sent home from work in the night

ceridwen

DVardysShadow wrote: »

You are only assuming OP walked to work. I would think OP could well have had a lift into work from her partner. [Apologies, just re read OP does appear walk to work for 2200 but would be picked up from work at 2200. Still appears that OP has decided what is appropriate]

Aside from SarEl's clarification of the legal position, even if there is no legal recourse for being put off the premises in the middle of the night, it is a totally unacceptable way to treat an employee. This is a justifiable basis for a grievance.

I can only speak as a woman myself - and whilst I wouldnt be "charmed" at walking TO work at 10pm (ie its the evening) - I would be distinctly nervous about walking back from work at midnight (because its now night-time).

At 10pm - there will still be people milling around socialising etc - but at midnight many have gone to bed/lot less people around/it just feels very different somehow...

persa

If the police have been involved, surely the company (and thus the line manager) are aware that there's a personal safety issue? (If the police didn't say anything, I would have expected the OP to at the time of the police investigating.)

Regardless of the legal position, if the line manager knew about the above and still encouraged the OP to leave the building and wander home unaccompanied, I think that's fairly disgusting! The OP should have made her own arrangements to get home, agreed, but the manager should have let her wait inside, in the vicinity of people, whilst she made the necessary phone calls.

I don't think women should spend their lives hiding indoors out of fear, no, but I don't think anyone (regardless of age or gender) should take unnecessary risks when it comes to their personal safety.

dickydonkin

ceridwen wrote: »

I can only speak as a woman myself - and whilst I wouldnt be "charmed" at walking TO work at 10pm (ie its the evening) - I would be distinctly nervous about walking back from work at midnight (because its now night-time).

At 10pm - there will still be people milling around socialising etc - but at midnight many have gone to bed/lot less people around/it just feels very different somehow...

Absolutely..........and even if you are with someone in the early hours of the morning, your safety is not guaranteed as this event that occurred in my region at the weekend will testify.

Yes-such attacks are relatively rare - but they still happen.

Emmzi

a bit OT but I really like this... http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2009/09/sexual_assault_3


"How to Avoid Rape."

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.
2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!
3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!
4. NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.
5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!
6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.
7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.
8. Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.
9. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!
10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.


Women should be able to walk wherever they wish. Damned if I am staying indoors and perpetuating the culture of fear.

persa

Emmzi wrote: »

Women should be able to walk wherever they wish. Damned if I am staying indoors and perpetuating the culture of fear.

Fear is only stupid when it's irrational. The OP was allegedly threatened near her place of work recently. Feeling a bit jumpy strikes me as perfectly justifiable in that scenario!

I'm very glad to have the rights and freedoms that I do, but equally, I'm not going to walk home late at night by myself just to prove a point! My female ancestors weren't allowed to work - I am - so I find it just as empowering to use some of my earned income to pay for a black cab from a licensed taxi firm.

The OP wasn't allowed to wait in the building until a cab arrived, so it's possible she felt it was just as risky/safe being on the move as standing outside the workplace and waiting for a cab to turn up. Even if the manager didn't legally owe her a duty of care, I do think it was wrong to not let her wait inside until she had sorted an emergency means of transport home.

Sambucus_Nigra

Ignoring the fact that it's the employer/employee relationship - what man would let a woman walk home at midnight without at least trying to sort out transport or let them call a lift?

I wouldn't let any of my friends do it; unless the circumstances were that it was wholly safe. And even so, I'd have been getting them to text me when they got home. It's about being careful, isn't it?

Oldernotwiser

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Ignoring the fact that it's the employer/employee relationship - what man would let a woman walk home at midnight without at least trying to sort out transport or let them call a lift?

I wouldn't let any of my friends do it; unless the circumstances were that it was wholly safe. And even so, I'd have been getting them to text me when they got home. It's about being careful, isn't it?

Oh come on - what century are you living in?

Savvy_Sue

dickydonkin wrote: »

I think we would all agree that it would be safer walking before 10:00pm than after midnight.

Depends where you are / how many pubs and clubs you're walking past / when chucking out time is.

heretolearn wrote: »

Actually I believe young men are the highest risk group for being attacked.

Me too. IMO, if you're old enough to have a job, you're old enough to work out how to get there and back safely.

Sambucus_Nigra

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Oh come on - what century are you living in?

Well, one where a friend cares about another. Is that so strange?

Emmzi

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Well, one where a friend cares about another. Is that so strange?

You are living in a century where big brave men patronise fragile ickle women. While covertly undermining perceptions of the woman's competence, strength, independence. So covertly, you probably don;'t even realise you've been indoctrinated into doing it.

Sometimes I would like help or a white knight. Myself, I will ask if I would like help. And will help people of either gender who ask. But I won't speak for other women because making sweeping generalisation about huge numbers of people is not helpful. (Who'd let a woman walk home alone? Depends on the woman.)

Assumptions about helplessness, and that is what they are, IMHO are unhelpful and perpetuate gender stereotypes.

I have had long debates with women about "your rights are now enshrined in law, get on with living a good life." I'm not a bra burner, marcher, hire by quota kind of a person.

And then sometimes I'm saddened by just how far we are from equailty as a society.