrimination. Equal pay claims are the most financially crippling according to Paul Lambdin of Stevens and Bolton. "They can become very technical because often you are comparing apples with pears". The same can be said for disability discrimination cases, where frequently expert advice is sought on whether an employer has made a reasonable adjustment to accommodate an employee, as required by law.

Personnel Today and Messrs Stevens & Bolton. 23 September 2008

PUBLIC SECTOR SICKNESS: Official figures show that workplace sickness in the Department for Work and Pensions cost £65.8 million in 2007-8 bringing the total cost to the Public Sector in the past three years to £228 million. These figures show that, on average, each of the DWP's 114,000 staff took 10.1 sick days last year, nearly double the private sector average of 5.8 days.

Mail on Sunday August 2008

NBH IS INVOLVED IN

National Programmes such as National Ban Bullying week and public newsworthy events, working closely with ACAS, the CIPD, CMI and our Government; BERR, and with the BBC and GMTV newsdesk on case studies and press releases

Local Programmes such as local competitions with Schools and Wiltshire Top 100 employers, local and annual marathons and fun-runs, The Swindon Half Marathon, local fund raising and Charity events.

Infotec. Hinton Newport. HR & Diversity Management Limited. Sainsbury's Stratton. Zurich. Masterclass. NASUWT. Thomson Directories. Morgan Crucible. Charles Lucas & Marshall Solicitors, Monahan's, BBC Wiltshire Sound, GWR, Brunel FM & Swindon 105.5 FM Community Radio and VAS Swindon.

We are still looking to work with a National Sponsor. Could that be your organisation?

Thanks for this, have just spent an enjoyable hour reading it! Fantastic job, you have managed to impart clarity into the veritable "forest" of paper. Your conclusions and recommendations are in my view absolutely accurate, and highlight the real need for management training. Best wishes and thanks for all your support. Satisfied Corporate Employer on receipt of an Investigation Report. May 2006.

ACAS, AMICUS, UNISON, TUC, The Army, BT, Capita, DfES, DLA, FSB, HSE, IiP, The Home Office, Welsh Assembly, Durham County Council, Cathedral School of St Mary's Plymouth, LEA's (nationally), GTC, The NHS (nationally), Nationwide, Royal Mail, The Fire Service, CEMEX Plc, Laura Ashley, Women's Aid, The Prison Service, Essex County Fire and Rescue, The NHS Mental Health SW1, Nottingham Play Forum, Central Swindon Medical Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Convergys Europe, APEX, Cadbury's, Laden Pre-School, Merton Timber Wales, Barnett, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust, Tesco, Somerfield, Cricklade Town Council, ASDA, Once Upon a Time Day Nursery, Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority, Motorola, Honda, Energis, Danesfield House Hotel and Spa, Grenville Technology, Zurich Finance, W H Smith, Rowan Foods Wrexham, Bruce Stephenson Limited, Hammersmith Primary Trust, Sara Shoemark Beauty Salon, NHS Oxford, OXFAM, YMCA, Three County Police Constabularies, The Samaritans, Virgin Mobile.

Help Stop Bullying Now

NBH IS INVOLVED IN