'Offensive territory' | Worrying rise in staff excusing bullying & discrimination as 'banter'

“Banter” has increasingly been invoked in employment tribunals as a justification for alleged discrimination and harassment, new research has revealed.

A study from employment law firm GQ|Littler found that the number of employment tribunals claims relating to ‘banter’ in the workplace saw a 45% increase, from 67 in 2020 to 97 in 2021.

But what one employee might claim is “banter” or simply harmless workplace humour might actually be bullying or harassment, particularly if someone is subjected to discriminatory jokes on the basis of race, gender, nationality or sexual identity.

Examples of cases where other cases in which employers have unsuccessfully tried to plead that bullying or harassment was merely “banter” include: