A union has stepped in to investigate reports of Bradford Council staff being bullied and harassed at work.

Public services union Unison says both Councillors and officers have been blamed for incidents.

And the union says there have been reports that people were frightened to tell management what had happened.

Now the union will send confidential questionnaires to its members in a bid to find if bullying is rife in Britain's fourth biggest metropolitan authority.

Alleged incidents include:

Staff being told they couldn't do their jobs and being undermined for long periods

People who have questioned management practices and staff shortages being undermined and humiliated

Unison's move follows a major survey by the Council to ascertain the level of stress suffered by its 23,000 staff from across the district.

The team from Sheffield University which carried out the survey concluded that about 6,000 people were suffering from stress.

The Council has set aside £10,000 for an action plan, likely to involve counselling and very early recognition of symptoms in staff.

Unison branch secretary Liz Devlin said bullying and harassment could be a main cause of stress.

She added: "There are enough anecdotes to lead to us taking up the concern."

The Council's deputy leader Councillor Ian Greenwood, who is dealing with the action plan, said he could not comment on reports of bullying.

He said: "I am somewhat surprised they are putting out a questionnaire without telling us."

But the leader of the Council's Tory group Councillor Margaret Eaton said she had heard similar allegations and was not surprised.

Leader of Bradford Council's Liberal Democrat group Councillor Jeanette Sunderland welcomed the union's decision to send out the questionnaire.

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