IrelandI'm being bullied at work. What legal protection exists?
Bullying at work is not directly illegal in Ireland, but if it relates to one of the nine protected grounds (like gender, disability, or race), it may amount to harassment under the Employment Equality Act 1998.
What the Law Says
The Employment Equality Act 1998 does not use the word 'bullying', but it prohibits harassment — including behaviour that creates a hostile, degrading, or offensive environment — when linked to any of the nine protected grounds.
Under Section 14A of the Employment Equality Act 1998, 'harassment' means unwanted conduct related to any of the nine grounds (such as gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, or membership of the Traveller community) that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
This includes verbal, non-verbal, physical or written conduct — for example, repeated insults, exclusion, undermining work, or threats — if connected to a protected ground.
Employers have a legal duty to prevent such harassment and to take reasonable steps to address complaints.
Statutory Textharassment means unwanted conduct related to any of the grounds referred to in section 6(2) which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person
— Employment Equality Act 1998, s. 14A — Definition of harassment
What to Do
Keep a clear, dated record of each incident (what happened, who was involved, witnesses, time/date)
Report the behaviour to your employer — check your company’s grievance or anti-harassment policy
If unresolved, you may make a formal complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) within 6 months of the last incident
Seek advice from a union representative, Citizens Information, or the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC)
Sources
Not legal advice. This article is general information based on publicly available sources, written for educational purposes. Laws change and individual situations vary. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before acting on anything you read here. Last reviewed: 2026-06-08.