Tweet
A few months ago i had a conversation with a member of staff whereby they made indirect racist and sexist statements during a recruitment day i was coordinating. Initially nobody was witness to this but then later on in the day the same conversation was had and a colleague was present. I raised my concerns with my manager who advised me to speak with a member of the Senior Management Team. I did this and upon having that conversation he made a statement of 'well she wasn't briefed'...he then went on to say he would have a conversation with his manager. Half an hour later he came back to me and stated he had spoken with his manager and the action was just going to be to ban them from further recruitment days.
Following this i was quite upset and spoke with a friend of mine about it just as a sounding board. A week later during a meeting with my manager said that a formal investigation had been commissioned with regards to the concerns i had raised. When i asked her why she stated that my friend had been to see her and raised that she was not happy with the outcome of my complaint and that because she was black they had to be seen to do something about it.
Following this i was then interviewed as part of an internal management enquiry and advised it would form part of an external formal investigation. My formal investigation interview along with the other witnesses then took place.
To conclude the member of staff had her disciplinary hearing last week and denied the allegations myself and somebody else had made. The outcome of her hearing was there was no case to answer and she has now been allowed to come back to work. When i asked why they said there was not enough cooberating evidence beyond reasonable doubt to make a decision to dismiss or otherwise. When asked if they beleived i was not telling the truth i was told that was not the case but surely it is. I have also been informed that her union are pushing for a formal investigation against myself and the witness for false and malicious accusations.
So, my question is what should i do? The Senior Manger that conducted the disciplinary is the person i originally reported this complaint too, should he have been able to conduct that hearing? How is it right that 2 people can say pretty much the same thing but that is not enough evidence for someone to be punished for their actions?
