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Hi All
I am currently suspended from work, with a disciplinary hearing due early January. In September myself, along with another colleague "B", have been accused of serious acts of bullying and harassment against a colleague "F", as well as insubordination towards my manager. I have worked for this company for over 9 years with no previous issues, an exemplary work record and I feel (without too much ego involved) that my work has always been of a decent standard.
I completely refute all of these allegations however my company seem dead set on my guilt already. The investigation that has already taken place recommends that both "B" and I be disciplined under gross misconduct.
Our office is a high pressure, stressful place environment to be in - there is a huge workload and we have been through 2 restructures, with redundancies, in the past 12 months. We currently do not know if our contract will be renewed past March 2014. These uncertainties and issues have left me feeling extremely demoralised and frustrated and it's also worth mentioning that I made some strong comments about this, alongside critcism of management, in an appraisal 2 weeks before this grievance procedure started. I was under the impression that these comments were made in a section of my appraisal where I could say what I wanted about the organisation.
I feel that "F" has some pretty major competency issues, which have been ongoing for years. The main thrust of her accusations are that we are constantly reporting non-existent issues about her work. I dont deny that I raise issues, however this is only when they are serious (we work supporting vulnerable and poor people and "F's" mistakes have a serious impact on them eg being left without money for weeks longer than needed) and I do not raise them constantly. These issues are not replicated by anyone else in the team. When in charge of certain operations, "F" has repeatedly missed important deadlines - again this doesn't happen with anyone else. These deadlines, when met, are helpful in getting our contract renewed.
The majority of the team, and even clients and a separate but partner agency, have raised issues and made complaints for many years, however management havent appeared to act on them as the same issues keep repeating. It now seems I am getting blamed for all the complaints, not just my own.
"F" has also stated that the atmosphere we created in the office made another team member, who "F" was supervising, leave.
"F's" initial written accusations were mostly non-specific (about me) however during the investigation she mentioned 2 specific incidences. I agree that these took place however I was not questioned about them at any point during the investigation and yet they form a relatively large part of its findings. I dont believe that these incidents constitue acts of bullying either - they were general operational disagreements that could/should have been discussed in a team meeting and now feel like attempts to dredge up evidence against me.
During the investigation the majority of people interviewed stated that they did not believe that we had committed acts of bullying, and that the real issue was "F's" lack of competency and management's lack of action. They all confirmed that they, and others, have had to raise many issues about "F" and that this causes high levels of frustration. The colleague who left the organisation also returned to be interviewed and clearly stated that she left due to extremely poor levels of supervision from "F"
All this evidence has been dismissed by the investigation and explained away as people confirming our version of events as we had either "groomed" them, they were too weak to go against us, we had either provided excessive praise or scared them into complicity. They stated that they are suspicious as so many people reported the same or similar version of events, with no consideration given to whether these versions were actual accurate. One person, who at the time had been in our office on less than 5 occasions, made some statements that she felt "F" was being bullied. This has been accepted without question.
Despite a few weeks ago discussing a theoretical promotion with me, it turns out my manager has actually statedto the invesigators that I refuse to undertake work when asked however hasn't provided one shred of evidence, nor any specific examples regarding this and his statements also appear to have been accepted without question. He has also stated that the complaints from a partner agency about "F" have only come about as we put them up to it. He has made several other false and/or inaccurate statements, which whilst incorrect, still give the wrong impression about me and appear to have influenced the investigation findings. I was only questioned about these statements in a general manner.
Both senior and local management have stated that they have been aware that these tensions have been in place for a long time, that we act as a pack, that we work hard to groom new staff members so we can use them against "F" and that they feel there is nothing that can be done to resolve this and rebuild relationships. I totally deny these allegations and feel they completely misrepresent me and the people accused of being "weak" or "groomed".
At no point in the past have any managers met with me to raise these concerns. I have not had one discussion about my supposed behaviours and the first time I was made aware of these opinions was when I read the witness statements and investigation report yesterday.
None of the explanations i provided for my version of events apears to have been accepted, discussed or analysed in the investigation either.
The other colleague "B", who is also accused, has had many more specific grievances raised against him by "F" and our manager than I have but we appear to be being treated as one person - in comparison my name gets hardly any individual mentions throughout the investigation and witness statements.
Apart from just wanting to get all this of my (very stressed) chest i guess my main questions are as follows;
i) When dismisisng for acts of bullying how strong should the evidence be? In my case it just seems mostly non-specific and circumstantial with no actual concrete evidence - just opinion
ii) Having studied the ACAS code of guidance, my employers appear to be mostly following it, however it seems the potential bias in the investigation and reasoning behind their conclusions is an issue. How would an Emp Tribunal assess this? (if at all).
iii) With regards to myself and "B" being dealt with in this together, can my employers dismiss me due to things he is being accused, almost as if i was his henchman, or should they be looking at me seperately and rule just on the specific accusations against me ?
iv) My managers accusations of insubordination - what sort of evidence would they need to provide? (at this stage its just his statements-no evidence or examples)
v) I am allowed to call witnesses however i am concerned that any person speaking up for me will be disregarded due to the reasons already used. Is it still worth calling these witnesses?
vi) I feel my manager's statements are at best inaccurate and at worst totally false. Can a disciplinary hearing adjourn to investigate his accusations further?
vii) Senior and local management have both stated they are aware that these tensions have been present for a long time. I have been totally open with them about my concerns and have requested input from them on a number of occasions over the past 18 months or so(documented), but not received any. When dismissing under these circumstances, should managements prior knowledge and failure to act be taken into account?
I realise that that is a hell of a lot of information but if you're still reading then any input would be gratefully received (and may help ease an unpleasant few weeks ahead)
Many thanks
I am currently suspended from work, with a disciplinary hearing due early January. In September myself, along with another colleague "B", have been accused of serious acts of bullying and harassment against a colleague "F", as well as insubordination towards my manager. I have worked for this company for over 9 years with no previous issues, an exemplary work record and I feel (without too much ego involved) that my work has always been of a decent standard.
I completely refute all of these allegations however my company seem dead set on my guilt already. The investigation that has already taken place recommends that both "B" and I be disciplined under gross misconduct.
Our office is a high pressure, stressful place environment to be in - there is a huge workload and we have been through 2 restructures, with redundancies, in the past 12 months. We currently do not know if our contract will be renewed past March 2014. These uncertainties and issues have left me feeling extremely demoralised and frustrated and it's also worth mentioning that I made some strong comments about this, alongside critcism of management, in an appraisal 2 weeks before this grievance procedure started. I was under the impression that these comments were made in a section of my appraisal where I could say what I wanted about the organisation.
I feel that "F" has some pretty major competency issues, which have been ongoing for years. The main thrust of her accusations are that we are constantly reporting non-existent issues about her work. I dont deny that I raise issues, however this is only when they are serious (we work supporting vulnerable and poor people and "F's" mistakes have a serious impact on them eg being left without money for weeks longer than needed) and I do not raise them constantly. These issues are not replicated by anyone else in the team. When in charge of certain operations, "F" has repeatedly missed important deadlines - again this doesn't happen with anyone else. These deadlines, when met, are helpful in getting our contract renewed.
The majority of the team, and even clients and a separate but partner agency, have raised issues and made complaints for many years, however management havent appeared to act on them as the same issues keep repeating. It now seems I am getting blamed for all the complaints, not just my own.
"F" has also stated that the atmosphere we created in the office made another team member, who "F" was supervising, leave.
"F's" initial written accusations were mostly non-specific (about me) however during the investigation she mentioned 2 specific incidences. I agree that these took place however I was not questioned about them at any point during the investigation and yet they form a relatively large part of its findings. I dont believe that these incidents constitue acts of bullying either - they were general operational disagreements that could/should have been discussed in a team meeting and now feel like attempts to dredge up evidence against me.
During the investigation the majority of people interviewed stated that they did not believe that we had committed acts of bullying, and that the real issue was "F's" lack of competency and management's lack of action. They all confirmed that they, and others, have had to raise many issues about "F" and that this causes high levels of frustration. The colleague who left the organisation also returned to be interviewed and clearly stated that she left due to extremely poor levels of supervision from "F"
All this evidence has been dismissed by the investigation and explained away as people confirming our version of events as we had either "groomed" them, they were too weak to go against us, we had either provided excessive praise or scared them into complicity. They stated that they are suspicious as so many people reported the same or similar version of events, with no consideration given to whether these versions were actual accurate. One person, who at the time had been in our office on less than 5 occasions, made some statements that she felt "F" was being bullied. This has been accepted without question.
Despite a few weeks ago discussing a theoretical promotion with me, it turns out my manager has actually statedto the invesigators that I refuse to undertake work when asked however hasn't provided one shred of evidence, nor any specific examples regarding this and his statements also appear to have been accepted without question. He has also stated that the complaints from a partner agency about "F" have only come about as we put them up to it. He has made several other false and/or inaccurate statements, which whilst incorrect, still give the wrong impression about me and appear to have influenced the investigation findings. I was only questioned about these statements in a general manner.
Both senior and local management have stated that they have been aware that these tensions have been in place for a long time, that we act as a pack, that we work hard to groom new staff members so we can use them against "F" and that they feel there is nothing that can be done to resolve this and rebuild relationships. I totally deny these allegations and feel they completely misrepresent me and the people accused of being "weak" or "groomed".
At no point in the past have any managers met with me to raise these concerns. I have not had one discussion about my supposed behaviours and the first time I was made aware of these opinions was when I read the witness statements and investigation report yesterday.
None of the explanations i provided for my version of events apears to have been accepted, discussed or analysed in the investigation either.
The other colleague "B", who is also accused, has had many more specific grievances raised against him by "F" and our manager than I have but we appear to be being treated as one person - in comparison my name gets hardly any individual mentions throughout the investigation and witness statements.
Apart from just wanting to get all this of my (very stressed) chest i guess my main questions are as follows;
i) When dismisisng for acts of bullying how strong should the evidence be? In my case it just seems mostly non-specific and circumstantial with no actual concrete evidence - just opinion
ii) Having studied the ACAS code of guidance, my employers appear to be mostly following it, however it seems the potential bias in the investigation and reasoning behind their conclusions is an issue. How would an Emp Tribunal assess this? (if at all).
iii) With regards to myself and "B" being dealt with in this together, can my employers dismiss me due to things he is being accused, almost as if i was his henchman, or should they be looking at me seperately and rule just on the specific accusations against me ?
iv) My managers accusations of insubordination - what sort of evidence would they need to provide? (at this stage its just his statements-no evidence or examples)
v) I am allowed to call witnesses however i am concerned that any person speaking up for me will be disregarded due to the reasons already used. Is it still worth calling these witnesses?
vi) I feel my manager's statements are at best inaccurate and at worst totally false. Can a disciplinary hearing adjourn to investigate his accusations further?
vii) Senior and local management have both stated they are aware that these tensions have been present for a long time. I have been totally open with them about my concerns and have requested input from them on a number of occasions over the past 18 months or so(documented), but not received any. When dismissing under these circumstances, should managements prior knowledge and failure to act be taken into account?
I realise that that is a hell of a lot of information but if you're still reading then any input would be gratefully received (and may help ease an unpleasant few weeks ahead)
Many thanks
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