Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt last week launched a £1.8m scheme to stamp out bullying in the workplace.

Trade union Amicus will lead the project, working with employers to provide training on how they can avoid bullying incidents and tackle them if they arise.

It is believed to be the largest study ever into harassment at work. Half the project’s funding will come from the DTI’s Strategic Partnership Fund.

The project will also produce a benchmarking tool to enable firms to measure their success in stamping out office harassment.

Hewitt said: “We must tackle discrimination from the cradle to the grave. People’s lives should not be made a misery by bigots fuelled by hate and ignorance.”