To be angry at work colleague who opened an envelope addressed to me and had CONFIDENTIAL written on the envelope?

[johnbarrowmanlovesme]

She knew it contained my recent job appraisal, which (she must have suspected!) did contain quite a few complaints about her! I wasn't in work the day the Secretary handed out the envelopes so she (my supervisor) was handed mine & asked to pass it on to me the following day.

Anyway,to cut a long story short, she handed me the envelope which for various reasons I suspected had been tampered with so I went to see the Secretary who was shocked that it wasn't her writing on the envelope
This person had taken the envelope home, opened it, read it then put it in a new envelope & tried to copy the original handwriting, I would never know
DH thinks this is a sackable offence, what do you think?

yes. sackable.

Have just caught up with this thread. I see you have decided against the grievance, and totally understand your decision. A few yrs ago I returned from maternity leave to a miserable time with my then boss. LONG story. I was told informally that if I chose to pursue a grievance then they would look at and discuss everything, said in quite a threatening manner. I was selected for redundancy and chose to start a grievance then- felt had nothing to lose. It was a bit awkward and unpleasant at times, and a few times I nearly gave up, but took them to tribunal and they eventually settled before hearing. In hindsight I am glad I did it as it certainly made them all think twice about their behaviour- they are a larger public body so such a lapse is not on really. This was also an educational setting. Oh, and my boss had to reapply for his job at the time, and didnt get it. He retired.

Your head must sort this out, cannot just ignore it, or your grievance will then be about him/her. Agree with those who have mentioned ACAS, they are great.

Good luck with whatever you do. Ideally you will find another job soon which is much better, as they don't sound like people you will want to work with for much longer. Once the mutual trust and confidence is broken, it's often difficult to repair the relationship.

JohnBarrow,

I think you need to do what is best for you, and sometimes going down the formal route can actually create a lot of stress for the person who is bringing the grievance. From experience, I know that because the process is prolonged, and often doesn't achieve a satisfactory outcome, the issue becomes magnified and become the focus of your whole life.

In practical terms, look at what you have achieved: You have the moral high ground; your head is aware of the issue; the line manager is going to be 'told off' and it will be recorded (in my book, that is a verbal warning, whether they want to label it as such or not); your line manager now knows you are not a pushover.

Think about what more you want to achieve by going down a grievance. Is it worth it?

I would certainly suggest that you record the issue formally in writing with your Head, and keep a copy. Perhaps something along the lines of:

Dear Head,

I refer to the recent incident where the envelope containing my staff appraisal was tampered with by XXXXX, and which you have investigated.

Given that XXX's account of the incident has changed several times, I agree that it has been difficult to establish what exactly occurred. You have advised me that XXX has been spoken to and admonished, and that this incident has been recorded on her record.

I am satisfied that this particular matter has been resolved as far as is practically possible, and I now look forward to drawing a line under it and working productively with XXXX in the future.

Could I suggest that to prevent a recurrence, it may be worth reviewing procedures for the handling and distribution of confidential staff mail?

JohnBarrowManLovesMe xx

In my view, although it may be seen as a cop out, drawing a line under it shows you in a good light, and putting it in writing records your version of events and will give you some protection against victimisation in the future. It also shows you are prepared to be the better person.

In terms of discussing it with your line manager, if she tries to talk to you again about it, I would suggest you just say, 'look, it has been dealt with and I am drawing a line under it, let's move on.'

Thanks everyone, lots of good iead & advice there.

I am still trying to get through to ACAS, I am at home tomorrow so will keep trying all day.

Thanks for you advice of what to put into a letter Cat. I have decided that is what I am going to do, not actually a Grievance but at least something in writing from myself to go on record. Apart from the fact that as I have mentioned, I don't think the School would be very supportive of me if I did go ahead with a Grievance, it has now been 3 weeks since it happened & I know it's recommended that you start the procedure as soon as possible so it would feel like I was raking it all up again (I'm a coward, I know )

I DO have the moral high ground, I just have to keep telling myself that & record any incidents with the Witch, who, I might add is being as nice as pie at the moment, too nice actually, it's probably killing her.

Fingers crossed I get the new job

Thanks again everyone for all you help & advice over the last few weeks, it really has helped.
XXX

Good luck with the new job.

However, if you don't get it, I think by taking the approach you have, it will make things easier to continue working with your supervisor in the future. I think the power dynamic in your relationship has probably shifted a bit,which is why she is being so nice to you at the moment.

Be prepared for her to test the boundaries again, she will not like the change in dynamic and may try to reassert herself.

Some of the advice you have received on here, along with good notes (remember; factual, accurate, dispassionate) will stand you in good stead if this happens.

Good luck.

yearofthe cat

excellent letter!!!

barrowman - you must use the above template!!!

Cat, are you a life coach or something? you seem to have the witch sussed!

I agree, excellent letter & i am going to use it.

you flatter me. [preen]