Record or report an incident of bullying, harassment or discrimination
Use Talk to Spot to record it, anonymously if preferred.
Record it: Talk to Spot will let you make a record of exactly what happened, who did it, who saw it, where it happened and when. It's simple to use and when you've entered the information, it will add a date to the record of the incident. No one else will see it, it belongs only to the person who created the record.
Report it: If you deem it necessary, you can use the record to support a complaint about the incident. A complaint can go to your chambers, employer and/or regulator. In the case of criminal behaviour, the record can be used to help report an incident to the police. If permission is given, the record can be sent by Talk to Spot to our Equality and Diversity team to help us understand what is occurring and how we can provide support.
Find out more about Talk to Spot.
Recognise bullying behaviour
- Wellbeing at the Bar: what is bullying and what is harassment. More information on how to identify what you're experiencing working with other barristers.
- ACAS website: understanding the type of treatment you're experiencing.
Report what you see
If you have witnessed an incident or inappropriate behaviour, or someone has disclosed something to you, you can also make a record as a witness. Make an anonymous record on Talk to Spot as a witness or third party to an incident, or speak to our Equality and Diversity team helpline. Even if you don’t want to raise a complaint, you can still help the Bar Council to understand of the types of inappropriate behaviour barristers face.
The All Rise project
All Rise is a project inviting the Bar to step up and actively create a better culture for all barristers. It aims to encourage barristers across all practice areas and levels of call to be ‘active bystanders’ – speaking out and standing against abusive, bullying and belittling behaviour.
Find out more about All Rise and how to get involved
What the Bar Council is doing
We recognise that we need to work together across the profession, with solicitors and the judiciary, to bring about change.
Independent review of bullying and harassment at the Bar
In December 2023 we committed to addressing inappropriate and abusive behaviour by commissioning an independent review to consider and identify solutions, specifically to identify prevention and mitigating strategies. The Rt Hon Harriet Harman KC was appointed to chair the review in June 2024. The review will report in June 2025.
Definitions
The Bar Council agrees with the definition of bullying from ACAS as “…offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate, or injure the recipient”.
Harassment is a technical term defined in the Equality Act 2010 (section 26) as being “…unwanted conduct, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.”
Sexual harassment is defined as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. It also includes situations in which an individual is treated less favourably because they have rejected sexual conduct or submitted to it.” (Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010)
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