Being bullied at work, trying to change departments and being blocked. Please help!

[NotGotaClue]

I've been at my job for 16 months. I work in Personnel and came in as maternity cover with an 18 month contract (due to expire soon). The lady I was covering for has come back part time and is now doing a different role. I've been told they are very happy with my work and want to keep me on a permanent basis, but that this may mean a series of temporary contracts due to headcount issues (which I'm not happy about).

My problem lies with the person I replaced. She was vile to me whilst training me (which I put down to feeling threatened and so tried to ignore), and made it very clear that she does not like me. It all came to a climax the week after she left for maternity leave when I realised she had altered a load of data that I was due to pass on. Had I not double checked it before I sent it I would've been in serious trouble. As it was I worked late to sort it all out.

At that point I went to my manager because I had no idea what else might have been altered. They believed me without proof (I believe there was some history there) but basically gave me a "there-there" and left me to it, which was ok, since she was gone anyway.

Now she's back and has started again. Whilst all my data is now password protected she has access to files and has been dealing with enquiries and issues that are mine (causing me enormous amounts of work to put right). I've spoken to my manager again, who has sympathised, but their solution is not to confront it, it's to try to keep her busy. No one has spoken to her about any of the issues at any point.

So... I'm getting stressed, A job comes up in a different department, similar role, I'm more than qualified for in a really nice team. Their manager says they really want me. I apply. And hear nothing. Obviously being in personnel I'm aware of how slowly our company works, but this week I emailed the recruitment officer who let me know that one of my managers dealt with it directly and interviews had been held this week.

We have a company policy that means that if you work for us and apply for a job internally you are guaranteed an interview.

I emailed my manager immediately asking what had happened with my application and was I to assume I had been unsuccessful in attaining an interview. He read it Friday morning and never got back to me.

All my managers have at some point told me privately that they want to keep me and don't want the other lady to be there at all. But will do nothing to protect me. Their solution seems to be to simply block me from leaving.

I'm coming home from work in tears far too often. I'm enormously stressed, but just keep going. I feel like my own department doesn't even have the decency to send me a "thanks but no thanks" response to my application, and I'm so tired of pulling the knives out of my back.

Any help anyone can suggest will be very gratefully received. Do I have any legal recourse? I just want to move departments. I like the company, but can't carry on as I am.

Have you raised a grievance yet? A formal one? That's your first step.

No, I haven't. I was banking on this job getting me away from it all. Or do you mean a grievance about not being interviewed?

(and thank you for trawling through my long gripe :))

I think from what you've written you've got two (possibly three) issues.

1. The issue of harassment from the colleague you replaced.
2. The issue of not being interviewed for the new post.
3. Weak and ineffective management in the organisation (possibly)

The temporary contracts need not be a huge problem. They're fixed term and once you have two years service you cannot be made redundant without due process and consultation and because you have more than one year's service you have to be given a fair reason if you are dismissed (ie your contract is not renewed). Once you have four years service you are deemed to be permanent any way. Look up "fixed term contracts" and "redundancy" and "unfair dismissal" on DirectGov website for more information on each of those three things (sorry i'm on phone so can't do links). You could also look up harassment in the workplace on the same website.

I think the first issue is making the second issue feel much worse than it actually is. It may we be indicative of the weak management i suspect. Now while it is perfectly understandable to feel much worse about it, it won't help you. I think you need to be more proactive and take back control a bit (i suspect this will make you feel better).

I think you need to make some decisions. If you didn't get the new role what would you do? Would you cut your losses and look for another job and leave? Or would you tackle the recruitment process or would you tackle the harassment? Or tackle both? How you tackle it and the outcome you are prepared to accept will influence your options later. You have already mentioned legal processes. If you take legal action against your employer the chances of staying in your job are slim. Not least because doing that can be very uncomfortable for you. So have a good think first.

I would do the following now just to see how the land lies:

1. Ring your line manager and the recruiting manager to ask why you were not interviewed for the advertised post. Forget emailing. It takes too long and puts all the power with the recipient. Explain that you are disappointed and that you understood from the company's policy you should have received an interview. Tell the recruiting manager how much you wanted the job and mention you think they have a lovely team. Ask if you could be interviewed early next week (NB this may not be possible if they've offered the job to someone else).

1. Consider telling your current line manager why you want to move teams. Depending on the relationship you have this may spur them on to fixing the current harassment problem or it may make them want you out of their team. Either way it may help you. But you know that relationship best. What do you think would happen?

Depending what happens there will influence what you do next with regards to raising grievances or anything else.

I'm sorry you're having a hard time. It sounds like your management might be afraid of this woman too and that's why their doing nothing. That's not acceptable nor it is fair and you do not have to tolerate it any more.

Apologies for typos and grammar errors. Blasted autocorrect! I often type "their" much more than "they're"

Thanks Katie, that was pretty much what I was thinking. Yes, there is a problem with weak management, and I do think they're afraid of her.

If this doesn't get resolved I will have to leave, which will be a shame but that's the way it is. I would rather not go down any legal route, but do want to be aware of my rights IYSWIM.

I honestly cannot see them dealing with this issue. Which is demoralising to say the least. I hate that this affects me, it's all so pointless. I just want to go to work, get my job done, and go home.

First thing Monday morning I will be phoning recruitment manager and asking for a meeting (open plan office means I can't talk over the phone). I need to know what is going on.

Second thing I'll be going to my senior manager to state my case.

You're right, they've been so careful to praise my patience and good will through out it all, just to keep me placid. Time to get this sorted.

Thank you very much.

You're welcome

Your legal position is very weak if you haven't raised a grievance. Harassment claims are often claimed via county court. A tribunal has no jurisdiction for harassment cases unless there is a descriminatory element and in this case this woman just sounds like she's generally horrible. However, for harassment you have to give the employer the opportunity to do something (ie raise a grievance). You could make a claim for constructive dismissal but they are extremely hard to prove and if you haven't made a grievance first then your case is substantially weaker.

If you are going to leave any way you may as well raise a grievance first. Worst case scenario: it makes no difference. Best case scenario: it fixes the problem.

I think your plan to see everyone on Monday is a good one. I hope it goes well and wish you luck. Even if it doesn't go so well at least you will know where you stand and you can make an informed decision about what you want to do.

Indeed :)

It's partly not having a clue what's going on that is driving me up the wall. Hopefully some answers will improve things.

I don't suppose you know the legal issues surrounding choosing someone for interview? I know there were few applicants and that my CV was far better than two of those chosen. Would I have grounds for a complaint there?

The recruitment process has to be fair and not discriminate against any of the protected characteristics as defined in The Equality Act 2010 nor discriminate in some other ways (trade union activities for example). If you we're not given an interview because you are a fixed term employee but all internal permanent employees who applied were, you could argue that was unfair although I don't think there's any case law on this (I haven't checked) so you may struggle to make a case. Also it's a fairly subjective area.

The two that were chosen, was there anything about them that made them different? We're they both men? Similar racial profile but different to you? To be able to make an allegation of discrimination you have to find a comparator to show how they were treated more favourably. The employer would have to evidence that they did not discriminate.

If this is just an administrative cock up (and it could well be) then you would find it extremely difficult to claim discrimination. I'm also very uncomfortable personally with alleging discrimination unless you really believe it to be so.

I think at this stage the law about recruitment is not hugely relevant further than "you must be scrupulously fair when recruiting" and that you feel they have not been. However, going in saying that will put people's backs up. Going in from the point of view it is a mistake/oversight/accidental error will do you more favours I think.

It would be interesting to see what other EI regulars think. Hopefully this thread will catch someone's eye today.

Thanks again. No discrimination as defined. My worry is this was a deliberate act to keep me from leaving the dept. I don't intend to go in all guns ablazing, I just want answers.

Bump for today's crowd :)

You are protected from less favourable treatment because of fixed term status, so if you didn't get an interview for that reason that would be against the law.

I'm confused though. You said the manager of the department/team you were applying to really wanted you for this role? But you didn't get an interview? Is that the person who you emailed?

I agree with Katie, you need to speak to that person and ask what happened, and also meet with your own line manager and explain why you are looking for a transfer and ask for their support in that, seeing as they are not dealing with this other person.

I think once you have an answer about what happened with this role that the manager wanted you for, you will then be able to decide how best to proceed.

I wrote a post after the response to my last post but it didn't send because my phone battery went. What I basically said was to keep your powder dry in the meeting but to be sure to ask specifically about the policy of interviewing all internal applicants and if they give you any nonsense about that only applying to permanent employees not to rise to it in the meeting - if you query it then you are likely to upset them but also you may find later that the "reason" given is something less discrimatory. I also mentioned recruitment decisions can be quite subjective and what you may think was a better application might not have fitted with the soft requirements for the job - particularly important when looking for someone to come into a team.

A good tip that I used to use a lot at work is to send a polite email after the meeting confirming the conversation. Something along the lines of "Thank you for making the time to discuss my application for X position and clarifying that it was for reasons ABC that I was not selected for interview". This then allows you to make a decision later about how you want to progress depending on the reason given but also doesn't do your popularity any harm in the short term.

This link here about the rights of fixed term workers is better (IMO) than the DirectGov link www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073793880&type=RESOURCES

Sorry, yes to clarify the manager of the team stated they wanted me. But the final decision would have been with the personnel manager (my manager), who I have now emailed.

Interesting about the fixed term discrimination. I shall bare that in mind. Thanks flowery.

So tomorrow I shall ask for answers, politely but firmly. Thank you both very much.