Recourse on unreasonable Employer actions on Investigation

fergus15

Hi, a 'friend' who is a manager in the public service received an allegation of bullying against them in 2014. It was originally investigated the Line Management and my friend was informed that there was no case to answer. However the other party did not accept this outcome and it was escalated eventually until a further full and formal investigation was agreed, as the original investigation had not been completed within due process or properly by the LM. My friend has had to deal with the truma of having this unfounded allegation having over them for over 3'years!

Recently (Jan 17) they were informed that the allegation had been dropped and complainant has received a 'deal' to be medically retired and all allegations and claims against the original inappropriate investigation to be dropped. So, after 3 long years of uncertainty and anxiety for my friend (during which they were off with stress), to be told after 3 years that their is not to be taken any further feels like a complete neglect of duty of care to my friend in their role as a employee/manager.

They are left feeling both extremely annoyed and betrayed by the organisation in their obligations to their own health and well being. What recourse would my friend have against the organisation for a failing to properly investigation the allegation against them in the first instance 'within a reasonable timeframe' which has resulted in a 3 year cloud over their head, period of stress related illness and inability to formally clear their name? Thanks

[Deleted User]

Your friend could phone ACAS to see if there are grounds for constructive dismissal but they have to look at what they want to get out of this first. It could backfire and just elongate the stress even further.

Hard though it is when you feel an injustice has been done, they might be best to just move on.

Perhaps they could consider counselling to help them deal with this? I know its not ideal, but I wonder if your friend needs this process to go on for another one/two years or more? Particularly as it will mean going through the same things that have already been brought up.

TELLIT01

It would seem that any fault lays with the manager who conducted the first investigation improperly. Those who took it forward would then be treading on egg shells to ensure that every T was crossed, and every I dotted, in order to avoid a second claim that the investigation wasn't conducted properly.
I can certainly understand the 'friend' being stressed and unhappy about the timescales, but public sector investigations are notoriously slow.

fergus15

@Deannatrois - I recognise your point in the added anxiety of this. I agree that ACAs advice might be pertinent.
@Tellit01 - there are a number of statutory laws Health & Safety at Work, Emoyment Law, Contract Law etc, which relate to the safety and well being of employees at work, placing responsibility on Employers to look after the well being of their employees. The time elapsed on this seems grossly unfair and unreasonable to leave an employee under the cloud of a serious accusation for this period of time. Whilst I agree that the fault like with the previous LM, my friend should not have been left in this state of anxiety for over 3 years.

steampowered

I'm a bit unsure why this was so stressful. I apologise if this sounds unkind, but an uncompleted investigation sounds like normal workplace politics to me and doesn't sound like a good reason to be off work with stress. Is there more to the story we aren't aware of?

I'm afraid I can't see any legal recourse based on what you've posted.

Malthusian

fergus15 wrote: »

So, after 3 long years of uncertainty and anxiety for my friend (during which they were off with stress), to be told after 3 years that their is not to be taken any further feels like a complete neglect of duty of care to my friend in their role as a employee/manager.

What would they have preferred - to be told that they've been found guilty?

I'm not sure what outcome they want. If they wanted the investigation to be over, that's happened. If they wanted the investigation to be over more quickly, that's now impossible without a time machine. If working while this Kafkaesque situation hung over them was intolerable they could have found alternative employment, but they didn't. If they want to sue the employer for distress or suchlike - that's a question for a solicitor but I can't disagree with steampowered.

Perhaps they want to be paid off with "medical retirement" (i.e. pension money) like the complainer, but that feels like too much of a leap from what has been posted.

I'm glad I don't work in a situation where this is considered "normal workplace politics". An investigation into bullying should not take three years, it can't possibly take that long to interview any potential witnesses and weigh up the evidence. Not only should it not take that long but taking that long harms the chances of the investigation having the right outcome (because some witnesses leave and the others forget). But as absurd as the length of time is, there's nothing that can be done about it now that the investigation is over.