Bullying at work....

markeymark

Not going into full details it's too long...lol

I have been subjected to bullying and harassment by one of my managers at work and The Governor who runs the prison I work in.

Yesterday it came to a head and I broke down, I went home sick, which I didn't want to do, I had to stop my car twice as I just burst out crying, on the second time I phoned my workplace and spoke to a different governor, I explained everything to him and asked to keep it confidential, I then went home after being there it was like a weight lifted from my shoulders, then my other boss called me, he stated not to come into work today, I said that I'm fine and that he knew about me being bullied and had done nothing.
He said if I was to come into work then he would have to speak to me before I went to my work area! I done this and when I went into work and seen him, first thing he asked was do I want a rep or friend in with me, not how are you today! This knocked me a bit and I decided to have the Governor who had bullied me previously in at the meeting, needless to say he basically character assassinated me, he stated "I was a difficult individual" "all of the managers have a problem with me"

The end result was that they came to the conclusion I was not fit to work anywhere in the prison!

They put me on gardening leave until I go and see my occupational health

Totally dumbfounded by things especially as I'm the victim in all this!

ShadowPuma

Without more details its hard to know what is going on here - either with the bullying or why they say you aren't fit for work.

Honestly? We are talking about work in a Prison? I can understand them not wanting people who are difficult to deal with for whatever reason (your fault or theirs) in that environment and role.

What made you choose to have someone in the meeting with you that HAD previously bullied and harassed you? Surely you didn't think they'd be sitting there saying "oh he's a wonderful fellow! how dare you" and you'd want to be as far away from him as possible?

markeymark

It wasn't me who wanted the meeting, it was pre-planned.

Basically I had reported this bullying to several senior managers and also now to my MSP and chief executive of the SPS

My work claimed I'm "mentally unfit to work" this was decided prior to me going into a meeting.

I asked for their medical qualifications for them to base this on

They then placed me on "gardening leave" until I get seen by OH Assist(ATOS) and he compiles a report. In there referral they say they have concerns about my ability to carry out my job because I was "angry,agitated and emotional" (having just been subjected to bullying I may add) they also have dates wrong in the referral. In the referral they say that I was placed on "special leave"

I seen OH Assist on Friday, and he wants a report from my own GP which I agreed with

Now my work emailed me to say I have to get a backdated sick line to last Friday, I responded that I'm fit to work and would not be getting a sick line, they then retracted that after reviewing it, but said I'm now on leave, which means I'm using my holidays! I've disagreed with this as my holidays are all rostered throughout the year.

I had also asked on 14th August for a copy of the minutes of the meeting where I was removed from work and placed on gardening leave, I was told I'd get these.....I'm still waiting on them

Now I've been told if I would like a copy of them I have to fill in a Subject Access Request and pay £10 to get them, this gives them 40 days to provide them

Before anyone says it, what's my union doing? Exactly nothing really, I'm left in limbo to fight things myself

I've been to my doctor who put me on tablets for anxiety and have explained the whole situation to her, she seems very sympathetic

I'm now sitting at home wondering if I'm going to have a job to go back to after all of this, I'm not eating or sleeping properly and it's impacting on my family life

I have worked there for over 22 years and never had a discipline problem, yet now they trying to turn me into some sort of monster

They have threatened that when I go to OH. assist that if I say everything is ok, they will discipline me

I'm beginning for the sake of my health and sanity if it's worth it anymore

[Deleted User]

Interesting how that makes them all go quiet, isn't it. 167 views and just one reply.

I've been there, done that and got the T shirt, and learned that complaining about it just makes things worse. When children are abused, or housewives are abused society is full of empathy, but anyone else is just written off as a pathetic inadequate.

If you find any solutions let me know, I haven't worked for the last 18 years.

markeymark

Thanks for your response, it means a lot.

To clarify things in case folk think I'm some kind of work ogre

I have worked in the same prison for over 22 years, in my first year I was assaulted twice, the second one was in a riot, where I was nearly killed due to a metal cell door(not the paper ones from prisoner cell block-h) but one that was calculated to weigh more than a ton. This hit me on the head and knee and foot, alas I was back to work in 6 weeks, still up for the challenge

Since then I've been physically assaulted at least a further 4 times and lost count of the verbal assaults, spat at, urine thrown over me etc

But all in a days work

I have been diagnosed with PTSD, I've near shirked my responsibilities once in my role, I've had several commendations for bravery etc

And quite ironically, one of the governors bullying me, who is in charge of the prison, asked me only a few months ago " why don't you go for promotion,you are the type of guy we need, who is not afraid to ask the difficult questions" I declined this offer with a small chuckle to myself

Now only a couple of months since that, he describes me as "a difficult individual" and tells me "that most senior management have a problem with me" really inspirational I'm thinking

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by my post, but this is a case of typical management bullying and harrassment in my opinion

In fact one of my bullies was going round staff the day after I was placed on gardening leave, asking them to put in information that could get me in trouble

Hardly fair is it?

dandelionclock30

Can you get your union involved and ask to be transferred to a different prison?
The thing is if you complain, they will get their own back at a later date. Its very difficult to prove that you are getting bullied by the managers as they tend to all stick together basically and lie.

markeymark

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Can you get your union involved and ask to be transferred to a different prison?
The thing is if you complain, they will get their own back at a later date. Its very difficult to prove that you are getting bullied by the managers as they tend to all stick together basically and lie.

Why should I move? Shouldn't the bullies be moved?

It's not difficult to prove you are getting bullied, it only takes 2 occasions for it to count as bullying, and it is how the person perceives it, not how the bullie intended it

Takeaway_Addict

markeymark wrote: »

Why should I move? Shouldn't the bullies be moved?

It's not difficult to prove you are getting bullied, it only takes 2 occasions for it to count as bullying, and it is how the person perceives it, not how the bullie intended it

No it isn't, you might percieve something as bullying but every other person in the world might not, thus it isn't.

If you perceive it as bullying, the employer doesn't and a tribunal doesn't...its not bullying just because you think it is.

Why are the union not helping? Because they're useless or because they agree with the employer?

Have you been recording all these incidents down?

What do you want from the situation? (Having the governors moved elsewhere is highly unlikely).

dandelionclock30

markeymark wrote: »

Why should I move? Shouldn't the bullies be moved?

It's not difficult to prove you are getting bullied, it only takes 2 occasions for it to count as bullying, and it is how the person perceives it, not how the bullie intended it

Good luck with that. I'm sorry you are going through this but if you think they will be moved you are mistaken. It is difficult to prove that you are being bullied. Your workmates wont support you even if they have seen it and the managers wont either.
Whats the union saying?

QuackQuackOops

markeymark wrote: »

Why should I move? Shouldn't the bullies be moved?

It's not difficult to prove you are getting bullied, it only takes 2 occasions for it to count as bullying, and it is how the person perceives it, not how the bullie intended it

The problem you have is proving that you are being bullied. You might think someone is bullying you, but others might not see it that way.
We all see it so much now and the term "Bully" has been so diluted that real cases of bullying can go undetected.

Some people cry "Bully" when they just don't like whats being said or if they disagree with someone and feel upset.


You say "It only takes 2 occasions for it to be bullying"...two occasions of what? What has actually been said or done to make you feel 'bullied'?

ohreally

What have you asked the union to do?