Help - am I being fairly treated

[desperate31]

I am having trouble at work. I had new line manager who has made no effort to work on teamwork yet it has been placed in my lap as being my fault. She only speaks to me to criticize or if I ask a direct question. I have been instructed to help her with various tasks which I have tackled but have always been told I've done it wrong or I'm not doing them fast enough. No consideration has been made to the fact that her ability to do the tasks is better than mine or that I have other tasks to do. In August I was diagnosed with depression and went onto medication to try and sort myself out. In September I was critisised again for not communicating. I told them that I had been diagnosed with depression and I am trying to sort myself out. Since then I have been set targets to meet - often the targets have been set just beyond my reach despite trying to negotiate down. I have been told to ask for help with the tasks which I do. Then I get told I am quite capable to do it myself so I try to do it myself. Then I get told I need to ask for help. What am I meant to do? I have increased the amount of these tasks that I can do and none of my other tasks have missed deadlines. Now I have been through a verbal warning which I'm appealing because I don't believe full consideration to my depression has been taken or the fact that my line manager doesn't talk to me. The verbal warning was given on Wednesday am and then on Friday am my line manager raises a grievance against me saying I blanked her on Thursday and that another member of the office has informed her vindictively in my opinion that I would poison her and that I need to be driven from the office. (simply because I disagreed with this other member 3 years ago) My line manager is threatening to leave if I come back in the office. She claims to be upset but I am now really struggling with my depression and am taking medication for anxiety now because of the way I am being treated. I am now in my 3rd week of suspension.Can anyone tell me where I stand -if they dismiss me because of this grievance and my depression?

I hope this makes sense as I feel as if I have rambled

[honeybee13]

Hi there. This sounds tough for you, but I hope we can help.

 

I hope others will comment, but I think maybe filing a grievance of your own could be an option. What do you think guys?

 

I'm no shrink, but it sounds as if the person giving you problems could be a bully; certainly, a bully can turn into a victim if confronted, and they are manipulative people. If you have time, have a look at bullyonline.org, which I found very interesting. They also have tips on how to deal with people like that, if it describes your line manager.

[Bigredbus]

I fully agree with 'honeybee 13'...

 

Raising a grievance is the first step in the right direction.

 

If you have been given an 'Employee Handbook', the procedure to raise such a grievance is stated in it... make sure you read it.

 

Do not hesitate to contact your nearest CAB and/or ACAS. They are a mine of information and are helpful in most cases.

 

Take care and get well soon...

[desperate31]

Unfortunately the handbook is at work along with various other personal items that I had left behind in my distress at being escorted publicly from the building and I am not permitted to enter the building nor can I get in to retrieve it as they have changed the door codes. My only hope is that I can retrieve them when or if I am allowed back to work.

I visited the local CAB in the first week of being suspended and they weren't very helpful at all apart from telling me that I have no hope of clearing my name or preventing myself getting dismissed.

[Bigredbus]

Could you, maybe, contact one of your colleagues and ask for his/her copy of the material?

[desperate31]

I'm not permitted to contact any of my colleagues.

[Bigredbus]

Raise your grievance by stating, point-by-point, what has happened during the course of those last months and address it to the HR manager/Director.

 

If you need any help, do not hesitate to post...

[desperate31]

Thank you!

[elpulpo]

What were the grounds for your suspension exactly?

It seems that you've been suspended for a long time. Have you been in contact with your employer to find out what's going on?

[desperate31]

My line manager (A) took offence that I didn't speak to her much on one day when I was busy. Also another member (X)of the office told her that I had been spreading lies and gossiping behind her back (someone else (B) had asked me what was up was I was particularly down and I had told her it was because my line manager had been questioning my performance and that I was giving my best and couldn't take much more of the pressure) X told A that 3 years ago I had hated my team and had threatened to poison them all and plant company property in their bags (an email that a "friend" had sent to me suggesting to do). A now feels under threat and unable to work with me and that she would leave if I returned to the office and that it was making her ill. X has always had it in for me ever since I disagreed with something and it was eventually proved that I was right and she was wrong.

Its quite hilarious considering the X gossips more than anyone and A doesn't speak to me sometimes even to a good morning.

While this has been going on I have appealed a verbal warning I received on the Wednesday (3rd) before I was suspended (5th)but the HR manager was on holiday so have had to wait until she was back (18th Feb) Now she is looking into everything.

[honeybee13]

Hello again, I'm glad you've had some replies and have a direction to travel in. The ACAS website has a section on grievances that covers procedures, from memory. You could have a look at that, it might help.

 

Don't give up.

[elpulpo]

As everyone else has suggested, you need to submit a grievance about the way (A) is behaving towards you.

[Bigredbus]

Let's wait, patiently, until the HR Manager makes a statement about the case...

 

Meanwhile, you still can raise a grievance.

[desperate31]

I have just received a phone call from the HR manager. It has been decided that I have nothing to be accounted for in the grievance. I am being moved line manager and desk and will be back at work as soon as they have resolved where to put me. But I shall still keep the grievance in mind and get things prepared just in case.

[honeybee13]

That's really good news for you, I'm pleased. I hope we were able to help in some small way.

 

Good luck.

[desperate31]

Yes thank you all. It was very helpful for advice and support.

[Bigredbus]

Very well done 'desperate31' and take care...

[desperate31]

Hi all

Thought I would update you with what is happening to me. I went back to work but did find it very stressful. I managed to come off the medication for anxiety. However about a month after I went back to work I was informed that my job was at risk of redundancy. There was a 2 week consultation period which I thought was really quick and barely gave me time to digest everything at the same time as trying to get myself sorted from the suspension. It seems they brought in new technology which affected a small part of my work. There was one other person "at risk". However on reflection I think it was a fix. He went about his normal work and even arranged holiday and a business trip for after the "redundancy date". The decision was based on interview allegedly. The new position would have been a demotion for me but a payrise for this chap. It would also have meant that the line manager would have been a control freak bully who seriously disliked me because I had the gall to disagree with her once. Anyway somehow even though I have 8 years experience more than him - he got the job. (I think he was given a tip off for the questions in the interview as it was his current line manager who was in the interview and also hated me)

Anyway a month ago I was made redundant on the minimum of redundancy pay (thank god I had been with the company for 5 years - so much for loyalty, incredibly hard work and long hours) Even though I think it was set up just to get rid of me because they hadn't been able to get rid of me earlier in the year by forcing me to resign, it was probably the best thing to have happened (apart from the worry of trying to find a new job and money to support myself to exist) Now I am looking a job where I can start to live. I can also report that I can in the process of coming off the anti-depressants that I've been on for the last 10 months. I realised it was down to 2 people in the department who triggered the nightmare of the last 10 months.

 

Well if anyone has got to the end of my ramble I just want to say that you may be struggling emotionally and physically with disciplinaries and warnings (believe me I've been there) but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Trust in your friends/family and the guys on here and find the strength to stay strong and believe in yourselves.

 

xx

[honeybee13]

Hello there and thank you for updating us. I realise it's not the outcome you might have hoped for a while back, but I think you're sounding really strong and I admire you.

 

Sadly, loyalty doesn't count for much in this day and age, but I think you will move on and become stronger.

 

I also stopped taking my anti-depressants around 2 weeks ago and feel just the same without them.

 

Truly, I wish you well and I hope you'll stay around and maybe coach others.

 

My best, HB x