An employment lawyer claims one-in-five Kiwis suffer workplace bullying every year.

Susan Hornsby-Geluk says we need an independent Government department to deal with the problem.

The agency would run mediations between the victim and perpetrator taking it out of employers hands.

Hornsby-Geluk told Heather du Plessis-Allan people are too afraid to come forward.

"More often than not the alleged bully is their manager, and there's a perception, quite often an accurate perception, that management is going to back their manager." 

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