Pursue action against employer...or walk away?

ohreally

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

Where are they held? Are they at the Magistrates Court?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-tribunal-offices-and-venues

WednesdayAdams

The evidence I have is mainly in the form of emails and occupational health records.



We haven't been through mediation or acas yet. Everything has been on hold. I was witness to a really serious and distressing crime last year and had to give evidence in the criminal courts. The union rep managed to delay things until we got that issue out of the way. That's all over now. It was incredibly difficult, but now I have to decide where to go with the work issue.


I've thought about just handing in my notice to my employer and walking away. However, I've been told by a benefits advisor not to do that as it is likely I will then be sanctioned if I try to claim universal credit. I need to be accepted for universal credit as my sick pay is about to stop and I have no other income.


So im stuck in this relationship with my employer. I don't want my job back. I'm too unwell to work. I'm just trying to work out what to do. I know I am an emotionally vulnerable person, but the bullying did happen, that's a fact. My manager has even said to me (before things got really bad), that he personally would find (the main) bully incredibly difficult to work with.

BrassicWoman

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

I'm too unwell to work. I'm just trying to work out what to do. I know I am an emotionally vulnerable person, but the bullying did happen, that's a fact. My manager has even said to me (before things got really bad), that he personally would find (the main) bully incredibly difficult to work with.

1. ask them for your unpaid accrued holiday
2. ask for a settlement agreement (via the union), to prevent everyone having to spend time in mediation and then ET

WednesdayAdams

BrassicWoman wrote: »

what do you hope the outcome will be, and why?

I want the bully to be found responsible and held to account. She is around 60 years old and Im far from her first victim. Everyone knows what she is like, shes been doing it for years, I would like her to be held accountable before she retires. Even management know. But she is such an expert on policies, law, procedures and is so good at manipulating people that everyone is to scared to stand up to her.


Im really crap at being assertive and standing up for myself. I find it really hard to hide my emotions. I cant help being really open with people when they ask me personal questions. Ive tried to change to protect myself but I cant. So Ive been bullied alot but this is the worst.


I honestly get to the point where I think about suicide and writing about what she has done to me in my suicide note. She might finally understand how her behaviour affects people. And I find it hard to have any belief that I will ever work or have a meaningful life again, so its not a bad option for me. I am a creative, intelligent person, but I dont seem to be able to understand the rules of life, boundaries etc. I foresee a hopeless future for me. So why not make some good of my existence by letting this terrible woman see the full affects of her behaviour.

TELLIT01

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

I foresee a hopeless future for me. So why not make some good of my existence by letting this terrible woman see the full affects of her behaviour.

Quite simply because if the way you describe her is true she won't have any concern or interest for anything you do, so it would be futile.
Once you have left the company, the simplest thing for them is to kick any complaints about her into the long grass and view you as a disgruntled ex-employee with a grudge.
Hard as it is, you really do need to put this behind you and move forward. If you do anything else her bullying is still working.

nicechap

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

I want the bully to be found responsible and held to account. She is around 60 years old and Im far from her first victim. Everyone knows what she is like, shes been doing it for years, I would like her to be held accountable before she retires. Even management know. But she is such an expert on policies, law, procedures and is so good at manipulating people that everyone is to scared to stand up to her.


Im really crap at being assertive and standing up for myself. I find it really hard to hide my emotions. I cant help being really open with people when they ask me personal questions. Ive tried to change to protect myself but I cant. So Ive been bullied alot but this is the worst.


I honestly get to the point where I think about suicide and writing about what she has done to me in my suicide note. She might finally understand how her behaviour affects people. And I find it hard to have any belief that I will ever work or have a meaningful life again, so its not a bad option for me. I am a creative, intelligent person, but I dont seem to be able to understand the rules of life, boundaries etc. I foresee a hopeless future for me. So why not make some good of my existence by letting this terrible woman see the full affects of her behaviour.

An ET will not give you this outcome, they have no power to "discipline" an employee. They can get you your job back or award a financial settlement, or both sometimes.

If as you say the bully is an expert on law, policies and procedures, then there's every chance the ET will side with their interpretation of events.

An ET is not fun for either party and takes an awful lot of time and resource. If your mental health is already affected, an ET may well make it much, much worse.

Only you can decide whether you want to carry on or not.

steampowered

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

I want the bully to be found responsible and held to account.

This is unlikely to be the outcome you'd get from an ET I'm afraid.

If you won your case, the outcome would be compensation paid by your employer (not by her).

You could in theory raise a claim against her personally through court under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, but this would be risky.

At this time you have to focus on what is best for yourself, and what will help you move on with life. That could be proceeding with the ET or it might be letting things go.

Gavin83

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

The evidence I have is mainly in the form of emails and occupational health records.



We haven't been through mediation or acas yet. Everything has been on hold. I was witness to a really serious and distressing crime last year and had to give evidence in the criminal courts. The union rep managed to delay things until we got that issue out of the way. That's all over now. It was incredibly difficult, but now I have to decide where to go with the work issue.


I've thought about just handing in my notice to my employer and walking away. However, I've been told by a benefits advisor not to do that as it is likely I will then be sanctioned if I try to claim universal credit. I need to be accepted for universal credit as my sick pay is about to stop and I have no other income.


So im stuck in this relationship with my employer. I don't want my job back. I'm too unwell to work. I'm just trying to work out what to do. I know I am an emotionally vulnerable person, but the bullying did happen, that's a fact. My manager has even said to me (before things got really bad), that he personally would find (the main) bully incredibly difficult to work with.

What did your employer do when you reported this to them? Did they follow any form of grievance procedure?

Am I to presume given what you've written that she bullied you via email then, given that's the evidence you have?

Brynsam

WednesdayAdams wrote: »

I want the bully to be found responsible and held to account. She is around 60 years old and Im far from her first victim. Everyone knows what she is like, shes been doing it for years, I would like her to be held accountable before she retires. Even management know. But she is such an expert on policies, law, procedures and is so good at manipulating people that everyone is to scared to stand up to her.


Im really crap at being assertive and standing up for myself. I find it really hard to hide my emotions. I cant help being really open with people when they ask me personal questions. Ive tried to change to protect myself but I cant. So Ive been bullied alot but this is the worst.


I honestly get to the point where I think about suicide and writing about what she has done to me in my suicide note. She might finally understand how her behaviour affects people. And I find it hard to have any belief that I will ever work or have a meaningful life again, so its not a bad option for me. I am a creative, intelligent person, but I dont seem to be able to understand the rules of life, boundaries etc. I foresee a hopeless future for me. So why not make some good of my existence by letting this terrible woman see the full affects of her behaviour.

Have you actually been through your employer's grievance procedure and if so, what was the outcome? If not, why not?

I think you're envisaging something which simply isn't going to happen. If you are bad at standing up for yourself in an everyday situation, you aren't suddenly going to become a star performer in the intimidating arena of an employment tribunal, especially if your employer has a competent barrister representing them and you have to represent yourself.

Bullying is often hard to prove and your manager saying they'd find it hard to work with this woman is far from conclusive. You refer to 'other victims' but if it was all so terrible, why haven't they done anything? How would you answer the question: "Why are you still there?" It's a tricky one.

Aspergers? If so, are you getting the necessary help? If not, perhaps your GP is the best starting point - posting here isn't going to get you the personal and face to face support you obviously need.