Urgent help/advice needed please

[sunflower_uk6]

Hi,

 

I am due to give my notice in tomorrow and would really like help on how to write a grievance as i am struggling to know where to start. The story...

 

A person at work put a complaint in about me to the MD. He told my boss who then informed me. Since then i asked the MD to have a meeting where i sat down to go through and he told me there was no problem etc. Following that meeting there was no follow up, no letter, no going back to the person that made the complaint. I then asked my boss if we could sit down and go through it as i was really unhappy (he didn't approach me). Countless times he said he had no problem with my work etc etc. Things got bad, i became depressed, had anxiety attacks and i left the office and was signed off sick for 2 weeks. In that time, a lady (who is part of scheme whereby we can go to her if we have a problem, she is not HR!) spoke to my boss and told him that something had to be done so he and she sat down and spoke with 3 different individuals in the office. Following that and her discussions with the MD after, the MD basically made the comment that he could just get rid of both of us (me and the girl who made the complaint) and when the lady said that he couldn't do that he said it would only cost him a couple of grand to get rid of the hassle. I cannot use that line as she told me in confidence and she could get into trouble, but it just shows you the type of person he is.

After hearing that news, i thought he was being a bit drastic so i asked the lady to set up a meeting between me and the other girl. I went in and had the lady present and it got a bit heated. I told her that following discussions with both the MD and my boss that they had no problem with me or my work and she said that thats not what they had told her. At the end we both agreed to be civil to each other, she said in the beginning she had no idea why she was even there and i was blowing it out of proportion etc and i said that following a complaint i should be allowed to defend myself. It wasn't a brilliant outcome but as far as i was concerned the issue was dealt with following that meeting.

That was on the Tuesday and i decided to go back to work on the Friday as sitting at home was doing me no good. When i got back, i tried to get on with my work, keep my head down and get on with things......i then got an email from the MD to both me and the girl entitled 'you two' and in it said, in a nutshell that no one person is more important to the business, not him nor us and due to the upset and trouble we had both caused he would be deducted money from both of us. Her he deducted £250 which was a prize that a certain proportion of the employees got and he deducted 1 months scheme money from me. There was no formal procedure followed by the company at all. When he said the email my boss responded to it saying it was unfair on the girl as she had come to him with a problem and that i was back early trying to get on with things and this would have set me back. He replied "ways and means and reasons behind"!

 

Since then, i have just sunk deeper into unhappiness, its effecting my home life and my relationship considering that the person that made the complaint is my boyfriends sister. I believe to this day it is personal but i can't prove it and this person says its not. I confronted this person twice as she was being different with me and on both counts she said that there was no problem and if there was she would say.

 

I am in the process of attending a second interview for a job but i just need to get out of the one i am in now, the unhappiness it causes me and the effect on my health is just not worth it! In my mind there is no outcome i could give them in terms of making things better at work unless they sack her, and legally they can't do that and as they have let me down so badly, i don't think i would want to work for a man like that!

 

sorry for the novel, any help greatly appreciated!

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

Im sorry to hear about the problems you are having. It seems to me that you need to get a copy of your organisation's terms and conditions of employment and find out exactly what their grievance procedure is.

 

I dont think this has been dealt with properly and the MD cannot just deduct money from staff because he has had to sort out a disagreement!!! That beggars belief!!! Running an organisation means that you have to sort out disputes - its part of the job!

 

My problem here is though you havent said what the complaint was about as that does have a bearing on anybody's reply. You say it was your boyfriend's sister that made the complaint. Did she make the complaint because of something personal against you (ie she doesnt like you going out with her brother!) or was it a genuine complaint about the way you do your work?

 

This is very difficult and I would be looking for another job if I were you too. It has affected your health which is not good and I do think it could have been handled better by your MD.

 

Kind regards

Gemspan

[sunflower_uk6]

Hi,

 

The complaint against me was that i do 'jack sh*t' and sit on facebook all day. Following this the MD said that he knows i don't and its just a figure of speech but don't give them ammo. He said that he's not anal about internet use so will not be putting any procedures in place for people to follow.

 

I confronted the person in question twice because i noticed she was being different 2 months prior and both times she said there was no problem and since has said its not personal but i know it is!

 

I have checked my contract of employment and the whole thing was just copied off a website and all it says is that "any grivance relating to your employment may be raised orally or in writing, with *name* who will try to deal with the matter within seven days". We had a meeting, that i requested and i met him at 6 in the morning and after that nothing more was done. There was no response to my response to complaint email and he didn't go back to the other party to tell her the outcome. Was swept under the carpet. It was only after i was sent home because i was in floods of tears and hyper ventilating that this women who runs an 'assist' type programme in the company stepped in.

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

Well if that is your contract of employment and the company has followed their contract then I think they have done their bit. Unfortunately, I dont know enough about employment law to advise on whether the contract is suitable but maybe somebody will come along later who can.

 

Its awful when you are having problems at work and I know how it can affect your health. I personally think you are doing the right thing and looking for another job to get out. What would you like to achieve? Are you looking to take some sort of action against your employer? If so then somebody with more experience relating to employment law will have to answer your question.

 

Good luck

Gemspan

[SickofA&L]

Hi there, sorry to hear about your problems. I must say that this has been handled appaulingly. These may sound like silly questions but how long have you been an employee of the company and how many employees does your company have?

[sunflower_uk6]

Well i don't wish to go down the tribunal route, only if something is done in my notice or after i leave. I don't think the added stress is worth it. I am in the process of having a second interview so hopefully that will come up trumps!

[sunflower_uk6]

Hi,

 

I joined the company in March 2004 in sales support, i was then promoted to PA to MD and was then head hunted to the production department. In 2006 i decided i wanted to get back into Admin and as they were no positions available i felt that i wanted to further my career and couldn't do that there so I left. The job i went to i didn't enjoy at all ( i don't have a habit of leaving jobs after short space of time) and decided it wasn't for me. The company found out and the MD contacted me and asked me to go back as one of the admin girls had left with immediate effect and he asked me to help them out. I was on a 3 month contract and was then asked to stay on so my contract started from Oct 2006. So minus 2 months, i have been with the company 5 years in March. The company has approx 31 employees.

[SickofA&L]

Hi Sunflower. I asked about the number of employees basically because the majority of small employers don't bother with HR they just get their basic paperwork from a HR manual held by their solicitors.

The reason I asked how long you've worked there is because you need to be at a company for 12 months before you can go for any sort of forced dismissal claim.

If I was you're boyfriend I would also give the sister a good slap

From experience dealing with smaller companies I would suggest you leave with your head held high, having belief in your own abilities. Writing any sort of correspondence other than a short resignation letter will be a waste of time as it will be filed in the bin.

[Jase1982]

I dont think this has been dealt with properly and the MD cannot just deduct money from staff because he has had to sort out a disagreement!!! That beggars belief!!! Running an organisation means that you have to sort out disputes - its part of the job!

 

Wasn't the money deducted part of a bonus, or described as a prize by the OP? The MD can't deduct a sum of money from your salary, but I would assume bonuses can be, depending on the reason given and whether or not it is defined in your contract of employment.

 

To the OP - If there are allegations that you spend all day on Facebook, I would assume their IT department could back that up?

 

I would definitely keep trying to escape as it seems the relationship between you and your employer has broken down, but I wouldn't leave without any money you're owed....

[gemspan]

Hi Jase

 

How can somebody give you a bonus or Prize and then just take it away. You're maybe right relating to bonuses but it seems terrible to me!!! Nothing surprises me these days though!

 

Gemspan