life impossible at work

[sonotboden]

can anyone offer any advice about what i should do?

its a long story but i will try to keep to the salient facts.

i went to a meeting in July where i was told that i had hit all of my targets for the year, but i was underthreat of capability proceedings. I was told that this was for three things that we pretty hard to measure. I was told that i had 3 months to improve, otherwise capability procedure would start. I was told that i would get copies of notes.

3 weeks later notes were emailed to me the same day as my line manager went on holiday, knowing that we would not be in the office again together for another month.
In the notes, it said that i would be monitored for 6 months, not 3. It also said that we would have monthly meetings to discuss progress.

Eventually another meeting was called in mid september. i went along with evidence to show that these 3 things had been done. However, having reviewed my other objectives, my manager waived a peice of paper at me and told me that the other things were ongoing and she would email me.

two weeks later the notes arrived- it is basically a list of 20 things- petty and casting around for evidence ( example - i have lost control of my calendar- evidence i sat down at my desk at 9.00 and asked my manager- who sits next to me whether we were still meeting that morning). it bears little relation to the original 3 things.

i emailed back a response to this pointing this out. Since then, the next meeting was scheduled for mid october, moved at the last minute to early november and then changed again 10 minutes before to mid november.

during this time her attitude has been bullying and i have been stressed beyond beleif- i literally have to drag myself in every morning. i am scared that the slightest error will be turn up as evidence of my incompetence.

i know that she has not acted in accordance with written procedures. I cannot take this to HR as our reporting line is to the head of hr and i have no doubt that she would back up my manager in her own interests. if i had the money, i would resign and never look back.

what would you do? if i raise a grievance it would have to be heard by another senior manager and this would never be forgotten or forgiven- my life would be hell.

if i can find another job (probably a lot lower paid) can i resign and claim constructive dismissal?

[flowerybeanbag]

If you find another job there would be little point really. Compensation for unfair dismissal is purely based on financial loss, so if you already have a job, and the only financial loss is a lower salary, it's unlikely to be worth going through the stress, upheaval and expense of a tribunal claim.

Constructive dismissal is incredibly difficult to prove and you would be expected to have tried all reasonably avenues to resolve the situation internally first. It's not a case of you deciding you don't want to bring a grievance because your life would be made hell and it would be pointless. If you don't bring on, then claim constructive dismissal, your employer will say they were given no opportunity to address your concerns and of course would have given you every support in raising your grievance. You may know different but you will have no evidence of that.

Presumably you think your boss is trying to get rid of you, is that right? Why do you think that is? (I mean why does she want to get rid of you, not why do you think that).

If you want to consider a tribunal claim you will really need to raise a grievance. You say your life will be made hell, but if you have every intention of bringing a claim/leaving asap, does that matter hugely?

What do you think the chances are of you finding something else?

[greentea72]

Agree with flowery - constructive dismissal is very difficult to prove the burden of proof would lie with you, rewards minimal and stress high.

You either find another job and leave and forget about it or you raise a grievance now - I believe there are time limits on when you should raise grievances - someone with better knowledge on employment law should be able to advise (flowery/ribena!)
If you raise a grievance you need to be clear and concise what your grievances are -e.g. failure to follow company procedure, bulling etc. Provide examples and be prepared to give evidence.

[sonotboden]

thanks

flowery,you ask some very good questions- i think that it is just a poisonous, malfunctioning atmosphere. she is an incompetent line manager who has difficulty managing people of a similar status. for example, she has spent 2 years going on about the fact that i am more qualified than she is.

oddly, now i think about it, i think that she has blamed me for something that was entirely her remit and her boss has said if that is the case you had better start along the capability route- there is no other real explanation.

i know that you are right re constructive dismissal- although i do know that they do chuck money to avoid tribunal. funnily enough, if they sacked me they would have to pay me 12 weeks salary under my contract.

i think i will start getting evidence together for a greivance- nothing to lose as you say.