Husband cant cope with job anymore

[hatesemployer]

Could anyone offer advice on how I can help my husband?

He has been been with same employer for 14 years. He works for the insurance arm of a larger company (bank that was bailed out by government).

His manager used to be a colleague but was promoted three years ago. Since then his manager has been on his back about almost everything but lets other employees (friends) do as they please.

Manager commits lots of fraud which is obvious to everyone, steals from company, if any kind of maintenance work needs doing on site he gives work to his friends even if they are not properly qualified . A couple of members of staff lost their driving licenses for drink driving but manager let them use company cars knowing this. he also has openly talked about taking drugs with another employee at a Head office party.

The manager was suspended a year ago for something but when HR came to investigate while manager was suspended, the staff they interviewed were his office manager and deputy so they covered for him and he returned to work.

My husband had no respect for him at all and tries to keep his head down as the manager he says is "teflon coated".

H has reached a point where he cant take any more. There are no jobs available where we live. He taked blood pressure medication now and is under the doctor for chest pains.

He knows the manager wants him out and gives him the worst jobs and the ones no one else wants.

I really do not know what to say to him and where should we go from here?

Thanks

I think the way to go is to concentrate solely on the fraud. Your husband should do it from the point of view that the company is being cheated, and not because he dislikes the manager as people will say (I'm sure it is untrue) that your DH is jealous. The manager's other actions should not be mentioned at this early stage.

Your husband should write a letter to the manager's boss setting out facts (and not feelings or guesses) that show that the manager has defrauded the company e.g. people being chosen to do maintenance work that are unqualified to do so. This is potentially dangerous for all employees.

If your husband is about to go on annual leave, this would be a good time to give in the letter by hand to the manager's boss (or send it recorded delivery so it needs to be signed for).

Another alternative might be to see an employment lawyer (often first interviews are free) to see what he/she advises for the best. Again, its the provable facts that are important here. Companies take a very dim view of those in a position of responsiblity that abuse it.

Wishing you lots of luck.

It would be wrong to do this without signing the letter.

Thanks pippop.

I thought that he should do a letter but H is not sure as others in the past have reported him for various things but he manages somehow to get away with them, suffice to say the person doing the reporting ends up leaving the company.

Will discuss with H again.

Thanks for your advice.

I wonder if these people might be worth a call:
www.pcaw.org.uk/
Good general info here
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/Whistleblowingintheworkplace/DG_10026552

When is the annual audit done? An informal chat with a young auditor keen to make a good impression with some pointers as to which files/transactions to look at may result in the necessary info coming out without your DH being seen to be the one blowing the whistle.

What exact role does the manager have in the letting of contracts, and what is the policy on how it should be done?

Also, who manages the car pool, and who is the H&S rep?

I ask because I am wondering if he is dealing with a single bad apple, or if this is widespread, involving many.

Stress is a terrible affliction and is often hard for others to understand as there are often no obvious physical symptoms. If it were me, I'd be supporting DH to move onto another job - life's too short and does he really want the stress of going through HR/whistleblowing etc?

Thanks again for the advice.

With regards to some of the questions asked, the H&S rep is the assistant to the manager and they both cover each other. Not sure about the audit but dont think H as ever had opportunity to speak to one.

The manager has a few people in his pocket so he looks after them and they keep quiet.

People in the past have tried reporting manager but nothing ever sticks. Even when he was filling in the employee satisfaction surveys himself he managed to retain his job following suspension. He'd been doing it for a few years. My husband and some others who filled in their forms themselves, were called to see the manager as he had opened them despite them supposed to be anonymous! They were "persuaded" to change them.

OP - there will almost certainly be some sort of whistle blower arrangement at your husband's employer. It may be at the bank head office and I'm sure he will be able to report this anonymously - I would suggest he finds out how to do this. There is no reason for his boss to know he's done this and, if by some chance he does your husband is protected by whistleblower legislation. If he can't find out how to do this, and I would suggest his company intranet will have the details then if he addresses his issue to the company secretary of the bank - who will be named in the company accounts - then it will find its way to the right person I think.

I agree with Mrs Wobble - there will be a whistle blowing procedure. Your husband should look at the intranet

Four different options. He needs to go down all four routes

1. Look up whistle-blower procedure in employment manual and follow it
2. Call up HR and ask for a meeting to discuss position of feeling bullied and victimised, ask for their advice on what to do. Then take it from there
3. Reagrding fraud items he should call up 'Compliance' (they will be listed in his internal directory) and tell them that he has (use these exact words) 'concerns from an FSA registration perspective about activities that don't seem to be in accordance with 'fit and proper' requirements, which I would like to talk about with someone from within Compliance' They will then either ask for him to discuss directly on the phone or will arrange a meeting (It may be that the procedures outlined re: No 1 might actually be 'speak to compliance')
4. Call up the 'employee support confidential helpline' (the bank will have one) and explain things are getting too much and that he needs support.

Speaking to auditors (either internal or external) doesnt always mean that things get out in the open - Compliance are the guys with the teeth in these instances.

And finally, if all else fails, rather a happy, healthy, unemployed husband than a heart attack waiting to happen.

Just before DD turned one DH, while not being bullied at work, was under so much pressure that he was showing similar signs of stress. We made the decision to swap roles. I went back to work and he quit his job to be a SAHD. I'm not saying it was easy financially, but it was the making of our little family. DH surprised himself (and me and his mother) at how well he took to the grittier side of parenting. DD learnt that men can be nurturing, and, when he felt ready to go back to work he took a sideways career move and, while not as well paid as he used to be, is happier and less stressed.

I kind of second SLUG's point. I used to work about 140hours a week and hardly ever swa DH - we could go 4days without being in the house at the same time as eachother. I eventually just quit and the fall out was pretty bad - I became agrophobic and suffered from panic attacks (I must state that I have suffered from depression since early childhood and repressed it for years so when I finally stopped a whole world of shit fell in on me). My point is that your husband would probably be happier working for minimum wage somewhere doing something menial than living with the victimisation at his workplace.

I know they say you shouldn't run from your problems but I personally would be asking to relocate to another dept. Then again, I would also probaby send a letter with all of the manager's fraudulant activities to the head of every dept in the organisation with the threat of going to the papers if nothing was done about it....