Final Straw

[casperpot]

As brief as I can. I work in IT in NHS (10 years)
Sept 2017, young woman comes to work in my office, I am asked to mentor her. All went well for 4 weeks. She made it clear to all, verbally and
in email, that she really liked me and how much I had assisted her.
Then, we had a minor dispute in the pub after work. Following week I was suspended for an alleged incident of sexual harassment while we were alone in the office. She also told a story of how she was scared of me from day one, that I was aggressive, stalked her on Facebook, that I asked intrusive questions etc. This was the absolute opposite of what actually had occurred. I have witnesses and documentation to prove. I was suspended, for 4 months, case never got beyond the investigation stage. No case to answer. Told by my employer that she had subsequently accused 5 others of bullying etc.
She made same accusations to Police, I remained suspended for further 2 months pending their investigation which was the same, no case to answer. I am currently signed off work with work related stress.
I then, in May 2018, made a grievance against her for malicious allegations. My employer prevaricated for months, I sent endless emails, but ultimately received a letter mid Sept advising that they would not be pursuing the grievance. No investigation, didn't interview any of my 10 witnesses. I asked twice via email if there was any appeal against the decision, they said not.
I don't want to go back to work for this employer, I don't feel able to.
I made a quick call to a solicitor re. Constructive Dismissal. He said I would be out of the 3 month time limit.
I don't understand this! The situation was ongoing and I eventually felt that the refusal to even consider my grievance was the last straw in a long tale of, what I consider to be, unfair treatment
At what point would I have needed to resign? I felt all along that I was trying to resolve the situation, only when they refused to even consider my grievance did I see no other way forward.
Any advice would be gratefully received.

[BettercallSaul]

Can your union representative help? Are you a member of a minority group? If so, try that angle.

[casperpot]

Not a Union member, so they won't assist.

[Amethyst]

Tagging Ula to look in later for you, but yes, are you a member of a union at all ?

Have you actually resigned now ?

When was the last communication with your employer , there was the formal letter in September then...

I asked twice via email if there was any appeal against the decision, they said not.

so when was the actual last straw event ( the last email that made you think your only option was to leave?

Not sure when the solicitor was taking it from, you weren't dismissed, just suspended, and had you not ended up sick due to the stress you'd still be going to work while your grievance was investigated. Was your suspension formally lifted ? And is the employee who caused the problems still employed there ?

[casperpot]

Thanks for the response Amethyst.
No, not a member of the Union.
No, I haven't yet resigned.
Received letter on 19th Sept effectively refusing to consider Grievance
Received email 2nd Oct. Advising me that there was no appeal.
After a further mail from myself asserting that I believed I had a legal right to appeal I received a mail on 9th October again refusing appeal.
Suspension was formally lifted on 5th May.
Not sure hat has happened with my accuser although I was told unofficially by head of IT in May that he believed she had mental issues, had caused lots of problems in work nd that he had decided that he did not want her back in work.

[ULA]

Answers to the questions that Amethyst has asked would be great plus I have a couple:

How long have you been off sick for?

Did you make your grievance in writing?

Was there ever a meeting with you to hear your grievance?

What did the letter in Sept actually say (please anonymise) - it would be really useful to see the wording they used?

What dates where your emails about an appeal and what dates did the company respond back to you?

[casperpot]

Thanks for response ULA. I have been off sick for 5 months, l
initially blacked out a t home and damaged my arm, then in follow up appointment GP diagnosed hypertension an work related stress.
There was a meeting with deputy head of People Services, 6th Sept to discuss matters in general at which I again brought up the grievance.
In the letter below he refers to the fact that I have not provided any information/evidence in support of my assertions. That is not the case, I have supplied details of 10 witnesses who could support my case. Not, obviously, the alleged sexual incident which was my word against hers, but the spurious story she told of the everyday relationship which underpinned her accusations .
PRIVATE &; CONFIDENTIAL
ADDRESSEE ONLY
Mr xxxxxxxxx
Via E-mail Only
19th September 2018
Dear xxxxx
Response to formal grievance
Firstly, thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Thursday 6 September 2018 in
Bxxxxxxxxx.

During the meeting we discussed a recent complaint you had made against Mxxxxxxxx following the recent investigation into allegations of misconduct that had
been raised against you.

We discussed your concerns in detail and I confirmed that throughout the period of
investigation no information had been found by the investigation team which led them to
believe that the claims made by Mxxxxx were vexatious or had been made in bad faith. As
such I confirmed that the CSU was not intending to proceed with an investigation into your
counterclaim. In addition, I confirmed that you had been given the opportunity to present
any evidence that the claims made were vexatious or made in bad faith, but to date, you had
not been able to provide any conclusive evidence/information to support this.

You stated that you believed the investigation only focused on the allegations raised against
you and, therefore, did not consider whether the allegations raised by Mxxxxxx were false or
indeed lies – as such you felt this should be investigated. It is important to note that during
the process of any investigation the team will consider any evidence available and/or
presented to establish whether the claims made are of a vexatious nature or made in bad
faith, as such the investigation team would have had this in mind throughout the investigation
process. As outlined above, the team did not find any material evidence or information that
supports your assertions that the claims made were vexatious or made in bad faith.
Following our meeting I have reviewed the investigation report in full and discussed the
matter further with the investigating team. I am now satisfied that sufficient opportunities
for you to provide the organisation with evidence that supports your assertions that Mxxxxxx has lied have indeed been afforded to you, however, no material evidence or information to support this had been provided therefore the matter could not be taken any
further.

[ULA]

In raising a grievance you do need to be very clear about the concern that you are raising. Other than providing a list of 10 witnesses did you provide information such as detailing all the relevant facts, including dates, times, parties to any discussions and reference to any relevant documentation that support your grievance that the individual made the claims about you in bad faith or in a vexatious manner.

It seems from what your employer has responded back to you with they are feeling that you have not. Do you have the evidence that they are asking you to provide to support your grievance? My only concern now is that although you do have the right to appeal the outcome of a grievance if you are not satisfied, doing so a month after the notification to you that they did not “uphold your grievance” does leave this course of action a bit out of time.

What is it that you actually want to achieve as a solution to the issue? Do you want to return back to work?

[casperpot]

During the initial investigation into my alleged misconduct, I outlined in great detail, with names of witnesses, dates and some documentation, the events of the four weeks we were together in the office.
Again, after my suspension ended, I followed the Grievance Procedure and articulated the version verbally to my manager. When I received no response I wrote the same story, in the same detail, in various emails to HR representatives. At no time did they interview anyone other than Mxxxxxxx and myself.
The welter of evidence i have provided, once verified by my witnesses, would leave no-one in doubt that she fabricated a story that demonized me.
I don't follow the argument that the course of action is "a bit out of time". It's 4 weeks since the letter and much less for the emails refusing my right to appeal.

[casperpot]

My employer absolutely knows the truth of this. If you were to read all of the details, and could be confident that witnesses would verify, which I can assure you they would, you too would be in no doubt.
And, if that is the case, would it be an employer that you would be comfortable to be employed by? I m not.

[ULA]

In terms of the process you do have the right to appeal so you could email the company stating that you wish to exercise your right to appeal. This will mean providing all the information (again!) but need to highlight that the grievance investigation undertaken by the company precluded speaking with witnesses you had identified could support your case.

I am checking into why the solicitor you spoke to said you were out of time. In terms of pursuing a constructive dismissal case one thing you need to have done is exhaust any grievance procedure in the first instance. I would suggest you do not delay raising an appeal if that is what you decide to do next.

[casperpot]

Thanks ULA.

[2222]

Casperpot, can I ask you what outcomes you are looking for?

Also, if your grievance had been upheld but the woman is no longer employed, what outcome would you have wanted?

It must have been incredibly upsetting to have these false accusations made against you, but you have already been exonerated. No case to answer. Presumably, the same with the other 5 people she accused. I don't think it makes you (or the other 5) any more exonerated if there is a finding that her allegations were of a vexatious nature or made in bad faith.

At the moment, the conclusion seems to be to give her the benefit of the doubt that she may have had a genuinely held but completely mistaken idea of what was being said to her by her colleagues. You said yourself that she may have mental health issues, and that might explain actions which in others could only be regarded as vexatious.

[casperpot]

Ive not been exonerated, the accusations will be held on Police local information database with potential disclosure on an enhanced DBS check. A succesful grievance against my accuser for malicious would help to mitigate the accusations.

[2222]

What are the other 5 doing about that?