Being Bullied And Victimized Advice Needed,walked Out Of Work...help!!!!!

[andy000223]

My missus has work at the same place for over 20yrs and although the buisness has changed hands a few times in that period.

 

Firstly my missus is the quiet,shy type who hates confrontation and will cry before arguing with someone.

I wont go into details about what is happening to her at work but she is being mentally bullied and sometime verbally attacked in full view of other members of staff and customers,there are about 3-4 members of staff who have sent her to coventry and slag her off none stop behind her back,we know this as she does have a few friends there who will back her up.

 

It all came to a head friday afternoon when 1 of the bullies said something not very nice to her out loud in full view of other staff and customers and my missus walked out deeply distressed and upset.

 

When she got home we imediatly contacted human resourses and told them about the issue and now have a meeting on monday or tuesday with the area manager and a human resourses person at a neutral location.

 

I just wanted some advice on how we should appoach this meeting, its informal but above all my missus does not want to return to the store ever again as its too distressing for her.

 

Do we have a right to ask for a transfer? can she be on full pay while this issue is investigated? Under the health, safety and welfare act of 1974 employers have a legal responsibility to do something about this or they are breaching my missus contract,is this correct?

 

Its been really distressing and she is an emotional wreck and in no fit state to return to that work enviroment,can they make her?In her works handbook it say bullying and harrashment is gross misconduct,so for me they cant make her return to the store in question.

 

Any advice is welcome..Big thanks Andrew

Edited September 19, 2009 by andy000223

[postggj]

every place of employment needs a policy in place to address prob like this

has it been reported to a manager or team leader this intimidation

 

if not, why not

 

has the manager said it has been delt with

 

if nothing has been done

 

hr is the next step

 

i take it you dont have a union

[andy000223]

The manager left about a month ago,so since then there is no senior authority in store and the next person who is in charge is one of the bullys,hence it cant be dealt with in house so this is why we went straight to HR..

Since the perviuos boss left it has got worse since there is no really authority there at the moment and the bullys know this and are takeing full advantage of it .She work for a chemist chain and is a pharmacy technician.

The previous manager who left a month ago and now works for another company was fully aware of the this going on and to be fair did keep it in check to a certain extent,we spoke to him last night on the phone and we have the full support of him and if needed he will speak to the area manager and support our claim of bullying

 

We do not have a union

Edited September 19, 2009 by andy000223

[postggj]

being a pharmacy technician, an important job , so no mistakes are a must.

 

this is just my own view, nothing else

 

phone in on monday and go sick for a while for stress, give you time to get your head straight.

 

on monday, phone hr and let them know what is going on and say you have gone sick for stress and ask to speak to a senior complaints manager

 

try and make a record of the verbal abuse etc

 

that way you are covered

 

how long have you been employed in the chain

 

makes no difference but for the new owners

[andy000223]

Yes being a pharmacy technician is an important job and her work has suffered through the stress,and like you say mistakes cannot be made.

We have already contacted HR and they are contacting us on monday to arrrange an informal meeting at a neutral location to discuss the matter.

What i wanted to know is that they wont be allowed to force her back to work do we have a right to request a transfer? will she be allowed full pay while its being investigated?

Also we have make a few notes of things that have been said and have the previous manager and a couple of members of staff who will back the claim of bullying and have seen it going on and will speak on my missus behalf if needed.

 

20+years she has worked there and this chain bought it out 3 yrs ago.

 

How should we approach this informal meeting?

[postggj]

approach this meeting with your head held high

you have done nothing wrong

ive seen what this can do to people myself ans is totally unexceptable

 

ask for a transfer if the next shop is not to far away

i would refuse to return until a new manager is placed in the shop

 

the last manager would have done an incident report so that will be on file

 

if a new manager is introduced, that will stop it but i would go for a transfer

 

how can you still be excepted to work with these people

 

stress is a recognised condition and needs to be nipped in the bud

 

if hr go on the defensive say you will take it to a tribunal

[andy000223]

Thankyou for your replies, we are going for a transfer as working with these people would be impossible.They own quite a big chain of chemists and getting a transfer should not be difficult so we will push hard for that.

we have no intention or returning to the store in question even if a new manager was put in place,too much has happened now.

If HR and the area manager do go on the deffensive i will threaten a tribunal as the way i see it we have enough evidence and people who will back our claim up but hopefully it wont go that far.

 

As for the bullies, they should not be allowed to get away with this and if proven it is gross misconduct and some sort of disipline should be given to them.

 

Big thanks for you advice and i will update this thread once we have spoken to HR and the area manager

[postggj]

Yes

 

Let Us Know

 

With The Years Of Service, The Threat Of A Industrial Tribunal Should Be Enough To Put The Wind Up Them

[madari]

I would also theraten them with the `Protection from harrasment act`

[MRSWESTHAM]

Oh im sorry to hear your wife is going through this, A colleague at my work had the same could i just advise you to get everything in writing as m colleaugue went to the meeting with the big bosses and told them what they said on the phone (witnessed by another colleague) and te manager denied it all.

 

Good Luck and please excuse my crap spelling ! x

[andy000223]

Thanks for your advice..if we dont get anywhere when we have our informal meeting next week then i will ask her previous boss to write to HR and explain what he had seen going on while he worked there.

 

i'll have to read up on the Protection from harrasment act,dont know much about it..

 

Its patethic that a group of mature wemen from the age of 30-40 can be so childish in their behaviour a small group of 4 wemen,talking about my missus behind her back constantly,no one speaks to her and they make her feel really uncomfortable working there and make sly and vindictive comments to her..but the rest of the staff she gets on well with.

 

gggrrrr makes you so angry that a loved one can be treated like this,i wanna go round and bang some heads but i must resist as this would only make things worse for my missus,I'll play it cool

 

Thanks Andrew...

Edited September 19, 2009 by andy000223

[ErikaPNP]

You have had some excellent advice already in regard to the meeting. To answer your other questions, and for clarity, your wife has no legal right to a transfer. She can request it whilst an investigation into the allegations are pending, but at the moment that's all it is, an allegation until the company decide otherwise. She can also request it following the investigation, regardless of the result, but they have no legal duty to give her a transfer. A lot will also depend on whether another store has a vacnacy - if there isn't a position available, and no-one is willing to swap places of work, they would not be able to give your wife a transfer, however if the allegations are upheld following invesitigation then they would have to take some sort of action against the perpetrators.

 

She wouldn't be entitled to full pay whilst it is being investigated unless they suspend her, which they are unlikely to do - suspension is normally for the member of staff who are accused, not the victim. If they do not suspend her and she goes on sick leave instead, whether she receives full pay will depend on whether there is a sick pay policy. If not, all she will be entitled to is SSP.

 

Best wishes with this - it sounds like your wife has had a terrible time. Sometimes grown women are far worse than childhood playground bullies.

[andy000223]

Thanks Erica, some more excellent advice..Some very helpful people on the site and i thank you all

 

informal meeting arranged at 1pm tomorrow at neutral venue ..will update tomorrow after meeting

Edited September 21, 2009 by andy000223

[andy000223]

Had our meeting today as mentioned above,was greeted by the area manager and a member of the HR team.

 

We gave our version of events and notes were taken by the HR repsentative and the area manager listened intensely.

 

The area manager and HR rep said all the correct things and were very supportive and in a way helpful

 

We asked for a transfer but this was immediately turned down as no vacancys available

 

They gave us 2 options,1 the area manager want to resolve it a quickly as possible by sitting my wife and the bully in question to talk it over with the area manager sitting in and listening,we think this will have little effect and things will just return to old ways after an initial period of sorry's etc have passed.

 

option2 is to start a written grivience if my wife is not preparred to sit with the bully face to face to discuss the matter.

 

Now my wife really dos'ent really want to face the bully its the last thing she wants,even with the area manager in the same room she will still feel imtimidated and very uncomfortable..

 

The way i see it is that the company has acted correctly by wanting to resolve it in house,but do we go along with it and show we are trying to assist as best we can or do we put in a written grievence as my wife really dos'ent want to face the bully in any kind of enviroment.

 

We have to let HR know tommorow on which root we will follow

 

Any advice please..

Edited September 22, 2009 by andy000223

[andydd]

Had our meeting today as mentioned above,was greeted by the area manager and a member of the HR team.

 

We gave our version of events and notes were taken by the HR repsentative and the area manager listened intensely.

 

The area manager and HR rep said all the correct things and were very supportive and in a way helpful

 

We asked for a transfer but this was immediately turned down as no vacancys available

 

They gave us 2 options,1 the area manager want to resolve it a quickly as possible by sitting my wife and the bully in question to talk it over with the area manager sitting in and listening.

 

option2 is to start a written grivience if my wife is not preparred to sit with the bully face to face to discuss the matter.

 

Now my wife really dos'ent really want to face the bully its the last thing she wants,even with the area manager in the same room she will still feel imtimidated and very uncomfortable..

 

The way i see it is that the company has acted correctly by wanting to resolve it in house,but do we go along with it and show we are trying to assist as best we can or do we put in a written grievence as my wife really dos'ent want to face the bully in any kind of enviroment.

 

We have to let HR know tommorow on which root we will follow

 

Any advice please..

 

I doubt anyone here can give further advice, surely the route now is upto your wife, personally I think I'd choose route 2, I wouldnt want to waste my time meeting someone who had bullied me. But this is purely a personal decision, no-one on her knows your wife or the 'bully' so its upto you now.

 

Good luck, lets hope its resolved and that someone has the balls to deal with the 'bully'

 

Andy

[andy000223]

Yes i think this is the route we are going to take,the bullying has gone too far and my wife dos'ent wanna face someone who has been mean to her.

 

so we will see the doctor and get a sick note and then i will work on a written grivience letter and get a full investagation into the issue.

 

But i need a template letter as i would,nt have a clue what to put,can anyone give me any advice how i should put this across in a grievence letter or a link to a template..

 

big thanks Andrew

[ziggs]

Firstly sorry to hear you have problems at work, you spend most of your life working so it should be a happy place not filled with tears and troubles.

 

Employers have a duty of care to all employees, this should be backed by a handbook, terms and conditions and contracts. They should take your compliant seriously and deal with the bullies head on, they should be suspended pending investigation (rights to Have PEOPLE WITH THEM ETC) should they fail to stamp it out take it to ACAS and file for constructive dismissal. Do not allow your wife to put up with this I am sure you have a case to defend but please do not take my word for it as I am not a legal person check it out with ACAS they are on-line and remember Karma.....................it may take a few years but it will bite them back!

[ziggs]

Acas - How can we help?

 

ACAS good luck

[ErikaPNP]

Given that the events which have taken place are directly linked to this woman's treatment of your wife, the first option would make her very uncomfortable and she should not be made to face that - and nor should her not wishing to take part be held against her.

 

As Andy said, no-one can make the decision other than your wife, but from experience I would place a written grievance without hesitation. These "mediation" things tend to work in the short term only and if another situation arises, no formal record of it as it is informal action. I'd go for option 2, if it were me. But it isn't me so what is right for me may not be what is right for your wife.

 

Best wishes in whatever route you choose.

[andy000223]

Just spoken to ACAS and they just confirmed to me what i already knew but its good to have someone at the other end to talk too.

 

Yes Erica, the mediation route would defo only be a short term fix as we know the bully in question very well and she will for sure go back to her old way so we think the mediation will have little or no effect long term to my wife's health and welfare.

 

Plus they have no real authority running the store at the moment to keep tabs on the situation.

 

So i think a wriiten grievience is the way to go.

 

Does anyone have a letter template they could share or any idea's how i should set out this letter as i have never written a letter like this is my life.

 

Regards Andrew

[mariefab]

You might find this acas booklet helpful.

 

http://www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=1043

 

However the only template letters I can find are for employers to use.

 

So, I suggest:

 

Dear.........

 

Please accept this as the written grievance option as discussed at our meeting on 22/09/09 regarding the bullying and harrassment I have experienced while working for .....(Company's name).

 

*Here you should give examples of the bullying/harrassment. Give as much detail as possible of what occurred and give names, dates, locations and witnesses where you can*

If the list would cover several pages then it would probably be best to select a few of the worst examples and write:

Some examples are.................

 

I sincerely hope that the Company will be able to find a way to protect me from this bullying and harrassment in the future.

 

Yours etc.

[andy000223]

Thankyou very much,just what i needed,we have about 6-7 recorded bullying incidents in the last couple of months and i will write as much detail down as i can..

 

Regards Andrew ..

[andy000223]

Dear sir/madam Please accept this letter as a written grievance as discussed in our phone conversation on the 23rd september at 9.am

 

This action has been carefully considered after our informal meeting on the 22nd september at 1pm at the ...... branch,where we discussed the claim of bullying and harrashment which has occured at the ........ branch of ...... with yourself and the area manager.

 

I wish to thank you and ..... for your support on the above matter but as discussed i feel that any mediation between myself and the alleged parties involved would fail to resolve the issue in the long term and as

there is no senior aurthority in place at the store at the moment i feel as though any mediation would only be a short term fix and i would be deeply concerned that the bullying and harrashment would continue

and maybe even excalate without any senior manager in place to monitor the issue,i feel as though it would be detramental to my health,safety and welfare if i returned to that work enviorment.

 

i would follow this with various examples of the bullying and harrashment,with witnesses etc.

 

yours sincerely

 

Does this look ok as a written grievance letter? sorry i copied and pasted it from my wordpad so its a bit all over the place.

[mariefab]

I'd try to avoid writing anything that could appear to criticize her employer or suggest that they can't solve the problem.

I think that it might be best to leave out the paragraph starting with, I wish to....... and ending in environment.

Perhaps it would be better to say those things in the phone call at 9am instead.

[andy000223]

Ok will leave out anything that could be misinterperted and keep it to the facts.

 

Thanks again..