What can be done about bullying in the civil service?
Now considered a branch of law in its own right, moral harassment in the civil service is playing an increasingly important role.
This is illustrated, for example, by Law no. 2019-828 of 6 August 2019 on the transformation of the civil service, which includes a requirement for administrations to set up a system for reporting acts of violence, discrimination and harassment.
GOLDWIN works alongside its clients on all issues relating to moral harassment in the civil service, both in terms of public law and criminal law.
Whether you are a victim, the perpetrator or alleged perpetrator of such behaviour, or a local authority faced with such a situation in your departments, our lawyers will support you throughout your proceedings in order to defend your interests.
What constitutes moral harassment?
A number of conditions must be met for psychological harassment to be recognised:
- Repeated harassment
Harassment cannot be recognised in the case of isolated incidents.
- An intention to harm
The perpetrator must have malicious intent towards the employee.
Harassment may be perpetrated by a line manager, one or more colleagues or persons from outside the department.
- Prejudicial nature of the conduct
The harassment must result in a deterioration in the working conditions of the harassed employee that is likely to infringe the employee’s rights and dignity, affect his/her physical or mental health or jeopardise his/her professional future.
Are you a public servant who has been the victim of psychological harassment in the course of your duties?
Our firm can help you with your administrative and legal procedures in order to :
- put a stop to the harassment to which you are still being subjected ;
- obtain full compensation for the damage caused by the harassment you have suffered.
In general, our lawyers will work with you to ensure that you benefit from your rights, in particular the right to functional protection, which any employee who has been the victim of harassment is now entitled to claim, whether he or she is a civil servant or a non-permanent civil servant.
Public authorities are obliged to protect their employees against threats, violence, assault, insults, defamation or insults to which they may be subjected in the course of their duties.
While it has a certain amount of freedom in the implementation of functional protection, the administration is obliged to take all measures to prevent and remedy the situation of psychological harassment suffered by its employee.
Examples of measures covered by functional protection:
- administrative investigation ;
- support and prevention measures ;
- legal assistance and payment of legal costs;
- imposing sanctions on the perpetrator of the harassment;
- compensation for damage suffered.
To be granted functional protection, the employee must submit a reasoned written request to the administration within a reasonable period of time.
Are you a public servant who has committed or is alleged to have committed psychological harassment in the course of your duties?
GOLDWIN can help you with your administrative and legal procedures.
In administrative matters, our lawyers will advise you and represent you to assert your rights in the context of any disciplinary proceedings for acts or alleged acts of psychological harassment against another employee.
The firm also asserts the rights of the accused employee, in particular the right to functional protection.
The administration is obliged to grant this protection, unless it can prove the existence of personal misconduct on the part of the employee.
Functional protection allows employees accused of harassment to benefit from :
- legal protection to cover any civil penalties brought against them ;
- assistance during any criminal proceedings.
The employee must submit a written request to the administration within a reasonable period of time, giving the reasons for the request.
Our lawyers can also act on your behalf before the courts in contentious matters .
In contentious matters, we assist and represent you, in particular in order to :
- have any sanction that may have been unlawfully imposed annulled;
- obtain compensation for damages suffered.
Are you facing a situation of psychological harassment among your staff?
GOLDWIN can help you protect your interests and those of your employees.
The administration may be held liable if it is confronted with a situation of harassment between several of its employees within its own departments, even if it has not been informed of the context of harassment in which an employee found himself.
It must therefore implement appropriate and effective measures to prevent and remedy such behaviour.
In addition, it is obliged to grant functional protection to its employees, whether they are victims or perpetrators of psychological harassment.
Its liability will only be exonerated in part or in full if it can demonstrate that the harassing employee was personally at fault.
Our lawyers support local authorities in all their administrative andlitigation procedures.
