Incident at work

DollDaggaBuzzBuzz

Hi there,
I am new, so please be gentle.
My OH has anger issues, and is consequently frequently meeting with shrinks and other doctors to control his anger. He only ever really lashes out when cornered.
He was at work one night, and he had been talking to some customers outside whilst cleaning tables and whilst the bar was empty (there was another member of staff behind the bar)
When he came in, his boss reprimanded him for spending too long (<5 minutes) talking to the punters. No problem, he said, and apologised.
His boss, however, kept pressing the issue, and my husband asked for a minute to calm down before returning to work.
His boss refused, and carried on telling him off.
His boss was VERY drunk at this point. He wasn't on shift and had been drinking all afternoon in the pub. (CCTV Can confirm this)
Anyhow, the long and short of it is that my dear stupid husband lashed out. He had enough sense to avoid his boss and instead he punched the wall, breaking a bone in his hand. He's been off for 12 weeks while it recovers (should have been 6, but the dr ignored him when he removed his cast after 2 weeks, didn't do an X-ray, and the hand was still badly broken. Cue round 2 of a cast)
My husband had a meeting with his boss, firstly to apologise for his behaviour, secondly, to give his boss further detail on his anger and depression issues. He brought a letter from his doctor to show his boss, and explained about needing time to calm down.
His boss asked, fairly reasonably, for not only a fit note from the GP re: the hand, but also for a fit note from my husbands shrink to say that he is mentally fit to return to work.
My husband obliged and provided these letters last week. He went in for what he assumed would be a return to work meeting, only to be told he is now suspended whilst his boss carries out an investigation.
My questions are this

1- should they not have conducted the investigation sooner?
2- is it fair for his boss, who was involved, to be the one carrying out the investigation?

Before the array of "it was his fault" posts; yes, my OH was an idiot, however he asked for a minute and was denied it. His boss was drunk, already in a bad mood, and decided to take it out on OH. He has apologised profusely to his boss. My husband has been told that if he feels "down" enough, the GP will sign him off work. My OH would rather work than claim sick pay he knows he doesn't need, and he is devastated that this has happened.

jc808

DollDaggaBuzzBuzz wrote: »

my dear stupid husband .

I think you sum it up there im afraid. Your husband is not in a position to dictate what happens now. I think at best he will have a reprimand of sorts.

No offence, but regardless of his AM issues, I wouldnt want to work with a bloke like your husband regardless of how 'harmless' you think he is

marybelle01

Whether it is fair for the boss to do it depends on who else there might be to do it, and what they are investigating. Which isn't really all that clear here. It may be that they are investigating his fitness to work in this situation rather than the specific incident that led up to all this. After all, in any situation where alcohol is involved, there are going to be people drinking it! And as a consequence there could be any number of situations where it isn't the boss you are talking to and they won't "give you a minute" to calm down either. What if next time he can't control his anger, it's a customer? Which doesn't really excuse the fact that this time it was the boss, but it could have been a lot worse - and hitting a wall hard enough to break your hand is quite a lot of anger, and quite small amount of common sense.

I think you have to find out exactly what they are investigating, but it doesn't particularly bode well.

bluenoseam

your OH's boss could not conduct an investigation while one of the key factors of such was signed off work - so that's one of the first things.

Second your OH has a history of mental health issues which have, by the sounds of it, lead to him lashing out in the past, now while that might seem like none of the employers concern, it's actually very much their concern. He's in an environment where you cannot expect a drunk to "give him a minute to cool down", drunk people do not see reason, they will keep on at him - what would happen not only to OH but to the company if your OH suddenly lashed out at a customer! It would incur a lawsuit, not only against your OH but likely against the establishment as well which could prove very costly.

The boss not being on shift is irrelevant, if anything it makes it much worse as he was infact at this point in time a customer! Perhaps it's just me, but as far as I've been concerned the boss is the boss all the time, they do not have to be on shift to be able to make your life a living hell! The boss being drunk is also irrelevant, he wasn't on duty so therefore had no real reason to be sober, while that also means he didn't have much right to have a go at OH, ultimately he could have waited til later & done so.

I think at best you should pray that they will be willing to accept a grovelling approach, but it could be that understanding the environment his employer may seek to dismiss on capability grounds - citing that he could be a liability should be be "cornered" by a drunk punter.

DollDaggaBuzzBuzz

I appreciate what has been said, but the difference between the boss and drunk punters is that his boss was behind the bar, cornering him in the kitchen. Usually he is separated from drunks by a bar

marybelle01

DollDaggaBuzzBuzz wrote: »

I appreciate what has been said, but the difference between the boss and drunk punters is that his boss was behind the bar, cornering him in the kitchen. Usually he is separated from drunks by a bar

And that makes it ok? The boss was telling him off. OK, maybe he was drunk. That does not make it ok to throw a punch - at the wall or anything else. A bar doesn't stop him throwing a punch, any more than the wall didn't. It doesn't matter what it is that he hits - it still isn't an appropriate response. If he'd been told off and the boss wasn't drunk, would he still have thrown a punch? If he has anger management issues the answer is yes, he would. The issue isn't that somebody was having a go at him for something, the issue is that his reaction to it was to lash out. And, as bluenoseam points out, given he is already in treatment for this, probably not for the first time.

You are seeing this as it's his bosses fault for getting drunk, for telling him off, for "cornering him in the kitchen". It isn't. That is poor behaviour and poor judgement. But it isn't an invitation for a violent reaction.

kiss_me_now9

DollDaggaBuzzBuzz wrote: »

I appreciate what has been said, but the difference between the boss and drunk punters is that his boss was behind the bar, cornering him in the kitchen. Usually he is separated from drunks by a bar

So? Drunks can walk behind bars you know - When I worked in a nightclub I had a lovely experience when a drunk guy wandered into the tiny cloakroom I was working in and refused to leave. Drunk people don't read signs and follow rules.

I'm sorry but if I worked with your husband and had seen that display I would be wary of working with him. I understand that sometimes the red mist comes down but working in a pub is stressful enough at the best of times, let alone with such a problem. Maybe a change of career would do him some good?

agrinnall

How long has your OH worked there? If it's less than a year the boss may just decide to cut his losses and fire him, and I don't think there would be anything in this case to prevent him doing that. Hopefully that won't happen, as he could have done it already, but your OH really needs to be prepared to accept whatever sanction is proposed, or look for another job without a reference.

mynameistallulah

agrinnall wrote: »

How long has your OH worked there? If it's less than a year the boss may just decide to cut his losses and fire him, and I don't think there would be anything in this case to prevent him doing that. Hopefully that won't happen, as he could have done it already, but your OH really needs to be prepared to accept whatever sanction is proposed, or look for another job without a reference.

On the information the OP has given, I imagine her partner may have protection under the Equality Act, so the one year period may not be relevant.

OP, have a look at Department of Work and Pensions v Hall, it is certainly not a get out card, but the facts are quite similar.

DVardysShadow

mynameistallulah wrote: »

.... OP, have a look at Department of Work and Pensions v Hall, it is certainly not a get out card, but the facts are quite similar.

http://employment.practicallaw.com/7-365-5955?q=*&qp=&qo=&qe=

duchy

DollDaggaBuzzBuzz wrote: »

I appreciate what has been said, but the difference between the boss and drunk punters is that his boss was behind the bar, cornering him in the kitchen. Usually he is separated from drunks by a bar

Didn't you say earlier that part of your husband's duties was glass collecting and clearing though ? No bar seperating him then.