Where do I go from here? Is this constructive dismissal?

[fingersandthumbs]

I need some sensible advice please. Normally, I am the person my friends' come to for advice but I'm too emotionally involved to think clearly on this.

I can't see a way forward in my current position within an organization and in a job role that I used to love, relished the challenges that each working day brought and a role that I knew I was good at.

But at the moment I feel like I am being left with no option other than to hand in my notice.

There have been a number of issues recently that are impacting on my role and whilst individually most seem relatively minor they have built up and I am now at the position of "the straw that broke the camels back."

These "issues" include being told by my current line manager, who is relatively new to the organization, that there was an agenda to get rid of myself and another colleague.

An interim manager/consultant demonstrating what would/wouldn't be considered to be sexual harassment on me, this was reported to HR - the manager is no longer with the organization but it is his replacement who told me about the agenda to get rid of me

The same interim manager groping my knee under a table in a meeting, that sounds so pathetic written down, my knee was grabbed. Again reported to HR. The interim manager was finally removed from post 3 months after I reported to HR

A job role/review being requested in September 2013 as I had been on the same pay grade for the last 9 years despite my role evolving and changing. Assured by HR Director that it would be carried out, still hasn't been despite reminders.

Micro management of projects I have previously been left to deal with/manage, with no explanation as to why. There have been no issues with my work.

Lack of information to enable me to perform my role effectively e.g. Manager has emailed me and asked me to produce a report on rooms. I have emailed back asking for what information does he want the report to contain e.g. capacity, use, facilities. Just had an email back saying report need for Monday, still no detail to enable to provide report.

Manager asked me to help manage an area as colleague had left. This would have involved an increase in pay scale. 2 days later find out that this isn't an option, my manager has already appointed an old colleague of this post on a consultancy basis until the position is filled full time.

Yesterday, which is the same day I find out about the consultant I receive a telephone call from HR advising that a responsibility allowance I have been entitled to is being brought to an end at the end of this month. The additional responsibility that I have been undertaking to receive the allowance is still continuing but apparently I am to negotiate with my line manager to take over the responsibility.

I stood in the middle of a field this morning bawling my eyes out, on the one hand feeling completely stupid and telling myself to get it together and on the other desperately not wanting to come into work.

How do I get past this? I enjoy my actual work, I'm good at it, all of my appraisals tell me this. I have been working for this organization for 13 years, the last 5 in my current role. I just feel like I'm being backed into a position where I have to resign. If they want me out why not offer redundancy?

Please, any advice?

I should probably also add that I work in state funded further education. It seems to have its own special way of dealing with things.

I hate to say it sounds like bullying albeit in a very subtle way or maybe not so subtle as you say you have been told there is an agenda. It sounds very much like they want to push you but not go down the redundancy route (which may indicate they want to fill your job with someone else).

I'm facing something very similar and am going to shortly start writing a personal statement on the points I feel have impacted on me. It may help if you do this and see if there is any help for support in work counselling through the NHS which is what I have, it helps you to feel that someone is on your side.

If you put all the points in your post down and state them to your line manager with HR present being careful to say 'I feel' about each point and highlighting the stress impact on you they have to address it as stress is classed as workplace injury, as much as if you broke your leg at work, they have to take reasonable steps to minimise the possible impact of stress on a worker. If they then don't do anything and push you further down the route they seem to be taking they could be shown to be culpable. If you look up work place stress on the web it points to the relevant piece of legislation so it might be useful to quote that particular one at them!

It seems like the problem may be your immediate manager and that if you make HR/other higher managers aware of this it might be stopped. Anyone who tells you outright that there is an agenda to get rid of you is not your friend or even a good manager they are a bully!

Leaving aside the obviously-serious-but-now-dealt-with issue of the interim manager's behaviour, it does sound like there is an issue with your current manager.

If your role needs a review, your manager should be sorting that out. To the extent it requires HR involvement, they are obviously more likely to act if a manager says X's role needs reviewing than they are if X him/herself says my role needs reviewing.

In terms of the responsibility allowance, what are the terms of that, are they entitled to remove it? Presumably it is up to your manager now to worry about how that responsibility is covered?

Presumably you are not entitled to manage the area they've taken a consultant on for? You'd like to but it's not your decision? Frustrating if you wanted to do it but that's all really.

The micro management stuff is definitely something to take up with your manager.

To what extent have you actually addressed these issues with your line manager? To me it sounds like requesting a meeting, outlining your concerns and having that conversation is the obvious first step, but it's not clear whether you've done that.

if you have, and it's not worked, you then need to think about whether you'd like to raise a grievance about it, and simultaneously need to think about what outcome you'd like and whether a grievance will achieve that. It may do, but you need to consider that first.

None of it sounds like constructive dismissal based on what you've said. Constructive dismissal is incredibly hard to prove, and that especially applies when you are relying on lots of little things rather than one big serious thing. Lots of little things are more easily explained away on an individual basis by an employer.

In any case, to bring a claim you'd need to have exhausted internal procedures, ie a grievance, gone through Acas mediation, then paid to bring a claim, blah blah blah months of stress and expense for a difficult claim. That energy would probably be better expended on finding a new role if staying in your current one isn't sustainable to be honest. Constructive dismissal would only involved compensation for actual financial loss anyway, so if you get another job during all this, it is extremely unlikely to be worth bringing the claim at all.

Flowery, Sportinguista, thank you both for taking the time to reply. I don't want to resign but I feel that I am being left with little option.

I have tried to set up meetings with my current line manager but he has either cancelled them at the last minute or has said he is too busy to meet. I am wary about raising a grievance as the last couple of people who I know have raised grievances have subsequently felt "hounded" out of their roles. I appreciate, however, that this is only the people I know about and that there may be others who have raised grievances that have been dealt with. I am also aware that I only have one version of events.

It was my previous line manager who requested that my role was reviewed following my last appraisal.

I think that the suggestion that I focus on looking for a new role and challenge is probably the best option.

Thank you both for your words of clarity and experience.

I'm just wondering if you have any union representation? I also work in state funded FE and am astounded at how truly awful the management is and the dire absence of professional HR support. I'm fairly new to it so am looking into union membership to see if that'll help me. I just wonder if you too could have someone look at your case, rather than you feeling backed into a corner like this? Also, does your workplace have an employee assistance telephone number. Mine wasn't great but it's another way of getting some guidance on the matter.

Make sure than when you write the 'room report' that you say in the email that you have guessed at what he might need as you haven't been given specific parameters