harrased by customer & employer urgent advice needed

[walkersway]

Hi i'm desperate for some advice , due to the nature of my story i need to keep in very brief .... here goes

I'm residential at work so live on site . i was disiplined ( given a 1st written warning ) due to a complaint by a cusomers family member. i have appealled against this as im innocent , the appeal stood and i was told it was final by senior management. I have put a grievance in regarding the way my manager has bullied , lied and harrassed me . im now in stage 2 of my grievance and im feeling comfident ( i have spoken to cab , a solicitor and acas . ) that i will eventually win my grievance as i have evidence that shows my boss has lied ect.

the advice i need is regarding the complainant she is harrassing and intimadating me , taking notices down and writing on them that i have put up and much more. I have seen the complaint letter she wrote about me and its defamitory and lies. she has written on the complaint letter that she's sent it to every care provider she can think of ! she is now as good as stalking me at work and my home , i appreciate she can visit her family but she is becomming scary and i'm scared for my safety , i cant go into other things she has done on this site but she has also broke the law. my company must have a duty to protect me under health an safety ? if so how can i work and live in the same place when this person is as good as stalking me ? i found her outside my house today.. although she doesnt say anything she just stands and stares ( she's very scary ! )

could someone advice me on the best way to deal with this ?

thanks

[Bigmac versus]

Hi walkersway thats quite scary right enough, what I would suggest right away is that you take down notes as to when this person appears outside your house and if you can get a witness to this it would help, keep a diary of all daily events and inform your employer of this immediately.

[Bigmac versus]

Will see if I can get further advice for you. The police might be a way forward here.

[walkersway]

thanks for your advice , i have been speaking to my senior manager who investigated me and disiplined me by email , telephone and face to face i have stated to this manager for the past 10 weeks that i have found her approach to me bullying and also the complaintants behaviour to be unacceptable and intimadating , nothing has happened so far. as this is now a stage 2 grievance its gone well above the manager i have a grieveance against so hopefully someone netural will listen to my case fairly. this woman has been hanging about my home for 4 days now . im on sick after having a serious operation 8 weeks ago and i have a few wks left to go but im so scared of returning to work to face my manager and this complaintant ( dont forget i look after her elderly parents ). this woman seems to have a vendetta against me and is trying to ensure i never work in the care sector again.

Im going to take my grievance all the way but my only concern is my house comes with my job and if i eventually hand my notice in and claim constructive dismissal i will be making myself homeless.

i will prove my innocence if its the last thing i do but im so gutted as i loved my job

[walkersway]

P.s i have emailed the person who is dealing with my stage 2 yesterday and today and im keeping logs , i have told my comapny im very scared and asked what they're going to do to support me. i belive my company will just say this woman has every right to visit her parents and is doing nothing wrong. i seem to be in a catch 22 position

[Rooster-UK]

Make yourself a cup of coffee..... Cavalry's on its way.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[walkersway]

woo hooo ! thanks Rooster but I think its gonna be something a bit stronger than coffee lol ( and it is friday )

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I'm sorry to hear you are feeling this way, especially as you are recovering from an operation and it must be very worrying for you.

 

Firstly, I think it would be unwise to hand in your notice - constructive dismissal is a tricky area and can be hard to prove. It would be better to see the grievance process through to the end before making any decisions.

 

Are you in a union and did you have any representation at your disciplinary hearing? was the disciplinary process carried out correctly according to procedure?

 

At the same time, your employer does have a duty of care to you and whether the person harassing you is a customer or not, it cannot be allowed to continue. Your employer should be properly investigating your complaint of harassment by speaking to the customer to determine why she is behaving in this way and advising her that her behaviour cannot be tolerated.

 

If this person is writing defamatory letters about you to other establishments in the care sector, and you have evidence of this, perhaps you should consult a solicitor and have him write to her warning her of the consequences of her actions.

 

I am sure all these situations when taken together must seem very worrying - but looking at them, and dealing with them, separately might make things easier for you.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[Bigmac versus]

Get on the whisky.

Edited June 13, 2008 by Bigmac versus
PMSL Ell-enn, nice one

[Rooster-UK]

woo hooo ! thanks Rooster but I think its gonna be something a bit stronger than coffee lol ( and it is friday )

....Then have one for me, as well. I'd join you but I can only have one a week. It upsets my sugar levels.:grin:

 

 

Thanks, Ell-enn.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[Bigmac versus]

Thx Ell-enn

[walkersway]

thx for your sound advice Ell-enn , im not in a union but i did have a staff council rep with me just as a witness to what was said. constructive dismaissal would be alast resort but the bridges between me and my company have well and truly broken down , im not sure they can be rebuilt. i am going to see a solicitor for libel but your right i need to deal with one thing at a time.

this case is very coplicated and quite unique obviously i cant go into too much detail here. please take a look at my other post regarding HR i do not believe procedure has been followed. the thing is my company wouldnt tell me who'd made the complaint against me but i over heard my manager discussing the allegations and she actually named the person who made them. I now know its the person who's hanging around my home and work. i really dont know where this is going to end , any ideas anyone ?

thx

[vonnie32]

I would suggest you might want to contact the Police, while there may be no criminal act to answer for they can issue the person with a warning and let them know they are aware of the situation.

 

Hopefully this would also be helpful in your forthcoming grievance that you initiated this action (without the support of your employer).

[walkersway]

Thx again Vonnie , think im going to pop in the police station today and get some advice

[Fuzzgin]

Good luck, whatever happens. I hope it's sorted soon.

[walkersway]

Yeah thx Fuzzgin , what will be will be i suppose , i believe all things happen for a reason , im sure it'll all workout in the end

[walkersway]

Hi everyone , just to say i have now contacted the police about this woman who I feel is stalking me , i have a crime number . the police were going to question her but i have said to hang fire and see what action my employers will take . my company seem t be talking it a little more seriously now and have told me they'll be doing a risk assessment asap.

i have a question , does anyone know about the employment laws S.44 and S100 ? I have a read a little about these laws and think they apply to me , i have another sicknote for 1 month and im now on medication for stress and anxiety could I refuse to come back to work unless my work environment is made safe for me ? and this person who I feel is stalking me is dealt with ? thanks in advance x

[tiglet]

Bump

[Sidewinder]

Hi everyone , just to say i have now contacted the police about this woman who I feel is stalking me , i have a crime number . the police were going to question her but i have said to hang fire and see what action my employers will take . my company seem t be talking it a little more seriously now and have told me they'll be doing a risk assessment asap.

i have a question , does anyone know about the employment laws S.44 and S100 ? I have a read a little about these laws and think they apply to me , i have another sicknote for 1 month and im now on medication for stress and anxiety could I refuse to come back to work unless my work environment is made safe for me ? and this person who I feel is stalking me is dealt with ? thanks in advance x

 

Sections 44 and 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 are designed protect you from unfair dismissal should you refuse to work in conditions which are unsafe or otherwise detrimental to your Health & Safety. They relate specifically to an imminent risk of real danger, and Section 100 has been used successfully through the definition of 'danger' to include threats of violence and other forms of bullying by colleagues in the workplace.

 

Although it would seem that these clauses are relevant to your case, I do not believe it to be so as action may only be brought where the employer had control over the source of the danger. Therefore, if you were dismissed for refusing to operate machinery which you believed represented a serious and imminent danger, or where there was a threat of violence or intimidation from a fellow employee, then the dismissal would be ruled automatically unfair as the employer would have a responsibility to remove or take action against the threat before you are obliged to return to work.

 

As the threat in your case a) cannot be proven to be serious and imminent, and b) ultimately is beyond the employer's, control sadly I think that the Employment Rights Act does not apply in this case.

 

On the face of it this would be more likely a matter for police investigation under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, but your employer does also have a responsibility under the Health & Safety at Work Act to ensure as far as possible that your working environment is safe. This is where the Risk Assessment is applicable, and if it identifies a serious risk to your Health & Safety then measures should be put in place to either remove the risk (possibly through supporting you in obtaining an injunction for example) or taking reasonable measures to control the risk.

[walkersway]

Thx for your expertise sidewinder, i suppose i will have to see what the risk assessment says , when i put a grievance in against my manager HR told me it was jst my perception of being bullied and intimidated so i think she'll just say its my perseption of being stalked also. i have requested the assessment is done by someone neutral .

its all just a mess at the moment and im desperate for some closure. Not sure where its going to end but i'll have to just sit tight and follow my grievance through , its on 14th July so we shall see .

thanks for your great advice everyone who has made comments x