Grievance has been dismissed due to lack of evidence - what can I do?

[AKMD]

I put in a complaint of bullying and harassment at work against my line manager. After an HR investigation, they have concluded that there is no evidence to support my grievance and so it will not be upheld. All of the incidents have been 1-2-1 away from other people and my line manager has denied the lot.

What can I do? Is there any point in appealing when I have nothing new to give them? I gave them about 20 dated examples of the incidents but because she's denied it, that apparently counts for nothing.

I am about 14 weeks pregnant, although I haven't informed work of this yet. I don't know what to do. She has destroyed my self confidence and reduced me to an absolute wreck and I want to leave but I can't afford to lose my SMP entitlement.

I'm sure you can appeal.

Have you not got anyone who could write a witness testimony? Otherwise it's just your word against hers

Make sure there's always someone nearby while she's around and request that a member of hr sit in on any 1to1 meetings. This way you're protected and that's the most important thing. Good luck.

I can appeal but I've got nothign new to give them, it is her word against mine and she's flatly denying every incident that I detailed. I did give names of people who had noticed that something wasn't right and had approached me about it but the letter from HR doesn't give any details about what they said in their interviews and I don't know what they have heard or seen. All of the incidents I gave were in a setting where it was just me and her - in meeting rooms, on the phone, in store rooms. She has been really smart with this :(

I don't feel that I can go back to working around her. I'm working in a meeting room at the moment and the other day I got an email from her and started crying. She has put me under so much stress that on my way into work I've seriously considered crashing the car so that I don't have to go in. I leave work every day and sit in my car and cry, then have to look after DS for the rest of the day and I'm just not up to it. I feel so drained that I feel like I don't even have the energy to take him to the park :( I really don't know what to do.

Oh my god. Never mind appealing, you are doing yourself damage. You need to be signed off work. Go and see your Doctor. You are working in a meeting room, you have been isolated physically, and by having no one to back you up emotionally too.

I have been here. I WISH I had taken my own advice! Please go to the Doctor. At least get signed off, and then get some proper external employment advice. hopefully another MNer will beable to advise you where to go for that.

Please put yourself, and your baby first.

I really really feel for you, anyone in this position. I have been there and it totally ruined my confidence and reputation. And still causes me anguish years later. Get out now.

I was in a similar situation to this during my pregnancy, except I wasn't brave enough to raise a grievance. I'd suggest informing work about your pregnancy, so that she is aware that if you are unwell/emotional it's pregnancy hormones rather than caused by her (even if it's not, you can blame tears on it!). I tried to just ensure that I wasn't alone with her, so that there was a witness to anything she said, but she didn't say anything in front of others. Eventually it contributed to me suffering Antenatal Depression, I had days where I couldn't even get out of bed, I just stayed there and cried.

Once you have notified work that you are pregnant, if you need to take any time off for pregnancy related illness they can't penalise you for it. I really feel you should speak to your dr, the feelings you are having are not acceptable for you or your family. If you feel you can cope with work other than her, is there another team you could be transferred to at least until your maternity leave starts?

If you want to pm me please do, I can't tell you much on employment regulation but just so you don't feel alone.

I need to discuss this with DH really (I've called him but it was more me crying down the phone than a constructive discussion ), see my doctor and get some employment law advice. The two options I'm considering are:

1. Talking to my very sympathetic doctor and getting a sick note that mentions pregnancy. Hand it into work with my official notice of pregnancy and stay off until I can start maternity leave in July. We have some savings that would see us through the gap between SSP and SMP but that means nothing for when the baby arrives.

2. Hand in my notice, get signed off for the notice period and then try to get temp work until I can claim MA. That might be the better option but it would be a pain with DS's childcare arrangements.

Going back to working under her is just not an option. DS was born weighing just over 5lb and I had horrendous antenatal and postnatal depression, which I am sure was partly triggered by stress (we were buying a house but the sale didn't go through until after our lease period on our rented home was up, leaving us homeless for 2 months in my third trimester). I'm already not really capable of looking after DS properly, I don't want to make this baby suffer for it too.

Poor you. your manager sounds vile

Can you talk to hr and request a change of manager or the right to have someone else present if you have to speak to her?

Also I'm not an expert but from a former life as an HR manager I'm sure for pregnancy related illness you myst receive full pay as otherwise it is discrimination as it only affects women, I'd post specifically about thus or search recent threads ad I'm sure this is the case

Hang in there

No need to pay full pay for pregnancy related sickness, no. You'd only be entitled to whatever sick pay anyone else would get.

Doesn't sound like your sickness absence would be related to your pregnancy anyway, would it not be stress/anxiety? If you get signed off with work-related stress and notify them of your pregnancy separately but at the same time, those things might make a difference.

other than that, option 1 sounds like a plan.

So sorry you're going through this.

Hi

My opinion (for what its worth) - don't think too far ahead. Get signed off now. Worry about going back to work/handing in notice/all the other stuff later on.

Your immediate focus needs to be to get out of the situation you are in now. Once you have achieved that, and had some time to relax - knowing that one way or another you never have to see her/them again you will beable to see clearer.

At the moment, I bet your head is on spin cycle!

Speak to your Doctor asap. I got my DH to take my sicknote etc in. I never ever set foot through the door again. At the time, I had no idea how we would manage etc, but nearly three years later, we are still alive and kicking!

Focus on one thing at once. Your first priorty is to get out. I can't say that enough!

XX