Workplace Harassment

[nigrob]

Hello,

 

My 18 year old daughter has worked for an Agency at the same workplace for around 5 months and has had a number of occasions which amount to Harassment possibly Sexual but the line when it becomes Sexual Harassment is unclear to us. The client who recruit through the agency are aware of at least 3 occasions prior to the latest incident.

 

On the last incident a colleague who was sat near her at their work station moved across to her, put his hand on her thigh and then put his other arm around her, she tried to move away but he wouldn’t release his arm from around her and another colleague had to shout at him 3 times to get off her before he did. The following day she went back to work and became scared and upset in the first few hours because the person was constantly staring at her and his girlfriend and her friends were also acting towards my daughter in a threatening manner.

 

I eventually had to go to the workplace as my daughter was scared and upset and nobody was around to get help. A Team Leader became involved and took my daughter to an office where a Formal Complaint was prepared and then sent to the Agency & Workplace HR. 

 

After having her 4 days off due to the shift pattern she returned to work and straight away noticed that the accused person was on site and started glaring at her as soon as he saw her, this made her frightened and upset and again she had to leave site. She let her agency know if this and they said that the investigation had been carried out and the matter was closed but they would invite her to a meeting to chat over it and update her on what had been done to keep her safe.

 

she went for the meeting but it wasn’t as she thought, she was taken to the HR Managers office (Clients) who started to question her about the incident and at the end they said that they would now need to conduct a full investigation due to what had been said, this is what my daughter thought had already been done.

 

This means that for 4 days nothing had been resolved on site or actions taken to ensure the safety of my daughter which I find is unacceptable, nobody had contacted my daughter during the 5 days after submitting the FC to even ask how she is or to reassure her and they were happy for her to return to the site as if nothing had happened.

 

My daughter is now losing out financially because of this as she is to scared to go to the workplace as the accused is still continuing to be there and no action has been taken by either the Agency or Client .

 

My frustration is who is responsible to deal with the Formal Complaint as both parties are involved, is there a breach of her terms of employment, how should it be handled and by who.

 

She is also raising a report with the Police about the matter.

 

Any advice gratefully received.

Edited March 13, 2022 by dx100uk
formatting

[Emmzzi]

I think she is employed by the agency - is that what her contract says?

 

She could ask the agency in writing what they are doing to ensure she is not harassed at work, and also to pay wages until such a time as they have guaranteed a space workspace for her.

 

Or, she could ask the agency for work elsewhere.

 

Personally I would find now be contacting other employers to seek work elsewhere, as both the agency and the workplace have demonstrated they have no intention of taking this seriously. It's rotten to the core, but you can exhaust yourself going down a legal route. She has to look after herself.

 

And, she should join a union at her next workplace. They tend to be better at handling matters like this as a collective.

[nigrob]

I was thinking it was the Agency to resolve until the HR Manager for the workplace questioned my daughter then said they would need to investigate fully.

Both the Agency and Workplace have a duty of care for all workers and would be linked Contractually for employment rights.

 

My daughter wanted to keep working there until she found other work but was unable too due to the situation she faced when returning and the fact that no process had been followed to ensure she was safe.

[Emmzzi]

4 minutes ago, nicurro said:

I was thinking it was the Agency to resolve until the HR Manager for the workplace questioned my daughter then said they would need to investigate fully.

Both the Agency and Workplace have a duty of care for all workers and would be linked Contractually for employment rights.

 

I couldn't comment om that without seeing the contract. There are many kinds of agency agreements.

 

Do you have legal cover on your house insurance? It is worth checking the policy.

[nigrob]

Pretty sure we have legal cover on house insurance policy.

[Emmzzi]

8 minutes ago, nicurro said:

Pretty sure we have legal cover on house insurance policy.

Great place to start.

[stu007]

Hi

 

I have to agree with Emmzzi on this

 

The behaviour of the Agency and the Employer she is working for have shown they don't want to take such a matter seriously.

 

As your daughter is working for an Agency her actual employer is the Agency not the client the employer she was sent by the Agency to work for so the Agency should have been taking this matter seriously and investigating it properly.

 

Yes the Agency would notify the employer she was  placed with and they would also need to carry out an investigation and is probably why that employers HR Manager spoke with her as part of that employers investigation but she will be unaware of anything they have done before hand i.e. spoke with those employees concerned and what they said.

 

IMO after this she really needs to make sure she is signed up to a Union and also with the actions of this Agency she needs to find another Agency or get her CV out to other companies in the specific field she wishes to work. Even since restrictions are getting lifted look in the local area and go round prospective companies and drop off a CV.

 

Please don't let this episode affect your Daughter in the area she wishes to work 

[nigrob]

Thanks Stu007.

 

I understand what you are saying and the fact is they haven’t as an Employer followed a process thoroughly.

A further complaint has been raised with the Agency HR Manager and I believe that they will be unaware of how the issue has been dealt with by the site agency representatives who confirmed that the matter had been investigated and closed, this was before she was asked to go to a meeting about the matter.

The invitation to the meeting was to chat it over with the Agency site team not to be questioned by the clients HR Manager.

This meeting did not give my daughter any time to prepare for it and this became very stressful for her.

she was even asked if she typed out the complaint as it had speeding and gramma errors, for what reason I don’t know but she replied by saying it was a Team Leader Employed by the client who did it.

An HR Manager should know better than this and also trained in this area to ensure that appropriate action and due process is followed.

 

[Emmzzi]

Pause, and stop thinking about legal rights and obligations.

 

I get that you are angry.

 

what is the best thing which can happen for your daughter now, which she has control over?

 

you cannot force the agency to behave well.

 

Remember HR are there for the employer, not the employee. Don’t expect them to be your champion.

 

what is the best thing for your daughter, where she can control the outcome?

Edited March 14, 2022 by Emmzzi

[nigrob]

The best thing would be for her to feel able to go back to the workplace and feel safe.

Is this too much to ask ?

 

What are you saying, stop working and punish yourself financially and for her to accept it was her fault?

Surely Agencies/Employers have to do better even when they won’t allow unions on site?

 

International Women’s Day must be a waste if this is the case.

 

 

 

 

[Emmzzi]

The ideal outcome, the law, and reality, almost never line up.

 

what did your insurers say?

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by Emmzzi

[dx100uk]

open

[nigrob]

Hi, we have now received an offer to settle before the tribunal though I am unsure of the full meaning of this statement and how to proceed with the offer as it seems a little low.

”Without prejudice except in relation to an application for costs to be paid by the Claimant”

 
Any advice appreciated

[Emmzzi]

Can’t advise without knowing who has made the offer, what the contract said, and what your claim was for.

 

You’re missing huge chunks of information out here.

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Emmzzi

[nigrob]

The offer is being made for commercial reasons from one of the respondents on the condition that all claims are dropped against all parties, the next para says “The offer is made on condition that all terms of an agreement can be agreed”

 

does this help ?

[Emmzzi]

That means they don’t think she has a case but it’s cheaper to pay her off than defend it. They won’t pay out unless she waives her right to bring more cases.

 

you need a view from your own lawyer on the strength of her case.