The Legal Approach to the Prevention and Combat of Mobbing in Labor Relations

One of the problems in the field of employer-employee relations is the phenomenon of mobbing. In this descriptive-analytical study of the mobbing phenomenon, the mobbing refers to abusive activities, including intimidation and humiliation, intended to harass, and thus expel a worker from the workplace. Mobbing can cause severe physical and mental injuries, and enormous personal and social costs which demonstrate the necessity of combating it. In the Iranian legal system, combating this phenomenon can be justified on the basis of respect for human dignity and the employer’s obligation to safeguard workers’ health as well as the principle of freedom of work. Nonetheless, specific rules against mobbing have not been established. Therefore, until the enactment of special regulations, it is possible to sue or prosecute the perpetrators of mobbing under general rules of civil and criminal liability but this is not enough to support victims.