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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I found out my boss was doing something that constituted gross misconduct at work...

52 replies

righthandedandlefteyed · 06/02/2019 21:11

...it put other people at risk. I told him directly I knew about it and he still didn't change, so I told his boss.

Next thing I heard my boss had resigned.

Everyone is gutted that he's gone and no one is talking to me.

I feel shit.

I know IWNBU to try and stop people getting hurt but people are acting like I'm the bad guy not my boss. WIBU? Should I have shut my mouth?

OP posts:
Cherry321 · 06/02/2019 21:41

You did the right thing. H&S and the welfare of your colleagues is more important than profit margins. Flowers

PerkingFaintly · 06/02/2019 21:45

righthandedandlefteyed, you've been an absolute star.StarStarStar Well done.

It takes a lot of guts to whistleblow, and you've shown huge courage here.

You've looked after your colleagues and you've looked after your vulnerable clients. That could have been me or mine you've protected there: thank you from the bottom of my heart.

A few people, who don't understand the situation, are trying to make you feel shit because their noses are out of joint. But hold your head high: you've done absolutely the right thing.

ThanksThanksThanks

User383673 · 06/02/2019 21:45

You have deffo done the right thing. Imagine if someone had been hurt by his negligence.

BrevilleTron · 06/02/2019 21:47

Good for you. Don't feel bad. It takes courage to speak up when things are wrong. I've done it. I'm a health and safety rep for my trade union. You may well have saved lives. If he resigned then he's no longer a danger. Well done.

userschmoozer · 06/02/2019 21:52

You did the right thing. Your colleagues must be a bit thick if they can't join the dots for themselves.

WTBE · 06/02/2019 22:02

You did the right thing. Front it out I would say, if you start acting awkward around your colleagues they will only jump on that and use it to alienate you more. Who is really stupid enough to argue with "he put everyone in danger including our vulnerable clients"

Original poster
righthandedandlefteyed · 06/02/2019 22:05

Thank you. It's all gone silent above me and that;s making me feel really paranoid.

I am looking very hard for another job.

OP posts:
Merchantgirl · 06/02/2019 22:06

Your ex bosses boss needs to step in and help you here.

Original poster
righthandedandlefteyed · 06/02/2019 22:07

erchantgirl Wed 06-Feb-19 22:06:15
Your ex bosses boss needs to step in and help you here.

I know and it's just it's a horrible feeling. We are all now working in a vacuum and nobody has stepped up.

OP posts:
Aridane · 06/02/2019 22:12

Have you,posted about this before?

Gentlygrowingoldermale · 06/02/2019 22:12

Imagine you had said nothing and there was a serious incident.

HSE, Care Comission or relevant authority would investigate. The law says we are responsible for our safety and the safety of others. If you saw something that was unsafe and kept quiet, you could be in serious trouble.

You did the right thing.

Original poster
righthandedandlefteyed · 06/02/2019 22:14

"HSE, Care Comission or relevant authority would investigate. The law says we are responsible for our safety and the safety of others. If you saw something that was unsafe and kept quiet, you could be in serious trouble. "

I'm still not convinced it's being taken seriously now. No real leadership has been offered to quickly make things safe.

Am I still culpable even though I've raised it? I've made numerous suggestions on how to improve but had no feedback.

OP posts:
gamblingaddict · 06/02/2019 22:14

Actually this is a win win, you don’t need anyone from ‘above’. Talking go about it and you have acted before not after something happened so no one hurt. The person that chose to make those choices has seemingly been allowed to resign, without suspension or investigation and so leaves with a clean slate to start again, by holding your head high and riding out the short term storm you are being an awesome individual and all will work itself out in the end, I hope some unexpected happiness makes itself your way as a reward

showmeshoyu · 06/02/2019 22:32

If it's anything like it is in the financial sector, if you escalate using the right paths (it sounds like you did) and there's no further change in the situation that would make you want to report further risks/issues and you're not directly causing or on the hook for solving the problem... your job is done.

But I'd suggest you read the procedures in your sector, the process should be made quite clear in their documentation.

greendale17 · 06/02/2019 22:35

OP you have 100% done the right thing here. Well done to you.

IncrediblySadToo · 06/02/2019 22:49

Keep up with the job search 🌷

I’m not sure if you did the right thing or not tbh. It really does depend what he did and why. Sometimes the rules are better off being broken if it means good care for more people and sustainability of a service. Following the rules 100% of the time might mean far fewer people get help or the service collapses.

But you did it from a place of care & concern so I hope they move on from this or you find another job soon. It’s awful being unhappy at work. I’d have no hesitation in saying what he did if I hadn’t signed an agreement not to and dropping massive hints if I had.

showmeshoyu · 06/02/2019 22:55

Following the rules 100% of the time might mean far fewer people get help or the service collapses.

Do you work in a high-risk sector? Healthcare (or at least my experience of working in it) is so afraid of its own shadow now that deviating from the agreed rules and procedures could land you at best struck off or at worst in jail. The same goes for the financial services sector. In the past, when things weren't as litigious, I've seen plenty of rule bending and 99.9% of the time it's fine... but when it goes wrong and you get audited and there's a litany of evidence against you, that's what we call a bad day at the office.

Original poster
righthandedandlefteyed · 06/02/2019 22:58

"Sometimes the rules are better off being broken if it means good care for more people"

thank you, I see your point. But it was meaning zero care for everyone. Just a numbers game.

OP posts:
Jon65 · 06/02/2019 23:03

showme ffs it's not a bad day at the office when you are negligent and somebody dies, that's such an offensive post. Perhaps you should withdraw it.

Ifangyow · 06/02/2019 23:03

If your colleagues are ignoring you then they are no better than he was. Do you really want to associate with them? You can hold your head up high, can they?
It's very hard to speak out and I'm glad you had the courage of your conviction to do so.
I hope you get another job soon.
💐

Marmighty · 06/02/2019 23:04

The people you and your colleagues are caring for, and their families, would thank you from the bottom of their hearts if they knew what you had done. It's difficult if you aren't getting support, but you can be proud of yourself and know you did the right thing

showmeshoyu · 06/02/2019 23:11

showme ffs it's not a bad day at the office when you are negligent and somebody dies

I'm sorry, that was classic British understatement, did you not see the bits before about it going wrong, evidence etc. Also, as mentioned in my posts I was talking about the parallels in rules and whistleblowing in two sectors. Not this individual example. Having been around in both sectors when "bad things have happened" but nobody died, I wanted to stress the idea that individuals should not take it upon themselves in a tightly regulated industry to do as they please. Because they will suffer personal consequences as well as having to deal with the materialized consequences of their rule breaking.

Touchmybum · 06/02/2019 23:17

Could you speak to your ex boss' boss again and ask for support? Some kind of 'statement' maybe issued to cover the 'resignation'? Does your organisation have a whistleblowing policy or a Dignity at work/bullying and harassment policy? You should absolutely not suffer from any victimisation as a result of speaking out.

Mmmhmmm · 06/02/2019 23:35

You did the right thing, maybe quietly let people know what he was doing.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 07/02/2019 05:55

Op I'm guessing you work in some sort if care home. If that's the case I would report to CQC that the matter isnt being addressed properly by senior management. CQC can then investigate. You should have a Whistleblowing policy so.male sure you've got access to that.

Well done for speaking out. You did the right thing.