To be considering reporting a colleague?

[missmaryp]

I have just recieved an email from a work colleague, from and to a work addres (local authority) and I find it highly offensive. I can't believe in the organisation we work she would send this on. Well I can't believe it's been sent full stop really as I find it racist.

Am I over-reacting to be considering reporting this email?? A big part of me doesn't want to get the lady 'in to trouble', but another part of me is annoyed she would ever think it's ok to forward this.

Here is the email:

YOU SEE MY FRIENDS IT AINT JUST ME WHO IS PISSED RIGHT OFF WITH ALL THESE "CORRECT WAY TO LIVE AND DO AS I SAY NAZIS" TELLING ME WHAT HOW I SHOULD LIVE MY LIFE.

TAKE A READ!

This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in the UK , United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand etc.

"I'm 55+ and I'm Tired"

I'm 65+. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honour"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offence; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, UK, America and Canada, while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 55+... Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughters and their children.

There is no way this will be widely publicised, unless each of us sends it on!

This is your chance to make a difference.

" I'm 55+ and I'm tired.

If you don't forward this you are part of the problem".

If the OP is authentic then she isn't being a busybody. She's acting professionally.

Life is too short to read/be encumbered by racist and unpleasant views. You did the right thing by reporting her email. Let IT determine if the message was spam related.

To those who agree with the email message, I think it's true that 'hatred destroys the hater' so chill out!

Pan - quote - I think it's okay to say that this person may not treat people equally. The views of the public are not releavant here as they are not the ones providing theservice.

You are not able to make those sort of assumptions - it is not okay to do so - at all!

And when did the views of the public become irrelevant - you're the one who implied the emailer would not treat them fairly!!! But that doesn't matter now!!!

I conclude you too work for a LA. think local - act mental

The thing in this discussion that makes me queasy is that the OP is essentially finding a spurious way to punish someone for holding a view the OP doesn't agree with - and a pretty underhand one as well.

If the email had been sent via a private email account the OP would have been similarly offended but would not have any way of making his/her displeasure felt except speaking directly to the person who sent it. As it is, because of the
spurious fact that it's been sent using a LA email account, the OP can 'report' the email sender and thus get the email sender punished - without ever having to confront them.

If the email really is that offensive, why can't the OP just say so to the sender? Why the desire to run to teacher with an anonymous gripe and have 'the system' punish them instead? Where's the ability to stand up - ourselves - for our values?

Pan - If the OP is authentic then she isn't being a busybody. She's acting professionally.

Yup - by posting the dilemma on Mumsnet and for asking all us bored folks at home to decide what she should do - that's professional!

What line of work are you in where that would be professional?

Regardless of the views-office email is for office matters. Anything else is inappropriate.

To those who think it's none of the op's business would you not report if your internet/email use policy explicitly states that sending such emails is gross misconduct and failing to report is misconduct?

Hear hear izzywhizzy!!

down - I meant to consider the reporting of the writer. I think the OP asked for advice, rather than be told what to do. I think that's a professional consideration. Asking MN in particualr may not be the best, but she is showing consideration of the question.

tyler, I wouldn't consider it my job to monitor someone else's email use (unless it was my job, of course). I hope I would be too busy actually doing the thing I am being paid for, to tittle tattle to my boss over this shit.

down - it isn't really MN to insult someone - the local and mental thing?

To those who think it's none of the op's business would you not report if your internet/email use policy explicitly states that sending such emails is gross misconduct and failing to report is misconduct?

Never seen an employment contract yet which said failing to report was misconduct.

Agreed - the email shouldn't be sent in work time using work resources.
However, the OP needs to work out what her bitch is before she goes whining to her boss - sounds to me like she's just being spiteful and malicious and wants someone sacked and is looking to everyone on here to come up with some justification for her immature backstabbing.

Pan - you are so PC World - you do work for a LA, don't you?

Our contract refers to following an acceptable use policy. The acceptable use policy includes these terms.

There's no suggestion that the sender wrote the email Pan, therefore it cannot be assumed that the writer works for a local authority.

What can be assumed from some of the responses on this thread is that some people have zero tolerance for the views of others.

The email in question raises a number of issues that are regularly debated around my dinner table without need to deride those who hold opposing or controversial views.

Not reporting misconduct, at least of a serious nature, could be grounds for misconduct itself. (see the current debacle at NI where editors are really keen to show they knew nothing of phone hacking - to be aware and do nothing would be unacceptable and if still employed a matter of misconduct).

izzy - the OP says she just received it from a work colleague - so I am going to make the wild assumption it was a work colleague

ah I see what you mean about who actually wrote the email. Still whosoever fwded it isn't covering themselves in glory.

An extract from a sample employer's email policy on Business Link:

Unacceptable behaviour
The following behaviour by an employee is considered unacceptable:

use of company communications systems to set up personal businesses or send chain letters

forwarding of company confidential messages to external locations

distributing, disseminating or storing images, text or materials that might be considered indecent, pornographic, obscene or illegal

distributing, disseminating or storing images, text or materials that might be considered discriminatory, offensive or abusive, in that the context is a personal attack, sexist or racist, or might be considered as harassment
accessing copyrighted information in a way that violates the copyright
breaking into the company's or another organisation's system or unauthorised use of a password/mailbox

broadcasting unsolicited personal views on social, political, religious or other non-business related matters

transmitting unsolicited commercial or advertising material

undertaking deliberate activities that waste staff effort or networked resources

introducing any form of computer virus or malware into the corporate network

The message the OP posted would breach that code. by having it in her work email account she could be in breach of that code. All businesses have an email code.

Well, the email sender said she was "really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions."

So I guess she'll be delighted to take responsibility for hers. Including following her employer's email policy.

And if disciplined she certainly won't "blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever."

Downtothesea-most work contracts now contain a 'whistle blowing policy', that includes internet use, if the job involves any contact at all with the public.

No-one would be expected to contravene a work place policy to protect someone who has broken one. Everyone at work is responsible for their own actions and should take the consequences.

But the op works for a local authority Puffin and IME such bodies do not regard themselves as a 'business' nor conduct themselves in a particularly business-like manner.

It doesn't seem to have occurred to the op that she should use her own time to familiarise herself with her employers' code of conduct and conditions of employment, and address any queries she has to them instead of wasting time here.

Izzy- have you ever read an L.A's code of conduct and tried to make sense of the way that it is written? They are not easy reading. Granted all she should have done is take it to her line manager.

Ah. So she was wrong to spend time on here asking questions. And she shouldn't be complaining about her colleague anyway just because she holds 'different' views. ' But it was fine for her colleague to use work time to send an email from her work address. Because you approve of her views.

And for a LA to police email is dangerous and bad. But the fact that every other business does just results in insults towards LAs -'local authorities don't 'conduct themselves in a particularly business-like manner.'

I would point out once again that there is no evidence that the sender of the email wrote the content Cage.

The email purports to have been written by someone who is 65+. This would suggest that the writer is most probably retired.

Further, the email refers to the writer 'doing my National Service' which, given that females were not subject to conscription in the '50s, would suggest that the writer is male.

It is of course possible that the sender is the writer but, given that the writer claims 'I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years', I would hazard a guess that the writer did not, or does not, work for a local authority.