Workplace Bullying Statistics UK: 2026 Facts, Data & Key Insights

Workplace bullying is one of the most widespread and damaging problems in the modern British workforce — yet it remains deeply underreported, poorly managed, and frequently dismissed by the organisations it occurs in. This guide brings together the most current UK data from CIPD, the HSE, BMC Public Health, and occupational health research to provide the most comprehensive picture of workplace bullying and its mental health consequences available in one place.

Key Facts

• Almost 1 in 4 UK workers (25%) experienced conflict or abuse at work in the last 12 months (CIPD, 2024)
• 15% of workers have experienced bullying in the last three years
• 4% of workers have been sexually harassed at work; 8% have experienced other forms of harassment
• 81% of employers believe they are doing enough to tackle bullying and harassment — yet only 36% of affected employees feel the matter was fully resolved
• 40% of bullying cases are caused by a line manager or supervisor
• 53% of people who experienced bullying in the last three years did not report the most recent incident
• 24% of employees believe challenging issues like bullying are swept under the carpet in their organisation
• 1 in 10 workers report being bullied or harassed via email, social media, phone, or text
• Workers who experience bullying report elevated rates of stress, anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitations, and suicidal thoughts (CIPD qualitative research)
• A 2024 BMC Public Health study found workplace bullying victims are significantly more likely to have a diagnosable common mental disorder
• A new legal duty requiring employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment came into force in October 2024, with compensation uplifts of up to 25% for failure to comply
• The government announced a ban on NDAs to cover up workplace misconduct in July 2025

How Widespread Is Workplace Bullying in the UK?

CIPD's 2024 report — based on data from over 2,000 employers and 5,000 employees — is the most authoritative recent source on the scale of workplace bullying in the UK. Its findings reveal a significant and persistent problem that affects millions of workers across every sector.

A quarter of the UK workforce has experienced conflict or abuse in the workplace in the past 12 months. When broken down by type, 15% reported bullying, 8% reported other forms of harassment, and 4% reported sexual harassment. These figures have remained broadly consistent across multiple waves of CIPD research, suggesting that despite increasing awareness and legislative change, the underlying culture in many workplaces has not fundamentally shifted.

The behaviour most commonly associated with bullying includes being undermined or humiliated in the job, receiving persistent unwarranted criticism, and being subjected to unwanted personal remarks. One in ten workers reported being bullied or harassed through digital channels — email, social media, or messaging apps — reflecting the growing overlap between cyberbullying and workplace conduct.

Who Is Responsible for Bullying at Work?

The data on perpetrators is one of the most concerning aspects of the UK workplace bullying picture. In 40% of cases, the person responsible for bullying was the employee's own line manager. A further 34% reported it came from other colleagues, and one in five said it came from a senior manager or chief executive.

This concentration of bullying behaviour in management — particularly at the line manager level — has significant implications. Managers who bully typically do so because they face few consequences: either because the culture tolerates it, because reporting mechanisms are inadequate, or because upward feedback systems are absent or performative. CIPD research consistently shows that 34% of employers identify lack of management confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour as a top barrier to effective conflict resolution.

The pattern also means that conventional reporting structures — where an employee is expected to raise a concern with their manager — fail entirely when the manager is the problem. Over half (53%) of those bullied did not report the most recent incident, citing fear of not being believed, fear of retaliation, and the expectation that nothing would change.

The Mental Health Impact of Workplace Bullying

The mental health consequences of sustained workplace bullying are well documented and severe. A 2024 study published in BMC Public Health — drawing on the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey — found that workers who had experienced workplace bullying or harassment were significantly more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for a common mental disorder, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors.

CIPD's own qualitative research found that workers who experience bullying commonly report stress, anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitations, and in some cases suicidal thoughts. These findings connect directly to the broader picture shown in our workplace mental health statistics guide: work-related stress, depression and anxiety now account for 52% of all work-related ill health in Great Britain, resulting in 22.1 million lost working days in 2024/25 (HSE, 2025). Bullying and harassment are explicitly identified by HSE as contributing causes.

The wider consequences extend beyond the individual. Teams with a bullying culture show measurable reductions in productivity, creativity, and retention. Organisations that fail to address bullying face higher sickness absence, higher staff turnover, and increasing exposure to employment tribunal risk.

Workplace Bullying and the Law

Workplace bullying does not have its own specific legislation in the UK — there is no single "anti-bullying law" equivalent to those in some other jurisdictions. However, multiple legal frameworks protect employees:

The Equality Act 2010 defines harassment as unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic — including sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, and religion — that violates a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. See our workplace harassment statistics guide for the full legal picture.

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which came into force in October 2024, introduced a new proactive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment before it occurs. Employment tribunals can now award up to 25% additional compensation where an employer has failed in this duty. This is one of the most significant legislative developments in workplace conduct in years.

In July 2025, the government announced legislation banning the use of non-disclosure agreements to cover up workplace harassment, discrimination, and bullying — a reform welcomed by campaigners who argued that NDAs had long allowed serial abusers to move between organisations undetected.

From September 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority will require around 37,000 regulated firms to report serious non-financial misconduct including bullying and harassment.

Which Sectors Have the Highest Rates?

CIPD data does not consistently publish sector-by-sector breakdown of bullying rates, but wider occupational research and HSE data point to several high-risk industries. The sectors with the highest reported rates of work-related stress and conflict — which closely track bullying exposure — include healthcare (see our NHS staff mental health guide), education (see our teacher mental health guide), and public administration and defence.

These sectors share common risk factors: hierarchical structures, high workloads, emotional demands, and often a culture of stoicism that discourages reporting. The construction industry presents a different but equally serious profile: a predominantly male workforce, strong norms around toughness, and very limited formal HR infrastructure in smaller firms.

Prevention and Training

CIPD research consistently shows that manager training is the single most effective prevention tool. Managers who have received training in conflict resolution, inclusive leadership, and mental health awareness are significantly better at spotting early signs of bullying, intervening appropriately, and fostering team cultures where inappropriate behaviour is not tolerated.

Our Mental Health First Aid courses equip managers and employees with the skills to build psychologically safe workplaces, have difficult conversations early, and respond effectively when concerns are raised.

Sources

• CIPD. How employers are tackling bullying and harassment at work (2024).
• CIPD. Bullying and harassment (CIPD viewpoint).
• CIPD. Quarter of employees believe bullying and harassment are overlooked (press release).
• Bunce, A. et al. Prevalence and nature of workplace bullying and harassment and associations with mental health conditions in England. BMC Public Health (2024).
• Health and Safety Executive. Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2025.
• HRInspire. Workplace bullying and harassment: latest UK laws, statistics (August 2025).
• UK Government. Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023

Written by Mental Health Experts. This guide was produced by the team at Mental Health First Aid Course. We publish data resources like this one to help employers, HR professionals, and safety managers understand the true scale of workplace bullying and its mental health consequences.