Please help harrasment and no notice change of hours

[gregorious77]

Please help!

My wife is a teacher and she has been getting bullied by her manager off and on for the last 2 years or so after long term sick for post natal depression.

She has been constantly put down and told she is not good enough with no evidence of this.

Her exam results have been criticised although she did not have the class for a full year and is also not the worse in the dept (she is in the middle ground)

Her boss has now told the head that she is failing and he has had a few meetings with my wife.

All meetings with the head have resulted in him saying she is in denial and her arguments have been simply ignored by him.

He told her in there first meeting that she needs to 'take a career break' or he would take action!

Well she cant leave work without a new job to go to.

He told her she needs to come up with a' route 2' but had no suggestions for this.

her idea was to go onto part time hours after maternity leave which starts in 5 weeks from now and she offered to help out in other departments.

Today she had another meeting which ended in him saying as from Monday she is now part time on 0.6 and is being put on capability!

I would like to add he said going part time to balance family life is a separate issue and wont improve her performance yet he then forced this as her new hours without any agreement or signing of a new contract. all he said was next week you start part time.

 

Can he just change her hours like this?

Is there anything we can do?

 

Up to now she has not put a grievance in about the bullying by her manager and it will now look like this is a reaction to the measures put in by the head!

 

Can she quit and go down the constructive dismissal route as the change of hours has not been agreed so is breach of contract?

 

I am so so angry as she has bee struggling with depression and just getting better then this is dragging her back down again!!!

[SNALF]

Hello Gregorious. Can you please confirm how many hours her contract states and how many she will now be doing. When you says she planned to go part-time, did she put in a request for this which they have now honoured, earlier than what she wanted?

[gregorious77]

her contracted hours are 5 days a week (no specific hours) and now it will be 3 days (0.6)

she did request part time hours but on her return fro maternity in a year!

[knowusebruce]

union, union, union. evidence, evidence, evidence. stand your ground.

 

they need physical evidence of her not doing her job properly. not just an opinion.

 

my union told me that capability cases are increasing dramatically since the recession, most of the time there is nothing wrong with the teacher its just a way of reducing redundancy pay outs.

 

 

 

join the TES forums, they have teachers that are going through similar problems to your wife.

 

 

hope everything goes ok

[gregorious77]

she just told me it was not an official request but a suggestion of a possible route to explore.

[gregorious77]

union, union, union. evidence, evidence, evidence. stand your ground.

 

they need physical evidence of her not doing her job properly. not just an opinion.

 

my union told me that capability cases are increasing dramatically since the recession, most of the time there is nothing wrong with the teacher its just a way of reducing redundancy pay outs.

 

 

 

join the TES forums, they have teachers that are going through similar problems to your wife.

 

 

hope everything goes ok

 

Union have told her there is nothing they can do now and she should probably resign!

its that or get put on capability which is not going to go in her favour!

[gregorious77]

What we would like to know if she resigns would it be legal for him to make her work the resignation period at 0.6 or can she stay on full time payment for this?

Also as this period will be maternity leave anyway what is the legal stance on that.

Her notice period is 1 term (i.e. until easter)

 

This is such a massive mess.

[SNALF]

Couple of points to consider Gregorious.

 

Reducing her working hours will affect her maternity pay if she is entitled to it as the higher rate is based on the last 8 weeks prior to leave, being the relevant period.

 

A capability process can take some time to conclude and if she is going on to maternity leave in 5 weeks, they may not likely get very far with this before she goes off.

 

Would it be better for her to reject the suggestion to reduce her hours and asks for a copy of the capability process (which may be under a conduct process if they don't have a separate one)?

 

Could you also describe here the harrassment to see if she has grounds to raise a grievance?

 

Managing their view of her incapability is not in itself harrassment or bullying as they have a right to manage this but if there are other issues, please describe them as well as if she believes that she is being treated differently than others.

Edited January 11, 2013 by honeybee13
Spacing for ease of reading.

[gregorious77]

Quoted from letter we started to draft just before this storm erupted!

 

"Examples of the harassment include:

 

being ignored when saying good morning/afternoon etc. This makes me feel worthless.(01/2013)

being told ‘what are you doing here I thought you were part time’ on my return to work after sickness for depression. This made me feel upset and embarrassed. ##### then closed the door to my tutor room to tell me he had’ taken my Yr11 class off me as he didn’t know when I would be back’ /which made me feel intimidated worthless and belittled. (01/2013)

being singled out over reports that I offered to complete at home while on sick leave by not being sent them when promised and having to submit them to #### only when the rest of the department submitted to assigned staff members. (12/12 )

Being told my folder work is not of a good enough standard when it is very good and asking other staff members to check it This makes me feel worthless and humiliated. (before ½ term 2012)

Raised his voice in a humiliating manner over a missing exam paper that I did not take, another member of staff who was present admitted he was using it and #### continued to lecture me on the incident. This made me feel upset and humiliated and I believe the actions were meant to make me feel embarrassed which they did. (April 2012)

#### told me off in front of a class on 2 occasions for a mistake made by another colleague.(should be documented in meeting with ####) again I believe this was to make me feel embarrassed which it did.

Feedback from lesson observation #### stated my marking was the best in the department but then marked the assessment part of the observation as a 3 (needs improvement). (Sept 2012)

being told it is acceptable to miss twilight inset days that fall within my maternity leave but then telling the head I refused to attend without mention of said maternity leave. (possible email?)

Being told my threshold application was acceptable and then ticking the ‘do not recommend for paid progression box’ claiming the work involved was done by another member of staff. This made me feel belittled and upset. (autumn term 2011)

This harassment has arisen after I had time off for Post Natal Depression. On my return to work #### attitude towards me has been one of hostility and intimidation with regular instances of him ignoring me or raising his voice at me over things I have not done."

[gregorious77]

She has had 2 past meetings with his line manager about this and nothing happened about it.

These should have been documented but not sure if she has the minutes or not.

Doctors records should have notes for time off due to bullying causing depression and stress as she did tell the doctor what was going on.

[gregorious77]

as its a fundemental change to her contract of employment and they have more that 50 employees, does this mean the minimum 90 day consultation period is needed?

[SNALF]

Ok thanks Gregorious, there are some examples of just general management in there but also some inappropriate behaviour if substantiated. I do not advise on behalf of CAG, I am a member just the same as you are but I will advise on my own personal knowledge: I would suggest not resigning, constructive dismissal cases are very hard to prove and it further weakens your case if you do not give your employer the opportunity to resolve an issue prior to leaving your job. Reject the suggestion to reduce contractual hours. Ask for a copy of the capability procedure and the grievance policy. Raise a grievance as some of the above needs to be heard, get witness statements where appropriate for some of the belittling behaviour in front of colleagues. Raise each point in the grievance as a separate issue.

[SNALF]

The 90 day consultation for 20+ only applies on the number of people it affects, not how many are employed.

[gregorious77]

Ok I agree with what you have said and discussing this in the last hour or so we have come to the same conclusion.

How can she reject the hours when he said it is with immediate effect.

he said next week you are on 3 days so she is not supposed to be in on Monday!!!

[SNALF]

she just told me it was not an official request but a suggestion of a possible route to explore.

 

Did she agree with the 'suggestion' then?

[gregorious77]

No the suggestion was by her as a possibility to be discussed. she suggested that after her maternity leave that she could come back on 0.6.

This was rejected in the meeting by the head as being a separate issue from the alleged failings, yet he still enforced 0.6 with immediate effect!

[gregorious77]

she did not agree with it being this early as we are not financially ready yet. Her union rep tried to argue this was a financially unfair suggestion and could he postpone until after maternity leave but this was ignored and he went ahead and said 0.6 from next week!

[SNALF]

If her contract states 5 days then Gregorious, it's breach if your wife did not agree. I'd advise getting the grievance prepared over the weekend, hand deliver it Monday. Point 1 being the unauthorised reduction in her hours and breaching the contract. State that she expects to be reinstated to 5 days immediately and reimbursed for any lost salary. List the other issues in the same grievance as separate matters.

[SNALF]

No the suggestion was by her as a possibility to be discussed. she suggested that after her maternity leave that she could come back on 0.6.

This was rejected in the meeting by the head as being a separate issue from the alleged failings, yet he still enforced 0.6 with immediate effect!

 

Sorry Gregorious, missed this while I was replying. When your wife made the request, can you confirm what the request said, did it specifically state after maternity leave and was it a formal flexible working request?

[gregorious77]

The exact wording is as follows:

 

" I would like to propose that following my maternity leave I return to work for 3 days a week. I would like the 3 days to be Wed, Thurs, Frid but obviously if this option is to be explored then the days could be discussed and negotiated."

It was also mentioned to be a temporary measure to redress her work/life balance.

[SNALF]

They can't claim to have done it as a result of her application then. When they say a temporary measure to redress this issue, are they still paying her full time and giving her the time off free or will her salary reduce and therefore impact her maternity pay?

[gregorious77]

sorry I didnt explain betterb ut my wife suggested it would be a temporary measure to redress the balance!

She will be paid at 0.6 so therefore impact on maternity pay which is exactly why he changed it.

He has told her straight in a previous meeting he wants her to leave and that she can never be a good teacher now she has had children!

This was in a 1 on 1 and cannot be proven!

The union rep stated that this change was only going to save the school a minimal amount of money and was unfair but the head ignored this.

He is just trying his best to break her so she leaves ASAP but we have no idea why!

The whole thing stems from her boss not liking the fact that she had time off to have kids IMO

[gregorious77]

Draft grievance letter

Dear [name]

I would like to raise an official grievance detailed in the following points:

1. Unauthorised reduction in working hours from full time to part time (0.6) which is a breach of contract.

2. I have been harassed by being subjected to an intimidating, hostile and humiliating working environment by ###### as detailed below. This has caused me to feel very low with the need to be prescribed medication for depression. The harassment has made me feel anxious and physically sick and worried about returning to work as I feel I am being victimised.

Examples of the harassment include:

being ignored when saying good morning/afternoon etc. This makes me feel worthless.(07/01/2013)

being told ‘what are you doing here I thought you were part time’ on my return to work after sickness for depression. This made me feel upset and embarrassed. #### then closed the door to my tutor room to tell me he had’ taken my Yr11 class off me as he didn’t know when I would be back’ /which made me feel intimidated worthless and belittled. (07/01/2013)

being singled out over reports that I offered to complete at home while on sick leave by not being sent them when promised and having to submit them to #### only when the rest of the department submitted to assigned staff members. (20/12/12)

Being told my folder work is not of a good enough standard when in fact it is very good and asking other staff members to check it This makes me feel worthless and humiliated. (before ½ term 2012)

Raised his voice in a humiliating manner over a missing exam paper that I did not take, another member of staff who was present admitted he was using it and #### continued to lecture me on the incident. This made me feel upset and humiliated and I believe the actions were meant to make me feel embarrassed which they did. (April 2012).#### told me off in front of a class on 2 occasions for a mistake made by another colleague.(should be documented in meeting with ####) again I believe this was to make me feel embarrassed which it did.

Feedback from lesson observation #### stated my marking was the best in the department but then marked the assessment part of the observation as a 3 (needs improvement). (Sept 2012)

being told it is acceptable to miss twilight inset days that fall within my maternity leave but then telling #### I refused to attend without mention of said maternity leave. (email?)

Being told my threshold application was acceptable and then ticking the ‘do not recommend for paid progression box’ claiming the work involved was done by another member of staff. This made me feel belittled and upset. (autumn term 2011)

This harassment has arisen after I had time off for Post Natal Depression. On my return to work #### attitude towards me has been one of hostility and intimidation with regular instances of him ignoring me or raising his voice at me over things I have not done.

I consider this treatment may have been unlawful.

The Equality Act 2010 defines "harassment as: "unwanted conduct" which must have the "purpose or effect" of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the victim recipient.

 

Resolution sought for above points:

1. To be reinstated to full time immediately and reimbursed for any lost salary.

2. For #### to be told his actions are not acceptable and they must stop immediately. To receive a sincere apology. Guarantee of a fair reference if I should leave employment.

 

Yours sincerely

[SNALF]

They absolutely cannot reduce her working hours prior to taking mat leave in order to reduce the cost of maternity pay. As previously advised Gregorious, prepare the grievance over the weekend and hand deliver it Monday then wait for the hearing. State in the grievance for this particular point that the remedy is reinstatement of hours and compensation for any lost pay, then attend for the part time days until the grievance is heard and the outcome issued.

[gregorious77]

The above is what we have got so far but needs some editing!

What do you think?