National Bullying Helpline, help with bullying of all descriptions

The work that Tim Field and Christine Pratt started in the mid-1990’s to combat bullying, spanning a decade, was intrinsically and explicitly linked. Presently, the website bullyonline.org, written by Tim Field, is neither hosted by Christine nor by her HR Consultancy; HR & Diversity Management Ltd. However, bullyonline.org was hosted and left untouched by Christine and David Pratt for a period of three years following Tim’s untimely death in 2006.

Tim’s good work should never be destroyed nor re-written as it is regarded as somewhat of an international treasure – attracting interest outside the UK from Australia, New Zealand, America and other countries. Written ‘simply years ahead of it’s time’ bullyonline.org has become Tim’s epitaph and will never fail to serve its original and brilliant purpose. It is presently hosted, and periodically altered, by a group of unknown individuals who call themselves The Tim Field Foundation.

During the late 1990’s Christine and Tim worked on Tim’s website content together. Personnel articles, statistics and Case Law on bullyonline.org were provided by Christine between 1996 and 2005. Christine also assisted Tim with his book Bully In Site, acknowledged by Tim. In August 2003 Tim and Christine established the original Field Foundation (not to be confused with the present Tim Field Foundation), along with Susan Little and Meg Clarke. None of the above are members of the present foundation. In January 2005 Tim became a non-executive Director of HR & Diversity Management Limited and on 16th January 2005, delighted at the prospect of formally working closer with Christine, Tim sent an email to her containing the following statement which he subsequently placed on his website.

Tim Field, Non-Executive Director
Tim is a Non-Executive Director of HR & Diversity Management and is the founder of the first UK National Helpline for targets of bullying. He is the creator and webmaster of Bully OnLine at www.bullyonline.org, the world's largest Internet resource on workplace bullying and related issues. Tim has been awarded two honorary doctorates for his pioneering work on identifying and addressing bullying. He has extensive experience of in-house training and public seminars for employees, employers and trade unions. He is the author of the book "Bully in Sight" and has worked as a consultant to the BBC on a number of programmes highlighting bullying. Tim Field and Christine Pratt are founder members of The Field Foundation, a non-profit organisation established to carry on Tim's pioneering work with the aim of bringing about a bully-free world.

Tim’s statement above, along with all reference to HR & Diversity Management Limited and the work that Tim and Christine achieved together, has been deleted from bullyonline!

At the end of April 2005 Tim informed Christine that he felt emotionally exhausted. Tim (an avid Treki ) was worried about his future. Having endured divorce and workplace bullying, he was struggling to fund bullyonline and he was going through a particularly traumatic court case involving the Trade Unions. Tim was struggling. Christine emailed Tim on Tuesday 3rd May 2005 and enquired after his health. He responded.

Bearing up - I think I'm in need of HRT (technically it's called andropause), so I'm taking a bit of a break at the moment. Had a great day on Saturday - attended an Angel Therapy workshop in London led by Doreen Virtue (www.angeltherapy.com).
Fancy a get-together sometime?
All the best,
Tim

It goes without saying, Tim and Christine were extremely close friends. In fact it was Christine who Tim turned to on Friday 4th October 2005 when he first felt unwell. The only food Christine could persuade Tim to eat that weekend was a small bowl of rice and some sweet-n-sour sauce. (Tim and his wife were estranged at that time). Tim was taken into hospital on Monday and had emergency surgery on Tuesday. On Wednesday 9th October 2005 Tim’s Consultant approached his bedside and informed him that he was terminally ill. Christine was present. Tim smiled and turned to the Consultant saying; “I’m not going anywhere just yet, I have at least three more books left in me to write”. Unfortunately, Tim was far too ill to complete his good work. When Tim was well enough to leave hospital, Christine and her husband nursed him at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire. A few weeks later, realising that time was of the essence, Christine helped Tim reconcile with his ex-wife in order that he could be transferred to Rowtensall to spend Christmas, New Year 2006 and his final days with his children. During this period, Tim handed Christine an envelope containing the passwords to bullyonline. He entrusted his website into her care. Christine felt it appropriate to pass that envelope to the Field family, who subsequently passed it on to a third party. None of this, nor the personal or professional relationship between Tim, Christine and David, is acknowledged by those who manage bullyonline today.

In January 2006 The Guardian wrote; 'Field believed that bullying was the single most important social issue of today, and that its study provided an opportunity to understand the behaviours which underlie almost all conflict and violence. His work inspired and influenced international anti-bullying organisations, while his personal energy, commitment and knowledge restored sanity and saved lives'.

In April 2007 The National Bullying Helpline charity was launched at The House of Commons, in Tim’s memory. Tim’s family fully endorsed the charity launch and attended the event. Sadly, largely due to the recession and lack of funding, the helpline call-centre ceased to operate as a charity in January 2011.

In order to continue the good work that Tim and Christine started, this website will remain in tact. It will be updated periodically and over a period of time may even become known as The National Bullying Helpsite - a not for profit organisation. Tim's children will always be welcome to look at unpublished works, letters, emails, post-cards, letters and other correspondence between their father and Christine and David Pratt. These memoires will give them a 'true insight' into their father’s life; his interests, his own plans for the future (which included them) and his dedication and commitment to his anti-bullying work during the last ten years of his life.

Thank you Tim for sharing your insight and for providing unconditional support to simply thousands of people all around the world. Rest In Peace.

The Rt Hon DAVID CAMERON MP: "Stamping out bullying in the workplace and elsewhere is a vital objective. Not only can bullying make people's lives a misery, but it harms business and wider society too. So I congratulate the National Bullying Helpline for its efforts to give practical support to those being bullied, and to make bullying a thing of the past". (NB David Cameron wrote this for us before he became PM. We are extremely grateful to him for his ongoing support of our work).

MOVING FORWARD - 2011

Our 'duty of confidentiality' is, and always has been, to our clients. We never have, nor ever will, release your details to a third party. That said, the general public have a legitimate expectation .. from time to time they reasonably expect us, as an anti-bullying organisation, to 'speak out' to further our cause in the interests of best practice and to campaign for a stress-free, bully-free, world. This is what we do. This does not mean to say that The National Bullying Helpline ever will, or ever has, breached client confidentiality. Our Mission is to continue to work towards eradicating anti-social behaviour in all corners of our society and occasionally that involves campaigning, speaking out and raising awareness.

Following inaccurate media reporting and public speculation in February 2010 it was 'implied' that we had breached both client confidentiality and data protection guidelines. This was not the case in fact. The Information Commissioners Office (The ICO) subsequently exonerated us of any such breach. We simply did not disclose personal names, personal details or facts relating to historic calls to our helpline - either to the Press or to any third party. We accused no one of being a bully and we placed no one at risk in any way.

The purpose of our media intervention in 2010 was to point out the importance of 'due process' as set out in the ACAS Code of Practice and to encourage employers to investigate matters thoroughly rather than make assumptions or (worse) make a public statement of denial. Employees, UK wide, should feel able to raise contentious matters in the workplace without fear of repercussion. In an ideal world there would be no need for an anti-bullying helpline.

The media storm of 2010 led to a significant increase in calls to our helpline which we were unable to service. This was due to both lack of funds and resources. This was most unfortunate because it became immediately apparent that there was an urgent need for a UK wide bullying helpline. That said, having provided a free telephone bullying helpline service for several years and finding that we continued to work in extremely stressful circumstances with no funding, we decided to close our telephone helpline down (see Trustee Statement below).

We are no longer a Charity. However, this website remains 'your' National Bullying Helpsite.

If you are struggling with a bullying, harassment, cyber-crime or anti-social behaviour issue today, we hope this Helpsite will enable you to identify solutions and remedies along with practical, affordable, professional support.

See useful contacts below.

TRUSTEE STATEMENT : January 2011

Trustees of The National Bullying Helpline Charity decided with regret at a meeting held on January 4, 2011, to discontinue the helpline service with immediate effect and take steps to close the Charity down.

The National Bullying Helpline is no longer a Charity.

The Charity, founded in 2007, provided an invaluable free service to the public. In 2010 calls to the Charity trebled but the decision to close comes because of a lack of funding and the resignation of our founder and Chief Executive. Increased workload and trying to secure funding for the Charity had taken its toll on the CEO’s health over the last year. The Charity Commission is being informed. Volunteers at the offices in Swindon have been told that the helpline will no longer operate.

A statement from the Trustees said: “This last year, calls to our helpline have trebled and we have had to take on additional Volunteers and resources to meet demand. Without doubt, this demonstrates that a free anti-bullying helpline is a much needed and much valued life-line for the general public – adults and children alike.

“We believe our Charity was unique. We believe there is no other UK bullying helpline today, quite like The National Bullying Helpline, providing assistance to both adults and children who are affected by anti social behaviour in the community, the home, the workplace and/or the playground.

"Undoubtedly, the closure of our Charity will be a great loss to the public.

“May we thank our founders, our Ambassador, our dedicated team of Trustees, Volunteers, our Sponsors and all Associates for their invaluable input over recent years, to this worthy cause.”

The National Bullying Helpline website will remain in place as a resource for those who want information and guidance for combating bullying as it contains practical tools and downloadable material.

END

January 5 2011

THANK YOU TO OUR PAST SPONSORS, VOLUNTEERS and ASSOCIATES

To our Ambassador, CJ de Mooi. Our Volunteers, particularly Sue and Richard. Infotec. Hinton Newport. HR & Diversity Management Limited. W H Smith. Swindon Wildcats. Sainsbury's Stratton. Zurich. Masterclass. NASUWT. Thomson Directories. Morgan Crucible. Charles Lucas & Marshall Solicitors, Monahan's, BBC Wiltshire Sound, GWR, Brunel FM & Swindon 105.5 FM Community Radio and VAS Swindon.