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Mobbing at work
“Mobbing at work”, legal explanation:
1- the meaning of “mobbing” in jurisprudence;
2- the meaning of “psychological violence” and other harassing practices, such as ” straining”;
3- what can be done in case of mobbing.
Significance of mobbing
According to court practice, mobbing is “frequent harassment, illegal or even in some cases legal in nature, which is systematically and continuously carried out against an employee with intentions to tease a person, which is harmful to the health or personality of the employee; etiological connection between the behavior of the employer or the head of the hierarchical structure and prejudice regarding the psychophysical integrity of the employee with the presence of a subjective element, with the aim of prosecution “(Decision of the Court of Cassation n. 22393/2012).
To better understand the definition of the Supreme Court, it is necessary to analyze the definition by highlighting the elements that characterize mobbing:
1) Working environment
Mobbing should take place at the workplace;
2) Frequency
Hostile actions must occur frequently, at least several times a month. There are some exceptions.
3) Duration
The conflict must last for a considerable period of time, at least for six months. There are some exceptions.
4) Types of actions
Undertaken actions must be at least two of the following:
- attacks on human factors, for example, through unjustified criticism and reproaches, gestures and insinuations with a negative meaning, threats, limitation of expressive abilities and freedom of thought;
- systematic isolation, for example, refusal of information related to work or manipulation of it, prohibition of employees to talk to the employee or placing the employee in an isolated space;
- change of work, for example, ordering of humiliating, meaningless tasks;
- Affecting reputation, such as defamation, insult, abuse, malicious or abusive language;
- violence and threats of violence, for example, sexual harassment, threats of physical violence, order of tasks harmful to health, also in relation to disability.
5) Position difference
The victim must be in a constant position of inferiority towards the aggressor.
6) Different stages
Mobbing is characterized by evolutionary stages.
To qualify the situation as “mobbing”, at least two of these steps must be present:
- target conflict;
- the beginning of mobbing;
- early psychosomatic symptoms;
- errors and abuses of personnel administration;
- serious deterioration of the psychophysical state of the victim;
- exclusion from the world of work.
7) Persecutory intent
Attacks have an emotional character and a negative goal: the conflicting goal is to harm the victim
Meaning harassment and other persecutory practices: Straining
Psychological violence at work is not only bullying, but there are other phenomena, such as “Straining“.
The “Straining” is represented by one or more oppressive behaviors that do not integrate the requirements of mobbing, but which are considered by law to be illegitimate and condemned through damages.
Click here to learn more about “Straining” on the example of the decision on a concrete case.
Mobbing what to do?
Protection from “mobbing” has constitutional roots: article 32 recognizes the fundamental right for health and article 41 prohibits the carrying out of individual actions that can damage security, freedom and human dignity.
Constitutional protection is applied in civil and criminal cases.
First of all, article 2087 of the Italian Civil Code requires the work giver to take all suitable measures to protect the physical integrity and moral personality of the workers.
For this reason the Employer who allows, or what worse, stimulates, “Mobbing” will have to compensate the damage caused to the Worker.
The individual harassments can also configure illegitimate individual acts (such as unjustified or disproportionate disciplinary sanctions) and, therefore, be challenged individually.
As the second, from a criminal point of view, “mobbing” can constitute a crime.
In our Law, “Mobbing” does not exist as an autonomous crime action, but the jurisprudence has led the case to the crime of personal injury ex art. 590 of the criminal code
If you want to know more about the mobbing penal protection, click here to read a sentence of the Court of Cassation.
If you need further information, do not hesitate to contact the Bonato law firm.
