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Harassment is an unfortunate by product of the society that we live in and is frequently encountered by us in the course of every day life. This may typically be found in work situations, but it need not be confined to this, and many of us are, unfortunately, deliberately harassed in our social and domestic lives.

Notably, it is possible to recover damages for harassment that is received in all of these situations without the need to have suffered any injury as a result.

The usual requirements for an action for harassment to succeed are that the victim must have been the recipient of conduct which;-

Is targeted at the person who receives that conduct;

Occurs on at least two occasions;

Is objectively calculated to cause the victim distress; and,

Is objectively considered to be oppressive and unreasonable.

It is enough simply to have suffered anxiety as a result of this behaviour for this to constitute harassment and for damages to be awarded or agreed to compensate for any distress and financial losses incurred.

Typically, awards can be made in a range from '500 up to '25,000, although these are by no means the only sums that can be awarded.

It is not necessary, as with most personal injury claims, for your claim to be commenced within three years of sustaining the injury. Claims under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997 must usually be commenced within six years of the harassment being received. This is particularly important in circumstances where the victim has not been confident enough to bring the claim in the immediate period after the harassment has been received.

The Protection From Harassment Act 1997 was recently applied to civil claims for harassment in the workplace. It is not just employees who are protected, but anyone, such as a customer or supplier, even a client.

Closer interpretation has led to the law being applied to situations outside the workplace, with a recent decision awarding a Claimant an overall sum of '35,000 as a result of the utter misery that she incurred through being bullied by her mother in law over a period of four months.

Bullying and harassment are not situations which must be endured silently, or only stopped through criminal proceedings or when injury has been sustained. The law is changing and protection exists through your right to compensation in the civil courts.