Is It Illegal for My Boss to Shout at Me?

It is one of the most common questions employment lawyers are asked.

A manager loses their temper. Voices are raised. An employee is spoken to aggressively, perhaps in front of colleagues. The employee goes home wondering whether what happened was merely unpleasant or whether it crossed a legal line.

The short answer is that shouting at an employee is not, by itself, unlawful.

The law does not require managers to be polite, calm or even reasonable at all times. Employment Tribunals are not concerned with ordinary workplace disagreements, personality clashes or occasional bad manners. An isolated incident of shouting, however regrettable, will rarely give rise to a legal claim.

That said, the position can be very different where shouting forms part of a wider pattern of behaviour.

An employee is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. Where a manager routinely humiliates staff, uses aggressive or intimidating language, singles out an employee for criticism, or creates an atmosphere of fear, the conduct may have legal consequences. The question is not usually whether a manager shouted on a particular day. The question is whether the employer's conduct, viewed as a whole, has become unacceptable.

In some cases, repeated shouting may amount to harassment. This is particularly so where the treatment is connected to a protected characteristic such as race, sex, disability, age, religion or sexual orientation. The Equality Act 2010 protects employees from conduct that violates their dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment. The fact that the conduct takes the form of shouting rather than physical behaviour makes no difference.

Even where discrimination is not involved, persistent aggressive treatment can still be legally significant. Every employment contract contains an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence. Put simply, employers must not behave in a manner likely to destroy the working relationship without proper cause. A sustained course of bullying, intimidation or public humiliation may amount to a breach of that duty.

Where the breach is sufficiently serious, an employee may be entitled to resign and bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal. Such claims are often complex and highly fact-sensitive. Employees should always obtain legal advice before resigning, as a resignation made at the wrong time can significantly affect the prospects of success.

There is also the human reality. Persistent shouting can have a profound effect on a person's wellbeing. Many employees who seek legal advice are not concerned about a single argument. They are concerned about months of anxiety, loss of confidence, stress and dread at the prospect of going to work. Those experiences should not be dismissed simply because no physical injury has occurred.

If you are being shouted at regularly, keep a careful record of what has happened. Make a note of dates, times, witnesses and the words used. Retain any emails or messages that may assist. If appropriate, raise a formal grievance. The strength of any potential claim will often depend on the evidence available.

The crucial point is this. The law does not prohibit every instance of bad behaviour at work. Equally, employers cannot shield themselves by saying that a manager was merely "short-tempered" or "under pressure". There comes a point at which aggressive conduct ceases to be management and becomes something more serious.

If you are experiencing repeated shouting, bullying, harassment or intimidation at work, it is sensible to obtain advice before matters deteriorate further.

At Hunter Lawyers, we offer a free case analysis for employees who believe they may have a claim.