manager bullies at work

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Dear Forum members,

i dont know if anyone has ever experienced this during their work life, but now i am encountering this problem.
Recently i have started to experience bullying from my line manager, the only thing i can do for now is gather evidence via emails sent by him, creating a journal gathering a paper trail, date/time stamps who was present and what was said by all parties concerned.

After all that i dont know if i should involve HR/company trade union or compace an employment lawyer.

How should i go about this?

Thanks for your advice

 

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Happily I've never experienced a problem like that but you shouldn't have to put up with that at work. HR are there basically to sort these types of issues and whilst I always would try to sort out issues between myself and another person by speaking to them directly if you feel you can't do that or they aren't the type of person to listen then go and see HR.

If he has sent you bullying emails then he isn't very clever doing so as it's down as evidence. I think you are doing the right thing in noting everything down and what I would do is to see HR off the record at first and ask their advice on the matter. If your a member of a union then take a representative along as well to see where you stand. Take copies of the emails and your notes along to show them and maybe they will have a quiet word with your manager to nip it in the bud before going down a more official route.

 

It depends really mate.. If you don't mind sharing; in what way is it bullying?

edit: such as.. personal attacks, forcing you to do stuff with threats re your employment etc

 

As Michael says, if you can talk to the guy directly and resolve matters then thats the cleanest and simplest solution. If thats not a possibility or you've already tried then HR or your union (if your a memebr of one) are your best bet for some further advice on what to do next.

I'd leave the lawyers out of it to start with though, however take a representative with you to every meeting you have on the subject as a witness should you need to prove/disprove things later.

 

Thats a question you will need to answer, you need to be clear on exactly what the problem is, you don't want to end up with the situation being blamed on a misinterpretation if its making you feel genuinely uncomfortable.

 

I think you should start by giving of examples of what has been said.

As what you may define as bullying may not be.

 

I would say an off-the-record chat with your union rep/HR is the best course. Show them some of the emails and, if they agree that there is cause for concern, they can explain what options are open to you for progressing your complaint.

 

It's pretty much all been said - but as Ken mentions, one of the first things to do is to bring it to his attention. It may not be easy, but he might not even realise he's doing it and the problem may be solved overnight.

Then just gather evidence and ask to meet your HR or union rep. Get in there sooner rather than later as these things are never good left to fester.

 

can you provide further information of his bullying ways, both for curiosity and so we can advise further?

 

One trend i have noticed is an increase of my workload, they are already aware that i am currently overloaded.
It has been mentioned to the management several times, its probably early days yet but i suspect they are trying to alienate me.

I keep my private life out of work as i know this can be used against me to their favour, as i mentioned early days to suspect anyone only time will tell.

 

perhaps I'm being dense, but I dont see how giving you more work is bullying. If you are overloaded, it could be bad management, sure, but not bullying.

HR will almost certainly see it the same way, unless you can couple that with evidence of other forms of bullying.

 

More workload will not be seen as bullying if everyone else is in the same boat as you. If your workload is a lot more than anyone elses then it might be seen as being unfair but I would start by making your line manager aware of this before involving HR. I would word your conversation very carefully and don't imply that he/she is picking on you but simply that you feel the workload is too much and take it from there before seeking other avenues like the ones I mentioned in my previous post and others have mentioned.

 

That is well out of order, I hate it when you go to work and they give you work to do!!

Is your line manager a big bloke have you thought about attacking him after work? Violence is usally the best solution in these situations even if you speak with your HR they will proabably tell you to fight it out.

I blame Harry Hill.

 

If that's a form of bullying then i am bullied on a daily basis........... and then I'm called in on my rest days for more bullying hehe

On a more serious note, look for some compo and new job

 

Rob we don't know the circumstances mate it could very well be that the OP is being asked to do work that is within the boundaries of being fine but it could be the case of being discriminated against with an unrealistic workload because their face doesn't fit and their manager wants to make their life hell. It's not really helpful if the OP is being bullied with the above. Not trying to be an arse just saying we don't know the circumstances.

 

I don't think it's that different over here Belgium is only 20 km away from the UK

Anyway, curious about this one. If I can help (in Dutch), please PM!

 

Hi Simonvm,

Thanks for your generous offer of assistance. unfortunately i dont know any dutch, i can get by with most day to day french. Im an Anglophone that has been living & working in Brussels for nearly 6 years. I have been contemplating contracting or consulting but i dont know what kind of profile is required for that and im guessing that you need a driving license.