Work advice needed please

[AnAussieMum]

Needing some advice please.

I started a new job approx 7 weeks ago.

Without saying too much

It's in community services.

I have recently been pulled into the facility managers office and had a discussion with the facility manager and another member of staff who is also a manager of sorts where I was made aware that the other manager is under investigation from allot higher up and they are looking at misconduct on her end. It apparently came about when someone got repremanded and then she decided to leave due to a resident being in another residents room for a period of time when the staff member should have known where he was.

She then Apparently reported this manager

I was sworn to secrecy and was only told as I have been asked to redirect a resident away from her office as he likes to visit her often. He doesn't have family and over the years has formed a connection. Due to certain things about him other members of staff seem to be scared of him and see him in a light differently to what I see him.

I have met with my team and explained we need to keep him more active and involve him in activities. As he seems to be put in the too hard basket quite allot.

There was allot of talk in the team when I first started about the " relationship " I took it all with a grain of salt. Knowing what I know now i still don't feel that there is anything in it.

He has some complex behaviours due to his age and history and I feel like she had a soft spot for him when he didn't have anyone else . I can see why I also have a soft spot for him but trust me after knowing all of the above I am treading carefully.

anyhow today i was talking about how positive his behaviour has been and someone in my team ( below me if that matters) told me she wanted to tell me something

She told me exactly what I already knew.

I played dumb and asked who told her and she told me that this manager is friends with the receptionist who then told my team member. She had been sworn to secrecy by the receptionist. The only thing she didn't know was who reported the manger .
I kind of dismissed it and said wow thats terrible. Maybe it isn't true we can't believe everything we hear. And she said well the receptionist wouldn't lie and her and the manager are good friends.
Can't be good friends if she's blabbing about something like this.
Anyway I changed the conversation and the day continued.

So now she's told me what I know is 100% true

My concern is they were both sworn to secrecy and have both told someone else!

I feel if this gets out, me being the new girl i will get the blame.

Do I....

A - keep my mouth shut and hope it doesn't go any further.

B - talk to my facility's manager tomorrow, tell her what happened. But if I did this she going to push for names and I dont want to be a dobber. However if the story does spread she will know it wasn't me.

I really really don't want to say names!

C - keep my mouth shut and then if it does go further tell her then everything i heard today.

Such a crappy position to be in.

The team member who told me has been there 15 years!! Receptionist about 4 manager about 12 I believe. So I really am the new girl with a big workplace secret that others know about.

I mean this manager could loose her job, its terrible its being talked about by others who are supposed to be friends with her.

I would do B. Just say you have heard gossip that what you were told about has got out so other people know about it. If pressed, you could say you'd rather not name specific people but wanted to make them aware.

Very confusing!

So the manager of sorts decided to leave the company because one resident was in another resident’s room?

And who does she have a soft spot for? Resident one or two?

So the misconduct is that she should have reported it?

To be honest I would be dubious about the manager who told you. They could easily have given instructions about work without telling you the confidential details of an investigation into another member of staff. And should have done.

I don't think you have any choice other than to tell your manager / HR what has been said to you, but I think you might want to ensure that you do it in writing to prove you have said it. This degree of a leak suggests that someone well in the know is leaking confidential information, and it could easily be blamed on you. To be honest, they could blame you anyway as you haven't been in the job very long and have no employment protection.

I'd also think long and hard about working in a place where confidential information is so readily shared - next time it could be your confidential information being gossiped about.

You were told details of an ongoing investigation simply so that you knew to keep a resident away from a manager's office? Bizarre.

And now you know that others have been told details of the investigation.

If I were the manager under investigation, I'd be hopping mad.

The place is obviously a hotbed of gossip, so I think you should protect yourself and email the Facilities Manager who originally informed you about this. Simply say that a member of staff has confided in you about the investigation and you quickly shut the conversation down. You want the FM to be aware that there is gossip about the situation and that you will do all you can to stop any that you hear.

Then leave it at that. Don't enter any further discussions with staff members. if you hear any talking, tell them its not appropriate topic for conversation.