What would you do?

[whistleblower]

A moral / ethical dilemma has come up at my place of work, and I was wondering what other people would do. Have changed my name to avoid being recognised.

This week, 9 new people joined my company. A friend of mine recognised one of the men; she used to work with him a few years ago. In that previous job he drove a company car while drunk and hit a police car, had a fight with someone who died from his injuries (although there were no charges brought), and he had to make home visits as part of his job. Twice he was accused of sexually harassing people on these home visits. He was eventually sacked from the job (unsurprisingly).

It seems fairly clear that my employers know nothing of this history, or they wouldn't have employed him. Should my friend say anything? He has seen her, and will be working in the same area as her, so she can't pretend she wasn't aware of him.

What would you do?

Might sound like a daft question but what line of work?

Financial services, but not selling. Don't want to say too much.

Well, the thing i was going to say was if it was working with kids or the elderly or any very vulnerable group then i would DEFINATLEY say.

I don't know now however!! Very difficult one!!

I guess it will come out sooner or later that you used to work together so maybe you could say the, with very little persuasion???

The thing is, if he didn't get charged for any of his offences then he'll KNOW it was you!!

Talk about your worries to somebody from human resources but ask for the stuff to be kept confidential, they can decide then where to take it from there but I belive this is only good to keep in record in case something else happens but it wouldn't be fair to do something if he is behaving himself now.

THough I really don't know if this is a good idea... I have never been in such situation before...

It would seem that the employer who sacked him (presumably for the transgressions you describe) was not asked for a reference by your employer. It may well be that they would be very pleased to provide one to prevent your employer any future problems with him. Perhaps you or your friend could contact his previous employer - not sure how this would best be done - and apprise them of the situation.

By the way, it's not me that knows this man, it really is a friend (not a "friend" ). So I don't feel it's my place to say anything, as I only know this second hand. I'm just interested to know what people think (although if everyone is horrified that he has been employed, I may try and persuade her to say something).

I think he must have worked somewhere else in the interim, and so the employer who sacked him wouldn't have been consulted for a reference.

Can't believe your HR dept hasn't got reference on him; however, poor references can result in law suits and his previous employer may have been vague - good time keeper etc - to avoid this, especially since the things he did were not formalised thru the legal system - innocent till proven guilty. So if they had referred to these, the man concerned could have prosecuted them, as they are unproven allegations

Frankly, I would have a confidential chat with your manager or a senior officer in HR then leave it alone - you ought to say something, esp since one of the allegations is of a sexual nature - but you don't want to stick your neck out do you?
HTH

I understand they may not have been asked for a reference, but they might be just as appalled as you and your friend are at his being employed by your company and consequently be happy to let them know of their own experiences with him.

He may have changed?

I think you should allow this person to have the benefit of the doubt and have a new start. He may have a criminal record and so have paid for his crimes - therefore should he have to pay twice if he is trying to make a new start for himself?

Well exactly Tinker, that's sort of my feeling - surely people deserve a second chance, and as the information I have is second-hand and uncorroborated, I would feel really uncomfortable doing anything about it. But that's the great thing about mn, you can ask for people's opinions about these things anonomously without getting yourself or anyone else into trouble

And cazzybabs - you weren't there when I started that last message

Tricky though. Does he know the friend knows about his past?

Not sure that he knows she knows (iyswim). She left before he was sacked (although was there when some of the incidents happened), but her best friend carried on working there, so told her all about it.

It's just like BB when Becky came in and told Nadia straight away that she knew her secret, and she wasn't going to tell the others, so she wouldn't be wondering all the time. Bit more serious, though.

Well, if it were me, I'd seriously think about speaking to a manager in confidence or sending an anonymous note to the head of your HR Department ... this man could easily have lied on his CV and provided a false reference. TBH you don't want to work with someone with a previous history of violence or sexual harrassment do you?

If your friend is still conversational with him, I would (if I were she) strike up a conversation about past place of employment and that she is still in contact with x and that x keeps her up to date about what goes on there. And just leave that hanging in the air to gauge his response.

Wouldn't feel comfortable about shopping him when he may well be a reformed character

I think your friend should play for time. It might be that he has changed and she should let him prove this before saying anything.

If she is thrown together with this man, and they have to converse, then she could say she still sees people at his old place of work and leave it hanging. But she should be very careful here. If this man is truly nasty and he suspects she has one on him, he could make her life at work intolerabable, cast aspersions on her character so that anything she says about him will be discredited. It depends how much power he has in his new job.

If it was me, I would do nothing for now, but talk to his colleagues and keep a careful watch. As the man was not charged with anything, I don't think the employers will feel your friend is being disloyal to them in not revealing what she knows - of course if he starts acting up, then it's the time to say something to HR.

God, what a hard one. Being a terrible slack gossipy old hag I think I'd find it very difficult to keep quiet but nonetheless I would. You don't know the full facts so I don't think you should get involved or do any whistleblowing. Well, not unless something at this work place makes you suspicious or you're given more detailed (and definitely accurate) information from your friend. Remember what gossip can be like: totally inaccurate, exaggerated etc. I think my advice would be different though if children or another vulnerable group were involved, if that's the case then maybe you should tell someone what you know, while stressing that it's all hearsay.

Whistleblower, I find it very odd that if somebody died from injuries inflicted by this man, he was not charged with murder or manslaughter. This makes me think that perhaps some of these stories about him are not true. If there is any doubt at all about it, I would hold off. But if I knew that something was definitely true, I would mention something to HR immediately without waiting to see if he is reformed. I know that's harsh, but Tigermoth is right, he has a very good motive to discredit your friend so that by the time any allegation is made about him, it is made by someone whose credibility has been destroyed. Also, if it does turn out that he is a reformed character, a good HR manager should be able to deal with it without discriminating against him (assuming he hasn?t lied in his application) and without causing friction between himself and your friend. And I don?t know what area of finance you work in, but if you are giving financial advice to elderly people, then they are an extremely vulnerable group.

The thing is, if no charges have been bought against him then u have to let this man get on with his job. He doesnt sound like a savoury character to me, but i dont think legally you could drag up someones past if it has no revelance for the job he is doing now.

I do know of someone who got into a fight with a person who later died. No charges were brought in that particular case because the death was little more than a tragic accident. During the scuffle person A pushed person B. B was so drunk that he fell backwards, hit his head and died. Person A had never been in any trouble in his life. On paper it is true that a person he fought died from his injuries. However, the reality isn't quite that straightforward.

If this person was working with vulnerable people on a one-to-one basis then I would be tempted to mention the sexual assault allegations if I was as certain as I could be that the offences had happened. Otherwise I think I would keep quiet and give this person the benefit of the doubt.

Does he make home visits as part of this job? Or spend time with women on their own?
I agree with everyone who has said maybe he is a reformed character and should be given a chance or that some of these stories could be interpreted in different ways (Coppertop's post being particularly apt here). But if he is making home visits, or working with women in a situation where they could be placed at risk, then that's something that his employers should know about. Then, if they have all the facts, up to them to decide how to handle it. But I think I'd want to know if I was working with someone who had been accused of sexual harassment twice...

Just to reassure you that this man will be working in an open plan office, with about 40 other people on the floor, so no reason for anyone to have to be alone with him.

My friend is actually leaving the company in a couple of weeks, so I think she's got the attitude that it won't be her problem for much longer. And reading everyone's opinions here has made me realise how I feel about this - all of this is hearsay to me, and I have no way of knowing whether it is true or not. So it's not for me to possibly ruin someone's chance to put their past behind them by passing on what is, at the moment, only gossip.