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.]
When I was eventually moved away from the bullying line manager I went off sick with stress and depression and at my insistence was moved to a different floor when I returned to work. I was also subsequently diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and arrhythmia.
Eventually, my position was made untenable as I was made team leader of a team working on a computer system neither I nor my team members had been trained for. I was concerned the stress would have a serious effect on my health and asked to be moved.
Whilst I was working away from the main office, a manager had been appointed head of the Midlands and Southern area for the department I worked in. After his promotion he put me under constant pressure to move back into the main office where my former (bullying) line manager was based. Although I resisted this for many months, when I asked to be moved away from the stress mentioned above, the only relocation I was offered was back into the main office. I felt I had no choice but to try this. [A previous effective, supportive line manager had been moved out of the department when she warned that I would resign if forced back into the main office.]
This area manager had been told previously by a more senior manager to promote me so that I was on an equal level to the bullying line manager. However, I believe the area manager had decided arbitrarily that I would be returned to the main office first and, when I remained there, given the promotion. (After I resigned, when questioned about why he had not promoted me as instructed, his excuse seems to have been that he had forgotten about it. I believe that he withheld the promotion until his plan came to fruition. It never did, of course, and was never likely to! I also believe that he said he had had not known about my health issues. I am aware that one line manager had sent him a full report about them.)
During my few months back in the main office I said three times to my final line manager that I was not happy at being there because of the comments being made in my hearing by the former (bullying) line manager. The area manager was advised of this but no action was taken.
My final line manager telephoned my emergency contact without troubling to seek my permission because he wanted to discuss gossip he had heard about me. At that time I was not aware of my emergency contact’s obsessive hatred of me and what this would lead to: several years of widespread bullying via social media and comments about me (from people I do not know) within my hearing when I was out and about locally, as well as attempts to cause me very serious harm. My final line manager then told the bullying line manager what my emergency contact told him and this was I believe added to the social media abuse.
Eventually I had no choice but to resign as I had no trust in my employer. I felt I had been singled out and victimised. As my work was of a good standard I suspect this had to be some sort of personal vendetta. Some years ago, this organisation stated in recruitment adverts that it was a “family friendly organisation”, I would question whether it was an employee friendly organisation. Certainly, my mental and physical health seemed to be of little significance to the organisation during my last few months there – or subsequently.
I started an action for constructive dismissal against my former employer (one legal adviser had told me there was also a case for victimisation). Although aware of my health problems, they refused to negotiate when ACAS contacted them.
After a few months my former employer put out “feelers” to see whether I was prepared to return to my job. I was not. (At this time my occupational pension had been mysteriously delayed. After a few months of no income I contacted my MP, a government minister, and asked her to take up my case. It was then paid surprisingly quickly!)
A few months later I was asked about what sort of “package” I would want to return to employment. The details were leaked and became the subject of local gossip [to me, this shows a lack of integrity or concern for my welfare as, clearly, it could only cause me more trouble]. Of course, the abuse continued on social media. Nasty comments also continued to be made about me within my hearing in and around the town I live in. My emergency contact had made three attempts to cause me very serious harm by then. I believe she received a police caution.
In December 2016 I mentioned to some former colleagues that the bullying line manager was still putting abuse about me on social media. I believe that the (by now) former area manager was given the task of investigating this. It appears that no action was taken to stop it and it continued. My former employer therefore condoned the abuse, and this keeps my case of bullying and victimisation “live” in employment law.
If matters had been dealt with effectively at this stage I would not now be in the position of having to leave the area I have lived in for many years. Quite apart from the other financial losses caused to me by my former employer, a relocation does of course cost several thousand pounds.
The former area manager was, I believe, given the task of putting together the “package” for my return to the organisation’s employment. I understand that this was his punishment for causing me to leave my employment. Although it seems that the package eventually received official approval, it never came to fruition. It is not clear to me why, although of course there could have been bad feeling against me. It is also not clear to me why progress was not monitored. I believe that when eventually questioned about why he had not completed the task he said that he had been too busy!
I am not the first woman who is alleged to have been bullied out of her job by this person. A former colleague had to leave her job after a prolonged period of sickness and take her case to an industrial tribunal, although I believe a settlement was reached with her.
Over the last few months, action was started by an unrelated public service to stop the social media abuse and deal with further plans to cause me very serious harm. A court case was under preparation, but I believe this action was again delayed. Delaying a situation does not mean that it will go away! Eventually it was brought to light and the outside body attempted to lift the delay. It does make me wonder again about how (or whether) the situation was monitored by my former employer. It also should have been clear by this time that a different manager should have taken it over.
I feel that my situation demonstrates a disregard of internal policies and procedures as well as employment law by my former employer. Also, throughout the whole period, I have been questioned by a former colleague on my thoughts and plans about dealing with this situation. It has been fairly clear to me who actually wanted to know!
I understand that a member of local management believes that it is not in my interests to make relevant parties or the public aware of the details of my complaints against my former employer (some of which are detailed in earlier posts). I feel that this is a rather shortsighted view. This longer this situation continues, the more the organisation’s reputation is put in jeopardy because it is more likely that the whole story will become public – one way or another.