bullying at work - what can I do

another_fine_mess

I am hoping someone can give me some advice.

My partner has been the subject of horrible bullying at work for over 6 months and has now suffered a complete nervous breakdown.

He took out a grievance over the bullying and although he had a grievance meeting months ago they have never come back with a decision (should have been 7 days). Even after he took the grievance out the bullying continued. He has proof of most of it and anecdotal evidence of some of the rest.

He has been off work for months and his union rep thinks they may offer him medical retirement. This will still leave us in serious financial trouble.

Is there anything we can do as it was their actions (the bullying) that was the sole cause of his illness.

SarEl

You should submit another grievance based on the failure to respond to the first grievance and the subsequent health impact as a result of the continued bullying. Under no circumstances should he resign, and nor should he discuss doing so. If you are not satisfied that his union rep is dealing with this matter adequately, you should ask to speak to a regional official for an assessment of the case and the options available, which may, depending on the circumstances and evidence, include a claim of personal injury. My advice in terms of the union would be to keep it calm and non-judgemental - unions are sometimes not happy when their reps are criticised (even when it is justified) - and your best chance of getting a more senior and experienced rep is to be clever about it.

another_fine_mess

Thanks very much for the advice.

At his grievance meeting the manager hearing the grievance stated that, although there was a lot of evidence, he had no intention of disciplining or moving the two individuals concerned. With this in mind my partner really doesn't see how he can go back to work and so medical retirement may be the best option if it is offered. However we will struggle financially and I imagine it will be a long time before he is well enough to look for another job. He certainly wont be able to get a job in the same field and I doubt employers will be queuing up to employ someone who has suffered a breakdown.

I just feel so frustrated that they can destroy him and all our plans for the future like this and get away with it. .

sharkie

voice recorders are cheap plus often built into phones. It may be possible to record the whole day. While this evidence nay not be admissible in court, it may be admissible in meetings an tribunals.

Secondly you now get video cameras the size of those stablo highlighter pens for about £60 - ebay. They are quite good, a friend hangs one around his dogs neck, to see what his dog is interested in when rummaging around a forest. They also have voice activation as an option too

Save all the information on your pc

dealgirl

Some people are just sooo mean Also, the manager is completely out of order for not doing anything about it! I think you should try the grievance again. Because when you first did it, he hadn't had the breakdown, and now the circumstances have changed so it is more serious. Maybe if he had the support of some other colleages to back up his claim, it would help

LindsayO

when you say medical retirement do you mean as a means of leaving employment or with a pension?
If your OH has a pension which provides for medical retirment then please be aware that in some cases the employer can terminate the persons employment due to medical incpacity, but the pension provider can decide that no pension will be paid, so you need to look into who decides if a pension is paid and on what grounds.

fluffnutter

sharkie wrote: »

voice recorders are cheap plus often built into phones. It may be possible to record the whole day. While this evidence nay not be admissible in court, it may be admissible in meetings an tribunals.

Secondly you now get video cameras the size of those stablo highlighter pens for about £60 - ebay. They are quite good, a friend hangs one around his dogs neck, to see what his dog is interested in when rummaging around a forest. They also have voice activation as an option too

Save all the information on your pc

Get permission first! Recording or videoing someone with their consent is illegal.

Uncertain

fluffnutter wrote: »

Get permission first! Recording or videoing someone with their consent is illegal.

I assume you meant to say "without their consent" !!

However......

No it is not - where do some of these myths come from?

It may be prohibited by your employer and, if so, may amount to gross misconduct but that does not make it a crime.

It is not illegal to record (even covertly) a conversation you are party to. Recording a meeting at which you are not present (i.e. "bugging") may be illegal.

What you can do with the recording can be more complicated. However, under certain circumstances, employment tribunals have allowed such recordings as evidence and this has been upheld on appeal.

another_fine_mess

Thanks for all the replies.

My partner is off work at the moment so there is little contact (thank goodness)

He has lots of evidence of the things they have done it's not just his word against someone else's. That seems to be quite unusual in this type of situation.

It is not his employer who decides if an ill-health pension is paid, they make a recommendation to the pension board. I would hope with the amount of medical reports he has that the pension board would take advice from doctors, therapists etc.

If they dismiss him on medical grounds and he is refused a pension could he go a tribunal for unfair dismissal as his illness is a direct result of their deliberate actions and the fact his employers, knowing what was going on, took absolutely no steps to intervene?

Judas

What are the incidents of bullying and what evidence?
The grievance appears to have been upheld but not followed through as your partner would wish; this then gives rise to a potential second grievance; however has your partner returned to work at any point?

If I was the employer I would argue your partner needs to come back and see if things have improved since the grievance. Sometimes even knowing that others know/recognise something can change behaviour.

spring_chicken

thought I was reading about my husband for a moment! He too was victim of bullying at work, and last September had a break down at work and was sent to hospital and signed off sick, the harrassment continued, and like your husband, he also had a grievance ignored, when he queried it, he was told "oh you arent still banging on about that are you" - anyway, he returned to work in April and was told that he could be "got rid off" whenever they wanted (hubby has this on an audio recording) - in May of this year hubby was put in a damned if he did and damned if he didnt situation and sacked for gross negligence (even though the company have admitted that they made a "!!!! up") - we are now in the process of waiting for a date for a tribunal hearing for unfair dismissal, we have so much evidence, that when this comes out its really going to make the poop hit the fan!

It terrible that people can get away with making other peoples lives a misery, if there is one thing that I hate, its bullies.

I hope everything works out for you both in the end x