To ask how to deal with awful colleague?

[JunieBabes]

I have to work closely with a colleague who is, quite frankly, a nasty, spiteful person. She thinks she owns the office and always tries to tell us all what to do, whilst saying stuff about us all behind our backs. I've just been told today about some really horrible stuff she's said about me.

Management know what she's like but dismiss it as 'she's just like that' and because she's been there for a long time they won't do a thing about it. She's totally shit at the job, too, but picks fault in the rest of us and how we do things.

I was thinking of just not speaking to her the next time I have to work with her and just answering her in a cold, politeish way but not engaging with her in any other capacity. She's all nice to our faces.

I need to do something as my mental health will suffer otherwise

I was in a very similar position a few years ago. It's so disappointing when someone's poor behaviour is ignored because they've got long service. The woman I worked with was so awful but management weren't interested in concerns raised by a number of people. More ironically it was a HR department, looking back I should have reported her to CIPD. A number of people left either partly or wholly because of her. I was one of them, looking back I should have raised a formal grievance and taken it all the way.

I think you'd get a constructive dismissal case out of this OP. And you 100% should do it.

I worked with someone exactly like this, it was infuriating. Despite literally dozens of staff leaving directly because of her she was allowed to continue because "that's how she is" and "she's been here forever" It was gobsmacking how even the bosses were subjected to it and let it slide.
I did get a nice settlement out of them for constructive dismissal though, and not too long after that the company made a huge number of redundancies which she was included in.

I find just acting really stupidly and ignoring the whole british non confrontational code thing works. like openly ask infront of others why shes being nice to somebody she told you has annoyed her. Act as if you have never met a bitchy person before and just assume everything shes said behind others backs shes happy to have aired back to them in public.

Well done for resigning. Write a letter to the Directors explaining what you have said here, that led to your resignation. HR is pathetic and needs changing..