Workplace Bullying in the NTPS

Bullying is NOT acceptable – anyone, anytime, anywhere

Bullying can occur whenever people work together. Under certain conditions, most people are capable of bullying. Bullying is not always intentional, sometimes people do not realise that their behaviour can be harmful to others.

In the NTPS workplace bullying is defined:

Workplace bullying is the less-favourable treatment of an employee by one or more employees, which harms, intimidates, threatens, victimises, undermines, offends, degrades, ridicules, insults or humiliates an employee or employees, whether in front of co-workers, clients, visitors, customers or alone.

Workplace bullying is a form of harassment. It constitutes repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards an employee or employees in the course of employment. One-off incidents are also unacceptable. Unless addressed, they can develop into a pattern of repeated bullying.

Workplace bullying is unreasonable and inappropriate workplace activity that may create risk to health and safety. Bullying behaviour undermines an individual’s right to respect and dignity at work.

Workplace bullying can be direct or indirect, verbal, physical or otherwise. It can occur within the workplace, among managers, supervisors and workers; or between employees; but it also takes place externally, between workers, staff, clients, suppliers and the general public.

Common forms of bullying behaviour

Bullying behaviour may include, but is not limited to:

intimidation;
isolating a person from others;
withholding information that someone needs to perform effectively;
shouting/ teasing/ sarcasm;
spreading malicious gossip;
sabotaging someone’s work;
taking credit for someone’s work;
threats of violence or physical abuse;
assigning meaningless tasks unrelated to the job;
inappropriate comments about personal appearance;
unrealistic, embarrassing or degrading work demands;
constant criticisms;
sending abusive / rude electronic messages (e.g. sms text messages, e-mail);and
racist, sexist, religious or impairment denigration Initiation practices.

Bullying does not include:

occasional differences of opinion and non-aggressive conflicts and problems in working relations; and
workplace counselling, managing poor performance and other actions in accordance with the Public Sector Employment and Management Act.

All employees are expected to behave in a professional manner and all employees are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect by their colleagues, superiors and clients. The NTPS does not accept workplace bullying and will not tolerate such behaviour under any circumstance. Managers and supervisors have a responsibility to ensure employees are not bullied.