Bullying Boss

[Saffronflowers]

Hi my OH has a boss who is a bully, recently he has managed to implement procedures that are of no benefit and to are almost detrimental to the running of the department. My OH has been in his job for 8 years and at the company for 15 years. His boss has only been at the company and in his job for 1 year. He is highly respected within his industry, though his current boss, has now made several decrees that effectively stop my OH from doing his job effectively.

Though hearsay - a very reliable source, a senior manager in a different dept, has said it is known that OH's boss has it in for him.

OH is worried about speaking to his senior manager as he fears that his boss will become even more vindictive and implement disciplinary procedures that would proclude OH from receiving his annual bonus.

Any thoughts please

SFx

[Sidewinder]

Bullying is one of the worst experiences which one can have at work and I feel incredibly sorry for your OH. Any employer should have procedures in place to address the problem, but it is difficult in any situation to find a way to raise a grievance without fear of rocking the boat further.

Is it possible for him to go above his boss, and to have a confidential preliminary chat about his concerns? This would at least record his concerns and start the ball rolling for somebody else to monitor things. Failing that, there should be disciplinary and grievance procedures in place to guide your OH through the steps neccessary to make a formal complaint. If he was to go down this route then however uncomfortable, the issue is a matter of record which would make it very difficult for his boss to take any action which might be construed as unfair treatment (such as witholding bonuses).

Of course a genuine grievance once raised but not addressed by the employer could ultimately lead to a case of constructive dismissal, and to that end your OH should start a diary listing instances of unfair treatment, harassment and bullying, particularly noting any actions which might be witnessed by others, also copying e mails which add weight to the allegation etc. Should he then find that his situation becomes unbearable and he finds himself forced out, then this would provide ammunition with which to launch a claim.

Hope that he gets it sorted out. Unhappiness at work can quickly impact on many other areas of a person's life.

[Saffronflowers]

Thanks SW -I think it is the fear of rocking the boat, he did go and talk to his ex boss yesterday, the one who admitted that he is current boss "has it in for him" !!

I have suggested that he speaks to his boss's boss with whom it gets on very well with and happens to be the deputy MD and has known OH all his working life.

Sadly when he makes the nasty comments his colleque who has only been there for a month wont admit he has heard. Fair enough I would probably be the same.

I do hope that it does not come down to Contructive Dismissal as OH loves his job and I truly beleive if you cut him in half it would say his company name like a stick of rock.

The difficulty of bullying is that it is underhand and power based it is hard to unearth.

Thanks again

SFx

[Sidewinder]

It may be that knowing that the senior staff are supportive makes things a little easier to deal with. I agree entirely that bullying is incredibly difficult to prove - management is after all a technique to achieve an objective, and what some might correctly label as bullying would be dismissed by the perpetrator as just a style of management.

Nevertheless there have to be lines over which 'management style' cannot cross, and everybody has the right to be treated with respect and dignity at work - particularly somebody such as your OH who enjoys the respect of others and a length of service which demonstrates that he clearly knows what he is doing. The new manager is probably somebody with several jobs on his CV already and a track record of going in, shaking things up, 'turning the business around' (cutting costs usually) and getting out before people realise the problems which he has created. He probably sees your OH as a threat and knows that he could do the job equally as effectively.

At least he has a love of the job still, despite the problems which counts for a lot. I have been in mine for 18 years and can still say honestly that I enjoy what I do - that alone makes the negatives easier to handle.

[Saffronflowers]

One of the issues that particular concerns OH is that his boss has stated that he should tell suppliers not to just "pop in" and that he is to be presant if OH has a meeting with any suppliers. This is detrmental to the dept. running as his boss spends about less than 50% of time at the office, (no idea why!). Many of the suppliers that he has dealt with he has done over all the 8 years that he has been there. The boss's boss also has extremely good relations with these suppliers.

As with most businesses much is based on good will and relationships and with this new dictate one very important supplier feels extremely intimidated and uneasy with dealing with OH's company.

Sorry to bang on but it is useful just to vent and not pop down the road and give this person a peice of my mind!!!!!!

SFx

[electron99]

It would be useful if at the end of each day he kept a diary detailing events of the day.If he had to take a a particular step i.e having his boss present with a supplier, this should be noted together with the consequences.
This will have two uses.One it will relieve the tensions caused by having to bottle everything up during the day, and most importantly, it is a record that can be used if any action is taken against him i.e loss of an important client.