Possible harassment case, advice needed.

[Cyclopz]

Greetings one and all.

I have a female friend at work who has been the subject of abusive comments and attitude.
Basically without giving too many details away the story is this.

She works under an OPG who has been given a leadership allowance because this OPG has been given responsibility for a certain section of the work area.
The OPG with the leadership allowance can be very abusive to staff under him and has been reported for his attitude on more than one occasion before.
Usually a verbal telling off is enough to calm him down, well calm him down for a while anyway.

This lady has reported the guys attitude before and the alleged abuser has been spoken to but apparently the situation is now getting worse.
The lady in question has asked to be removed from the work area and placed in another section until the matter is resolved.
She has put in a second complaint against the alleged abuser and is basically asking management to remove the alleged abuser from their shared work area so she can return
to her former job free from abuse and rudeness.

So basically what we have is:
1. An OPG being paid extra to micro manage a small area.
2. The OPG being rude and abusive to staff working under him.
3. The lady putting in the complaint has put in a complaint before and the result of the initial complaint seems to have been a verbal counseling for the alleged abuser.
4. The rudeness has not stopped and if anything it has gotten worse.
5. Management seem to favour the alleged abuser because he will work any hour asked and come in at whatever time management want him to and basically make their job easier for them.

My question is what documents should she read, The conduct code of course and possibly the bullying and harassment procedure.
What advice would people give this lady?

A fact finding is scheduled for next week, what would people say to her and how should she deal with this?
She seems quite nervous and her attitude is she doesn't really want to make any trouble but she is not prepared to put up with this any more.

Many thanks.

P.S. I am thinking of possibly becoming a rep so this is good practice for me.

[BoltonPostie]

Royal Mail likes a bully!
Whether it is a manager or a worker who does it it never fails to amaze me how far they will go to cover up or sweep things under the carpet or even try `Gaslighting` a person or `Mobbing` them.
Your colleague has already brought this to the attention of management before and it should have been enough, but now that it isn't, she should follow through with a B&H case when the fact finding is over if she is not still happy with the result of that.

Be aware though that going down the B&H route is not for the faint hearted as they might go the `bad faith` route especially if the bully is a mangers pet.

[Cyclopz]

Thanks mate.

I think the bully is a managers pet and I don't really know the managements opinion of the lady.

So it is OK to leave the bullying and harassment complaint until after the fact finding has been done?
Can she wait and see what the outcome of the fact finding case is before she puts in her bullying and harassment complaint?
Is this an acceptable course of action?

It seems she has witnesses of the abuse.

Is the investigator of a bullying and harassment case still independent or has the procedure been thrown into disrepute these days?
What is the likelihood of getting a fair and truthful result from the bullying and harassment procedure?
Has the procedure become corrupted these days?

I guess the whole thing boils down to dignity and respect in the work place and lack of it.

Many thanks.

[Cyclopz]

From the Royal mail conduct code:

Page three Employee obligations:
"Everyone employed by Royal mail is to treated with courtesy and respect by all their colleagues whatever the situation"

http://www.cwunwdivision.com/ConductCode.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We expect high standards of behaviour between colleagues at all times. We can all help to create an
atmosphere at work in which every individual is able to give his or her best. Dealings with all colleagues
should be based on mutual respect, and everyone must uphold company policies relating to equal
opportunities and health and safety.
We should show good manners in everything we say, do and write.

http://www.royalmailgroup.com/sites/def ... 3KB%29.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Harassment:

Harassment is any inappropriate and unwanted behaviour that could reasonably be perceived by the recipient or any other person as affecting their dignity.

Harassment may include suggestive remarks or gestures, pin-ups, graffiti, offensive comments, jokes and banter based on any of these. Such behaviour may focus on any protected characteristic such as age, disability, nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership or any other personal characteristic, and may affect the dignity of any individual or group of individuals at work. Harassment could be a one off event or a series of events and may be perpetrated by an individual or group of people.

Harassment may also be based on association or perception in respect of a protected characteristic. For example, if an individual is harassed because other employees consider him gay, even though he is not gay, this is harassment based on perception.

Bullying

Bullying is intimidation on a regular and persistent basis or as a one off which serves to undermine the confidence, integrity, competence and effectiveness, of the person on the receiving end. A bully misuses his or her power, position or knowledge to criticise, humiliate and demoralise a colleague.

(Appendix A bullying and harassment procedure)

[justdeno]

We have the same problem in our office. Little person with a big attitude. Likes to suck up to management(we are lazy good for nothings) this is the way forward of RM

[rehabron]

Well " Cyclopz" your postings on exerts for Bully and Harassments sums up your colleagues situation to a tee and I would be printing this off and producing these statements at her fact-finding interview next week. You have also mentioned witnesses to the abuse and would they be bold enough to give witness statements when asked. Your colleague may wish to use the grievance procedure instead of the B&H procedure as the grievance can be taken to a 3rd stage. Under the B&H procedure an officer is appointed from outside your work area to hold the initial interview and also HR and the Employee Relations team are involved. If your colleague is safe in the knowledge that her colleagues are willing to give written statements supporting her B&H compliant then this would be the way to go but if unsure then the grievance would be the best bet. At the fact-finding interview I would also be mentioning the well advertised company's Diversity training which the abuser would have signed off to and the company's Dignity and Respect Charter which is well displayed in your office.

[Cyclopz]

Thank you so much one and all.

Grievance procedure it is just to test the water but if we need the big guns then we will have to rely on the witness statements (Big uncertainty here).

I shall advise her to take out a stage 1 grievance and take it from there, it can always be escalated in the future and the quiet approach for now is best I think.

Can't be too cautious in this day and age can we?

I mean all we really have are historical written agreements between the CWU and Royal mail and we must make Royal mail management stick to them, right?

[dvbuk55]

Thank you so much one and all.

Grievance procedure it is just to test the water but if we need the big guns then we will have to rely on the witness statements (Big uncertainty here).

I shall advise her to take out a stage 1 grievance and take it from there, it can always be escalated in the future and the quiet approach for now is best I think.

Can't be too cautious in this day and age can we?

I mean all we really have are historical written agreements between the CWU and Royal mail and we must make Royal mail management stick to them, right?

I was originally going to ask if there were witnesses but you had posted that there was and that pretty much covered it. However you now post "big uncertainty" re witness statements and I wondered why that was. You also stated that this was an ongoing problem so presumably there is written statements to support this.

[Cyclopz]

Ok I am no union rep and this complaint has been told to me by the alleged abused lady.

I really don't know how much truth there is in the complaint so I am just doing my homework.

I don't even know if she is telling me the truth but I shall keep you posted as and when I find out OK.

[General Mannerheim]

Yes what is the big uncertainty about the statements?
In a lot of cases people say that they will provide a statement as they saw something but when push comes to shove then they don't see anything or are too scared to open their mouths because they fear reprisals,if your colleague feels that she has been bullied or harass then she more or less has been but you should just try and be as supportive as you can and make your own mind up on the subject,never take everything as `read` or that people are telling you the truth,with experience you will get better at sussing things out...although that's not to say that sometimes you have to defend the indefensible.

[Cyclopz]

Well all the advice including links to relevant documents have been sent off.

It is now up to her.

[Lincox]

The grievance procedure is really meant for cases where Royal Mail have not followed their own guidelines. This does not appear to be the case that you have stated, however it could also be the case that this OPG has asked for this lady to carry out a specific order, albeit in an agressive manner, and the lady has decided to object. If such an order is considered reasonable and within the lady,s capabilities and training, then it is likely there is no case to answer. However if the order falls outside of Royal Mail procedures then a grievance is the correct approach.

[Cyclopz]

Thanks for that.

Orders are orders but dignity and respect is the issue here.

Even if the alleged abuser gets a counseling session and the management leave it at that it will still help the lady because next time it happens she will be in a much firmer position
as far as the conduct code goes.

We can't allow these sort of attitudes to fester in the business, they must be challenged.

It if for Royal mail to hold a fact finding case within the guidelines of the conduct code and as a result of this fact finding management will have to decide if there is a case to answer.

If management decide there is no case to answer when there is clear evidence including witness statements that an offense has taken place, well I guess she could always appeal.
We will have to await the outcome.