False accusations of sexual harassment

[Ebay223!]

My Brother in law has been falsely accused of sexual harassment *and bullying in a grievance brought by a person he directly line manages. This person has stipulated that my BIL has made unwelcome advances *and tried to kiss them , which was rebuked . The accuser is then saying they have been bullied and treated differently by my brother in law. For context the accuser has an open case of misleading and lying to the company for which the disciplinary position was about to be started . The accuser knew this , they have less than 6 months service and was about to be terminated , not due to poor
performance but for conflict of interest . However the accuser has now put this in writing , and has crime ref number to support the claim of unwanted advance. How does my BIL successfully defend himself in this which is merely a case of the accusers word against theirs . . It’s an incredibly stressful time and the company is very worried that if they don’t act correctly that the accuser could take this to the papers or tribunal , i feel my BIL will be the fall guy to appease the accuser and save the company a potential payout . What can he do ?*

[des8]

If the allegations have been made to the police (there is a crime reference number) has your BiL been interviewed by the police?
If so what has been the outcome?
If not he should consult a solicitor*with a view to being accompanied if he is 2invited" to an interview with the police.
he should not go unaccompanied, and if he cannot afford a solicitor he should request the attendance of the duty solicitor.
This is his right, and the solicitor will attend free of charge.

Regarding how he handles the situation vis a vis his employer I am tagging Ula for advice

[Ebay223!]

Thank you - no interview or contact from police*
Suggesting the incident happened at the Christmas party with no witnesses but alcohol had been consumed

BIL has had confirmation there is no evidence and it’s circumstantial , he is worried how can he prove he didn’t do it ?*

[des8]

it is for her to prove it happened, not for him to prove it did not!

Keep an eye out for Ula's post.... our employment expert

[Ebay223!]

Thank you - I will await their reply !*

[ULA]

Sorry to hear about your BiL's situation. Firstly, it seems very strange that someone is bringing a sexual harassment claim for an incident that happened at the Christmas party, which I assume would have been in Dec last year. I presume if that has only been recently reported to the police they will wonder why is has taken so long for the accuser to come forward - although police processes are better commented on by des8.

I have known of instances when an employee has raised a grievance to try and delay a disciplinary process, particularly if that has the potential to lead to dismissal.

There is no legal reason that I am aware of that the disciplinary should be postponed to hear the grievance and since it seems the disciplinary is unrelated to the grievance then even more so and the company can run the two procedures in parallel.

Has you BiL been suspended pending an investigation into the incident at the Christmas party and the alleged instances of bullying or is he still at work?

What has the company done to minimise the contact between the accuser and your BiL i.e. has the direct line responsibility been moved to another manager? If they have not then that is certainly something he should suggest should happen straight away.*

[Ebay223!]

Hi*

Thank you for your reply

The incident at the Xmas party was 3 months to the date when it was reported ( think it needed to be within 3 month to be considered )

The accuser logged the complaint once she had knowledge of a meeting that was taking place between my BIL and the MD regarding herself - she challenged my BIL as she had seen this meeting placed in his online diary by the MD without making it private . She asked what it was about and my BIL said it’s about the conflict of interest ( they had asked her to present her conflict and how she managed it without it impacting her role )*

The company is only small and very concerned that she could take them to ET /create bigger problems if they go ahead and exit her ( even though they should ) so my BIL is thinking they hope he resigns to “save face “ as they have alluded she would like him exited and for her to continue in her role .

They have changed her line manager so my BIL is not managing her , she works in a diff office ( remotely ) and as yet he has not been suspended

Is it right that it could be seen as non neutral to suspend , he is very worried about reputation damage if he was suspended*
*thanks *

[ULA]

Does your BiL's company have a policy for handling grievances? If so they should handle this issue in line with their policy if not do not have one they should use the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance procedures. That will at least determine that the company follows a correct procedure in dealing with the grievance.

Suspension should only be used in cases where there is a serious allegation of misconduct and it does not mean the individual has done something wrong or that the company believes they have done something wrong, it provides time for an investigation to be carried out. However given that the reporting arrangements have been changed so that your BiL is not managing this person and they work in a different office may well mean that the need for him to be suspended will not be required.*

*

[Ebay223!]

Thank you

they outsource their HR to a professional company - they alluded today that my BIL would be invited in to a hearing that will” 15 mins or so “

As he had some “off the record conversations “ they have suggested the accuser will fully appeal and expect her to want to take this further and appeal

would it be wise for my BIL to seek some legal advice to support how he presents his account in the hearing ?

BIL has asked to see prior to hearing the notes /information of what he has been accused of - they have declined and said it would be on the day , is this lawful ?*

*

[ULA]

Thanks for the update. In regard to hiring a solicitor at this stage it is still an internal process and most employment lawyers would not deal with the issues whilst that is going on.

At this stage it should just be a meeting to hear his side of the story as part of an investigation into the grievance. Since there is nothing about any disciplinary action then it should just be a purely fact finding meeting. Ideally your BiL should receive a formal letter inviting him to this meeting.*