Bullying at work....

markeymark

Sorry folks never realised there have been more replys

First of all, I have things in writing that my manager "wasn't very nice in the way he acted"

My union, have advised me to wait and see how my work play things, as the ball is in their court

I'm fully fit for work, but my view on things are that when I got placed on gardening leave, my work expected me to "throw the dolly out of the pram", and get a sick line, I never as I'm not unwell, they have taken the decision they think I'm mentally unfit to work, they aren't qualified for making that observation

And it is how down to the individual to decide if they are being bullied/harassed, proving it isn't necessarily that difficult

I've learnt through the years that the SPS are not clued up in dealing with issues with staff, hence their bully boy tactics

What do I want from things?

Easy answer to get back to my work to deal with things and not being kept away from my work because my managers think I'm unfit!

Not very hard is it?

I don't expect sympathy or anything, but I will not be forced out the door by my employer

markeymark

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/40/section/8

BJV

In another life I used to run garages for big companies. A long time ago something almost similar happened. A big big boss took over and decided that his friend would do a better job of running the site I was in charge of.


He called me in no warning, and well slaughtered me is the only way I can describe it. I walked out in tears.


He told everyone that I had just confessed to being a drug addict and stealing from the company. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!.


I took it to a disciplinary but his word against mine. By then it had changed from injecting myself to just stealing ( which I had not). Friends where told not to stand as character references for fear of loosing their jobs ohhh not nice.


It nearly destroyed me, mentally, physically I was a mess.


My OH and best friend where worried I was drinking too much not eating well long story short they sat me down and basically gave me a telling off. No job is ever worth it.


Your health and well being are worth more than anything and money can never buy it back.


As it happens for me in hindsight it was the best thing that ever happened and I would not be where I am today if it had not. It made me stronger, ok a little less trusting but I now treat people as I would like to be treated and don't take anything for granted.


So firstly forget anything else. Concentrate on your health first. Once that is sorted you will be in a much better place to deal with everything else.

markeymark

BJV wrote: »

In another life I used to run garages for big companies. A long time ago something almost similar happened. A big big boss took over and decided that his friend would do a better job of running the site I was in charge of.


He called me in no warning, and well slaughtered me is the only way I can describe it. I walked out in tears.


He told everyone that I had just confessed to being a drug addict and stealing from the company. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!.


I took it to a disciplinary but his word against mine. By then it had changed from injecting myself to just stealing ( which I had not). Friends where told not to stand as character references for fear of loosing their jobs ohhh not nice.


It nearly destroyed me, mentally, physically I was a mess.


My OH and best friend where worried I was drinking too much not eating well long story short they sat me down and basically gave me a telling off. No job is ever worth it.


Your health and well being are worth more than anything and money can never buy it back.


As it happens for me in hindsight it was the best thing that ever happened and I would not be where I am today if it had not. It made me stronger, ok a little less trusting but I now treat people as I would like to be treated and don't take anything for granted.


So firstly forget anything else. Concentrate on your health first. Once that is sorted you will be in a much better place to deal with everything else.

Thanks for this m8, I'm beginning to think that my work are trying to turn me insane.....lol

Been to my doctors last week and told her I'm fit for work and being off isn't helping me, she agreed with me

I'm now finding if I want answers to questions I've submitted formally, I have to go through a SAR request and pay £10 it's laughable

Haven't heard from my union rep for over a week

But as I've said before I'm not being forced out of my career by nobody

BJV

Good ! Pay the £10.00 and see what the transcripts say. Working in a prison can not be easy ( I could not do it ) and to have worked there for so long you must be good at it. Just make sure that if they want to talk to you in any sort of an official capacity that you take someone trust worthy and if possible someone higher up in the pecking order than they are.


They are bullies and standing up to them is the last thing that they will expect or any bully wants.

markeymark

Thanks m8, I've got my MSP fighting my corner so hopefully they will sit up and listen

Tiddlywinks

Sometimes, things said by one person are received entirely differently than intended by another. Events can seem postitive to one and negative to another.

Please don't take this the wrong way but are you sure you're OK to work? Are you sure that the PTSD isn't leaking into your daily life a little and making you a bit more edgy than usual?

I can fully understand why your manager would want an OH assessment as he has a duty of care to you and to the people in your care... he can't afford to take the risk of you losing control and placing yourself or someone else at risk... what does your internal policy say about leave in such circumstances? The union should be assisting here if the employer wants you to use leave.

The trouble with these sort of situations is that people 'dig in' and feel threatened - that is probably why the managers are now insisting on a SAR for the minutes of the meeting.... I'd recommend that your union makes a formal request for those minutes BTW.

Have you been privatised? Do you still have access to HO systems? They have a mediation service that might be able to help.

What do you want to happen? Have you discussed this with your union rep? Is what you want to happen actually achievable / realistic?

Does your union rep agree that your examples meet the definition of bullying or harassment? If so, you should be raising a formal grievance which should warrant an investigation.

I really do understand this is a stressful time for you - my advice? Get to know the organisation's relevant policies and use them... if your union rep isn't helping then speak to the HQ and ask for further help.

Plus, be open to the possibility that you may have played a part in the events that have led to where you are now.

PTSD is tough - there's no shame in needing to take time to come to terms with health issues and OH should be able to help your employer to understand any adjustments you might need to get back to work.


http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-(ptsd)/

markeymark

Thanks Tiddlywinks for your input

If my PTSD was having an impact on my work, would it not be recognised earlier? I've worked there over 22 years and lived with PTSD since 1993

I've never been disciplined at work, and all my annual reports are very good, one of those who I perceived to be harassing/bullying me actually asked me to go for promotion a couple of months earlier, so I can't see why since then I've suddenly become this kind of mad man they are making me out to be!

He also approached my union rep stating if I went to OH and said I was fit for work, he would seek to discipline me, is this normal caring practice or could it be construed as a threat to play there game?

One other manager was courting staff the day after they sent me home on gardening leave to try get them to put information in against me and an aledged incident that was meant to have happened.

As I've mentioned all I want to do is get back to work as I'm fully fit

Tiddlywinks

markeymark wrote: »

Thanks Tiddlywinks for your input

If my PTSD was having an impact on my work, would it not be recognised earlier? I've worked there over 22 years and lived with PTSD since 1993

Mental health issues are all different - look at the MIND link in my last post to see their advice.

I've never been disciplined at work, and all my annual reports are very good, one of those who I perceived to be harassing/bullying me actually asked me to go for promotion a couple of months earlier, so I can't see why since then I've suddenly become this kind of mad man they are making me out to be!

None of us will be able to comment on this as we weren't there - what I can say from personal experience is that mental health issues (for instance, raised stress or anxiety levels) can sometimes make people react out of their normal character. You say your doctor has diagnosed stress and anxiety - this could be altering your reactions without you realising it. I have seen people shouting and very agitated but who are completely unaware of how frightening they appear to be to others.

He also approached my union rep stating if I went to OH and said I was fit for work, he would seek to discipline me, is this normal caring practice or could it be construed as a threat to play there game?

This is all down to choice of words, his delivery. and the rep's interpretation.. the manager *may* have said that he wants you to be fully co-operative (open and honest) with OH (rather than pretending all is well).... and that if you aren't then the manager may have no choice but to treat any further issues as having a bad attitude rather than health related - what he actually said - verbatim - is important... not simply what your rep has paraphrased.

One other manager was courting staff the day after they sent me home on gardening leave to try get them to put information in against me and an aledged incident that was meant to have happened.

He may have been asked to investigate the matter... may have been testing reactions from colleagues from a welfare perspective... or fact finding to ensure he knew everything etc.

As I've mentioned all I want to do is get back to work as I'm fully fit

What was the incident?

markeymark

What incident? All the bullying I may have experienced? Or the one where my manager was asking staff to submit information?

If it's the latter, then it was someone whistling down a corridor, but this manager has already discussed this with me, basically accusing me of this! Whilst there were others there, he only chose to pull me up about it!

Is this down to my PTSD also?