FLM lied during investigation

rainybird

About one year ago I made a official complaint regards bullying and harassment from a male member of staff, the harassment had been going on for over a year but I choose to ignore it and hope it would go away, the guy in question is well like by management and is what we like to call an ar*e kisser. Management & staff where all aware of the situation and that it had been going on for a while, I was even told by my FLM that someone had wrote an anonomous letter to HR complaining that they were being bullied & that the general feeling from the management was that it was me. It was not. However I felt him saying this spoke volumes.

So I made the complaint, the complaint was upheld & an investigation was carried out.

The investigation was completed, I was informed while working on the shop floor that the investigation had been completed & an outcome had been reached. Now we have a zero tolerance policy where I work so I could not believe that nothing had changed, yes the guy had been disaplined, but nothing had changed for me, I still had to work with him.

I had no Idea at the time that I was allowed to see the investigation reports, I just thought that was that, the bullying continued, I complained again....nothing....


To cut a lone story short, I found out I could see the reports, and to my horror I began to under stand why HR didn't move the guy, my FLM made me sound like a gin drinking valium taking nutter, amongst many untruths he told, one of them was regards an official home visit he did while I was ill.....I have never had an official home visit....HR should have known this.....he also said I was easily intimidated as I had taken time off with depression!! I have never suffered with depression in my life!!...They should have known this & also if it was true, could he use private confidential info in this way, he also put his personal feelings about me down on paper.....very unprofessional & very untrue.

Is there anything I can do...I am in the union, and I am not afraid to make waves...

thank you.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

didnt want to read and run - in the first instance can you not pull up the discrepincies with HR?

rainybird

The HR department are only there to protect management, & to make sure any one who makes waves is well and truly shut up....they patronise me, tell me...." I'm vulnerable & a little bitter"....I'm an the least vulnerable person I know...bitter, dam right I'm bitter..

There are many people where I work who are afraid to come forward & admit they have a problem, as it usually results in them being labeled a trouble causer (like me).....and first mistake they make, there out the door..

Once HR makes a desision thats it.... there is no going back...

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

well then i would either speak to the union or find a better work place in all honesty

maninthestreet

You need to complain, in writing, to HR that information they have recorded about is incorrect, and you want it corrected.

SarEl

The information they hold is not incorrect. It is a matter of opinion, and in the circumstances of an investigation then "opinion" is valid information - and often comprises substantial parts of evidence in matters such as these. The line manager can say and think what they believe to be the case - just as the OP did. I am not suggesting that the OP isn't telling the truth, simply pointing out that everyone has their own perspective. To be honest I am surprised they allowed you to see the reports - it is not a legal right and in fact may be a breach of data protection, since there is no automatic right for you to see details of what witnesses have said to an investigator. Such documents are normally redacted.

What you do is up to you, but personally I would have to suggest that you think long and hard about whether you have anything to gain. This happened some time ago - so the decision made at that time is not going to be changed. And there are always two sides to every story - you deny all or some of the things said, but your manager is going to come out swinging if you call him/her a liar, and you need to be prepared for the fact that they will be seeking to prove what they have said. Remember, in employment matters, evidence is not required - only reasonable belief. And raising these matters may make things worse rather than better. That said, if you are prepared for all of that then by all means make waves. But just be clear that you are doing so for a reason that justifies the risk.

lynzpower

Sar El, is it just opinon though whether the home visit happened. Surely this is a 'fact' one way or another?

LL30

Is it just that you are upset by what was written in the notes for the investigation, or that you are upset that no 'action' has been taken to help resolve the issue? In an investigation, people can say what they want and then a decision is made - in this case, despite what this guy said, your complaint was upheld. There's really no point trying to get to the bottom of the rights and wrongs of what this person said about you, that's by the by now, what you need to focus on is how you are going to move forward. Do you need to submit another grievance? What evidence do you have? Do the company provide mediation between parties that are having difficulties?

I had a long hard slog with bullying at work. I was asked to be witness at a tribunal involving the woman who had bullied me - the things that I heard about what she had said about me in the tribunal room were unrepeatable, and all in a public forum. She had even been making 'anonymous' phone calls about me to parents of the children I taught, I had no idea that this had been happening and I was distraught. Even after the tribunal (where the judge told her to do one before she incurred costs) I was expected to work alongside this woman. Only solution, take out another grievance (number 4), not bringing up the 'he said, she said' but sticking to the facts of what had happened...it wasn't easy, and resulted in me leaving my job and going to tribunal but the situation could not continue.

What I'm trying to say, (and not very eloquently at that) is that I know it's hard to hear when people have said awful, personal things about you, but you need to look at the actions you can and the remedy that you would like instead of getting caught up in the emotions of it. Not easy I know x

SarEl

lynzpower wrote: »

Sar El, is it just opinon though whether the home visit happened. Surely this is a 'fact' one way or another?

You obviously don't spend enough time dealing with employment disputes - lucky old you! By the time this becomes an official complaint the line manager will have one or all of the following - (a) the notes of the official home visit, (b) pointed out that they went as a manager and therefore it was an official home visit about ZZZ (interpretation is wonderful) (c) got the HR records amended (!) assuming HR keep such records - not all do as they are part of management files in some places (d)... you get the picture. There is no such thing as "facts" only evidence - and evidence can be strangely tainted! remember - there no employment tribunal going to ever see these "facts" - and even if they did no guarantee as to which set of facts will prevail.

rainybird

What about the fact that I have never suffered from depression in my life....surely my medical records would be proof enough that he lied, my HR department would know that I've never taken time off with depression.

regards the whole bullying thing that is no longer an issue, the issue is untruths were allowed to taint the investigation, & my reputation.

SarEl

rainybird wrote: »

What about the fact that I have never suffered from depression in my life....surely my medical records would be proof enough that he lied, my HR department would know that I've never taken time off with depression.

regards the whole bullying thing that is no longer an issue, the issue is untruths were allowed to taint the investigation, & my reputation.

Ah - innocence! remember that time when you mentioned you were feeling down / feeling depressed/ had a bad hair day....? Really, honestly - there are a thousand ways of explaining this and none of them require medical evidence! I have a friend I can tell you for a fact that she has OCD and severe depression and yet has never had a day off because of it nor is there a shred of medical evidence (because she lies through her teeth when forced to go to the doctor!). You don't seem to get it although it is staring you in the face - people lie! So what if he says that you might have said on a sick note that you had a cold but you had told him it was really depression but didn't want to say that, or whatever. And you have no evidence that what he said was even believed or had any influence on the decision made - that is your surmise - or that it has in any way damaged your reputation. I am not saying this to be argumentative. But I do want you to understand how quickly sand shifts and how what starts off as one thing quickly becomes something else. And that there are risks so you have to be sure that the outcome is worth those risks.