Being intimidated in work

hi folks,

I have been going through some grievences with my direct manager for some time now, he has been bullying me (shouting and swearing at me in public) a few weeks ago he cut my wages in half when i was sick (was never sick before) I enquired into this and discovered it was not company policy and was an isolated insodent,
I went to his senior manager and reported the events, they asked me to put it all in writing and i did, Now my boss has returned from holidays been informed as the the going ons and now i am being frozen out, ignored, at this point i just want to call it a day, but i dont want him to get the better of me either,
I really dont know what to do, and am extremely stressed out at the situation and any advise would be greatly appreciated,

Regards
Lost soul

mold said:

hi folks,


I really dont know what to do, and am extremely stressed out at the situation and any advise would be greatly appreciated,

Click to expand...

I would strongly suggest that you keep a detailed diary with dates, incidents, witnesses, etc and keep it in a place away from work. Use it to put in a written grievance - look at your employer's policy. When you go in, it would help if you have a clear proposal, ie 'can you please move me to another department' or whatever. Leaving some room for the employer to accomodate you is more likely to bring results.

Are other people affected? Then do a combined complaint. Do you have a union? Then you should involve them. never go into a meeting with your boss or employer without a witness.

However, I must warn you that all this is soul-destroying and no good at all for your mental health. If you can move jobs, do so and put out of your mind all thoughts of your boss having 'won'. Very few employers deal with bullying incidents properly, and the law is pretty toothless unless there is discrimination on any of 9 grounds (gender, religion, age etc).

best of luck,
Diziet

Thanks Diziet,

there are other people working here that he is bullying as well, and they have made complaints also,

I have been keeping a log of all events as well, I never thought to ask about changing departments, but i think its an options, I love my job and generally the people i work with,

thanks for the advise,

Hi Mold,

This previous AAM thread on Bullying/Harassment in the workplace might give some advice. If you run the search option you may find some others also.

Hope things work out for you as it goes without saying that the stress caused won't help your general wellbeing.

If you are there longer than a year then you have a case. Otherwise you're just putting yourself in an even worse situation as they can simply tell you its not working out and thanks for your time. Also, try and be more assertive. When you know you are in the right then say so, dont let your mind get the better of you. I nearly found myself in a similar situatiuon before but now I'm too careful of it happening again. Your boss is not your puppeteer. You can disagree and hold onto you job at the same time.

It sounds like you may have fair grounds for constructive dismissal.

Here's a link to a UK site that expains it, I think the same applies here.

http://www.compactlaw.co.uk/monster/empf8.html

I had a related experience last week. My manager's manager is a volatile character, about 5 people in the last 12 months have left as a result of having to deal with him on a direct basis daily and he does shoot from the hip in a very very non pc way.

Last week I arrived in to be told by my boss that he has been to HR and wanted me fired. After I investigated the issue with my manager it turned out that I had handled the case as per company procedure and there was a case of mistaken identity. However no direct apology was forthcoming but this was not surprising given the person involved.

My manager deals with him daily so he is a buffer which is great. I am going to contact HR and have a note made of this in my file and also in his file as even if what he accused me of doing was accurate it was not grounds for dismissal.

I would suggest making a note of every incident and reporting it to HR if it warrants that. I do not agree that you should look for another job if this person is the only reason u do not enjoy your work. Be controlled in what you say though and get everything documented. In my case my boss wrote me an email documented what happened.

Thanks Infoseeker,

unfortunately there is no HR department here at the moment, This company is real old school, a uk based company just bought it a few months ago and changes have started to filter through, all for the good i might ad,
but at the moment with regards to my issue all i can go is keep taking notes and hope it gets sorted out soon, I wont be leaving though, there is no way I am letting him bully me out of my job, I know i am in the right,

Mold

Did you get your money back? Hope so.

If you really don't want to leave and there are signs that change is on the way, you might try to brazen it out, providing it does not start to affect your mental or physical health.

Do as much reading as you can on the web / books from the library, whatever, about working with difficult people or being bullied. Being armed with some know how can really help, especially since you are still able to stand up for yourself.

A manager like that might be in real danger of being let go themselves if changes come in from new owner and they can't deal with it.

HiAnnR

No not got my money back yet, but i have been told i will, I am hoping to get it this week.

I am hoping that with the new company he will either back off a bit or retire, I happen to get on very well with new management and have been told off the record that they do not approve of his behaviour and they would like him to leave, as i said this was off the record but it has given me hope,

Sounds like they are trying to get yis to leave. You have went up the management chain, to no avail .......


You should either contact a solicitor working in Employment Law , or Join a Union.

Your problem is becoming more prevalent in Irish workplaces, you are not alone with this problem.

Contact FLAC , and ask for advice.

http://www.flac.ie