In earlier posts I have written about the culture of bullying prevalent in some departments during the years I worked for my former employer. My own experience was that after some years of working there to everyone’s satisfaction, I was bullied by a line manager. When I asked to be put on a different team, it took a year before I was offered a move. [I understand that there had been a number of previous complaints of bullying against this line manager so management should have been aware of the issues.]
Category Archives: Civil Service
LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICES
There are certain aspects of public services in the area I live in which cause me concern:
Firstly, as I have detailed in earlier posts my former employer behaved in a cavalier way towards me. I was of course bullied and then had no alternative but to leave the job I had done to my employer’s satisfaction for over 12 years.
WAYS TO DEAL WITH BEING BULLIED
The advice from the government website states (and let’s not forget that this applies equally to their own departments!):
“What employees should do if they’re bullied or harassed
Employees should see if they can sort out the problem informally first. If they can’t, they should talk to their:
- manager
- human resources (HR) department
- trade union representative
If this doesn’t work, they can make a formal complaint using their employer’s grievance procedure. If this doesn’t work and they’re still being harassed, they can take legal action at an employment tribunal.” https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment
This is great in theory, but if as a civil servant a manager bullies you and no action is taken your options can seem limited.
LEGAL DUTIES UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT: IGNORED?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) describes the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as providing “public access to information held by public authorities.
It does this in two ways:
- public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities; and
- members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.
The Act covers any recorded information that is held by a public authority, including government departments, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland.
The main principle behind freedom of information legislation is that people have a right to know about the activities of public authorities, unless there is a good reason for them not to. This is sometimes described as a presumption or assumption in favour of disclosure.”
Continue reading LEGAL DUTIES UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT: IGNORED?
WHY I WRITE MY BLOG
I hope my readers have a wonderful 2017.
It has been suggested that if I had not started writing my blog the online personal abuse about me which has continued for a long time would not have happened. I therefore want to explain my reasons for writing about the bullying and the order in which things happened.
EFFECTS OF BEING BULLIED
I decided to write a blog about workplace bullying to inform readers about the facts: what happened, how it was dealt with and the outcome. I wanted to enable readers to recognise the signs of workplace bullying if something similar happened to them. In my next post I hope to give people some skills in dealing with being bullied in the workplace. With hindsight, there are some things I would have done differently in order to achieve a better outcome.
BREACHES OF TRUST AND CONFIDENTIALITY
Although I doubt that my previous employer would be a fan of my blog, I feel that writing it helps me and others who may be going through a similar experience. It has also rekindled my love of writing, so I will continue in my own unassuming way to try to entertain and inform my readers about aspects of my experience in this particular organisation.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT
When I resigned from the civil service I had (and still have) a strong sense of injustice at the way I had been treated, and this is what led me to write my blog. Not only does it help me to make some sort of sense of what happened, but I hope that in some small way I can help others going through similar experiences.
Today I would like to have a look at the relationship between management and employees, which is of major importance in any organisation in relation to employee morale and productivity .
TOXIC ORGANISATIONS
A bit of history here! The 30 year period after the end of World War II is called the “golden era” of the public sector in the UK. It was assigned the role of “model” employer and expected to implement good management practices. The purpose was to set an example to employers in other sectors.
The end of the golden era led to increased financial stringency and the introduction of competition into those public services which had not been privatised. There was reduced job security (many areas were at that time sub-contracted to private companies) as well as an increase in the number of part-time workers. The public sector unions were weakened by the reduced membership and the legal constraints imposed on all trade unions.
TRUTHFULNESS?
Even though I had worked for the organisation for 15 years, I was initially taken aback at the lack of truthfulness surrounding the whole bullying situation and its ramifications. Readers of my blog will know that the bullying manager steadfastly lied about the bullying and manipulated 2 of my colleagues into lying for him; my final line manager decided to find out about me from a relative, broadcast what he was told and then lie about it. Then there was the online bullying from two relatives.