Grievance raised against me

[Piggywaspushed]

I posted this yesterday in staffroom but I might get more traffic here possibly. (Sorry, I have made it longer so as to avoid dripfeeding but I don't want to out myself at the same time. I have NCd)

I don't want to go into too much detail here but does anyone have any experience of/ advice on having a grievance procedure raised against them?

Am in bits and most of online advice is for the aggrieved party and the info the head gave m yesterday is aimed at the aggrieved party, too. My local union guy is an old fashioned socialist type who, last time I met him, launched into a discussion about education and politics and wasn't useful.

Not been told what I have allegedly done just who has raised a grievance.

I don't need a character assassination here but just an outline of what valid grievances someone could have against another person : the colleague who has raised her grievance is not in any way my junior. We are co workers. She is not in two days a week and we only ever really communicate via emails so I am puzzled.

I also want to know , if her complaint is proven, what her endgame(s) could be?

I am being very careful not to now go around fact finding with my department colleagues (I have only told one and she is a close friend) but, for example, she spends a lot of time in our HoD's office with door closed (it's an interesting leadership style my HoD has!)if she has raised problems there, my HoD has never discussed these with me so this is a bolt from the blue. I know someone who worked with her in a previous school - a bit of digging reveals she has done this before : but , obviously, I can't mention this as an excuse! I think she knows I have a bit of a reputation for being a bit of a rebel and this makes me a soft target. I certainly inadvertently upset my line manager last week who then (apparently) cried and this aggrieved colleague rushed to soothe her. No doubt they then had a good bitch about me. But the line manager herself discussed matters with me later,and certainly hasn't raised a grievance herself. It just isn't what people do in my school.

It is clear she does not like me - but I can't see that as a viable reason to raise a grievance!

Lastly, assuming she has put this grievance in writing, should I request to see it? What are my rights there?

She has been frustrating me ever since she came to the school (she is a kind of automaton and keeps planning my lessons for me and organising me and I have found it hard to keep up.) - but I have never raised any of these issues as they seemed petty and I thought we were both just rubbing along. She seems to find me borderline incompetent : but that isn't a grievance, is it?

Let's say she does have something on me? What do I do ? Confess? Say sorry?

Do I take responsibility even if it seems really petty?

I don't know how petty to be myself! Or whether to just take it like a (wo)man.

I had a grievance threatened against me (teacher) by a colleague. It was a complex situation in that we were discussing DS, but in the staff room. She called him lazy for not wanting to do a subject 2 years early, but just be stretched in class. I defended him (our joint decision) as he was only 12. She persisted and I said, "He is not fucking lazy".

Tricky as I was acting as a parent, it was before school and she was in the wrong.

However, my union advised a wording of a letter which was of the "I am sorry you were upset" rather than "I am sorry I said" but also pointed out that the timing and setting for the conversation (initiated by her) were wrong.

She realised I would raise a counter grievance for her u professional conduct and it all went away. Crucially, however, I did apologise for raising my voice and for swearing.

Can you do this. Put something in writing. Say nothing verbally. My Union was very, very helpful but I dealt with Head Office as there is no local rep (very rural school) and they put me through to legal.

I don't work in education but am a senior manager. I've investigated dozens of grievances and had a few against me too.

You do not have the right to see the complaint.

You are at an informal stage where issues she has will be put to you, and then you will be asked to meet together to see if you can agree an informal resolution. They have to do this bit.

If she does not agree that the informal step has resolved it, a formal investigation will take place. Formal meetings where you can have union representatives. Even if you think they are useless, get them in as soon as you can.

During a formal stage, a list of questions will be complied. They may choose to share them ahead of the meeting but they don't have to. You still don't get to see the complaint.

After all meetings have taken place, a decision is made. You must ask for any decision to be put in writing to you. They will normally do that for her, but if they decide 'no further action' they don't often put that in writing. You need that decision to protect you if a further complaint is made.

Sorry this is happening, it is stressful and you will get through it.

I'm a union rep and have represented people on either side of the table with a grievance in the past. You should absolutely be given advance notice of the allegations so that you can prepare your case in advance of the investigation meeting. It's about having equality of arms - if everyone investigating has seen what the other party is alleging but you haven't, how can you be prepared to defend yourself? Also you may have evidence that disproves the allegations so should be given time to collate that.

The informal route means that if the grievance is upheld it shouldn't be noted on your personal file, but you may have to apologise or go through mediation with the other party. I would suggest though that regardless of the outcome you request mediation, because if you genuinely didn't know there was a problem there it sounds like communication is less than ideal.

Good luck!

That's interesting Hamlet

I find this so annoying because I have never had any sort of conversation with her , let alone (in your case forgivable!) swearing at her or even disagreeing. I have spoken about her to two colleagues : no name calling just having to tell one that I was having issues because my class were finding her difficult and kept ranting to me ( I have never said anything nasty tot he class- I have always tried to back her). I was utterly professional about that. And with the same colleague, and another one, generalised brief , private conversations about how difficult I was finding it to share classes with her. Nothing personal. And if she knows about those , someone else has been very unprofessional indeed! I very much doubt it.

And, therefore, no prior opportunity to put anything right.

I do know she believes I whispered something about her in a meeting. I didn't. it arises from her insecurities about the above class, I suspect. That was 3 weeks ago.

Thanks Gretchen and tea - slightly contrasting posts there!

And thanks for the

I will contact union man but I don't want him to come in all guns blazing.

I find mediation very hard. I hate talking about myself and will cry but if that's what has to be done I will put on a brave face.

I will also email the head and state that I am given to understand I must have more precise details of allegations so I can prepare. I suspect she herself has been gathering evidence for weeks and that the emails this week were designed to entrap me (the font changed coulour... hmmmm)

Usually the school (if maintained) must adopt the LA employment policies otherwise the LA will not back them up with advice/support/legals etc if it gets messy. That said, my experience is that the school MUST adopt the policy and name it their own. This has been done by the governors during relevant meetings. We've been told clearly about portions we can't remove because the LA mandate them.

If the meeting is intended to be constructive and allow you to respond i think you must at least be advised of her complaint. You probably can't request all school correspondence about the complaint - but the substance of her grievance yes.

As you agreed to the SOW at the time, you may not be able to raise ineffective line management but certainly if it's going to continue you need to think about reflecting back to the LM/HoD your needs to change it in the future.

Best of luck, a stressful time. If your union rep isn't being effective then you may wish to speak to the region?

It sounds as though there are very different communication styles here, and that because of her part time status and uncommunicative character, you are taking the lead role in this arrangement. And as she's a former Head of English, she's got the hump.

I would go to the meeting with the SMT with an open mind. Take lots of notes and don't be afraid to ask for things to be repeated. Be prepared to say you are sorry if someone has felt upset and be prepared to have a constructive discussion about working together better

We're an academy penny. The policy came from a neighbouring council but we may buy in their HR services, perhaps, if required.

I don't want to raise ineffective LM : that would be mean. And probably not help as to coin a phrase, this woman and my LM are thick as thieves.

And yes do contact your union

I wonder if she thinks you have been discussing her with the class.

God, I hope not Madonna : that could get into that awful situation of taking statements from students and it's awkward enough already.

I think tiger may well have hit the nail on the head.

I suspect she doesn't like it if I make a suggestion or air an idea. I did once ask her if she has a good idea for a cover lesson(tried a bit of flattery) and she didn't respond.

I would have thought a grievance would have been more likely to be about perceived unprofessional behaviour, such as discussing how the students don't like her, either with the students themselves or with other staff.

An example from one grievance against me. The allegation was that I was sexist and preferred female employees, that I singled him out for criticism because he was male. That was never put to me until after a decision had been made that I had done nothing wrong.

His evidence to back up his claims were:recruitment (I'd hired 5 people in 2 months and all were female). Training: female colleagues had been given training courses that he hadn't. Secret meetings for girls only.

I was asked about specific incidents, what was happening on the date/time of the secret girls only meeting. What were my recruitment policies, what did I look for in a candidate, can I share my recent recruitment notes for all successful and unsuccessful candidates. What training opportunities were provided for x and other staff.

I responded to each question (not know what they were in advance). I collected my recruitment folder, got my calendar to check the date of secret girls meeting etc.

The outcome was that I had interviewe 15 candidates, 2 were male. Of the 80+ CV's we only had 5 from male candidates, some were not good enough to interview. 3 men were offered an interview 1 failed to turn up. I recruited the best scoring candidates.

The secret meeting was in fact an induction meeting with a local college for all staff who had signed up to an NVQ that he was offered and declined. No further action taken, and then complaint shared with me. I was cleared to carry on with the performance management plan I had started with him when he made the complaint.

I've shared this example because it is actually easier to just answer the questions than get caught up in the accusations. I've always thought I was a very progressive and open manager, making decisions without personal bias because I know they can exist. The complaint hurt me because it is so not what I am.

Try to manage this in a factual and objective way, take the sting out of the emotional side of things. Other people can view your actions in very different ways and it is upsetting to see it written down in the form of a complaint.

Your example is very helpful tea thanks and I will stick to what facts I have.

However, your example does highlight the fact that a grievance is usually brought against more senior people to try to show they are unfair or deliberately discriminatory.

I can't do anything material to affect my colleague's role at work really!

Madonna , I have definitely avoiding doing that with the students.

I am entitled to discuss it with the one colleague I have as she line manages that aspect of the curriculum so I presented the issue to her.

Try the ACAS guide:
m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2179

They have to tell you what the accusation is. I would ask in writing (email).

In terms of how to respond, I would be super polite and professional, to avoid any suggestion that you're aggressive (or unprofessional), which might compound things - even if you find this frustrating.
I went through something similar, and the person who had a problem with me ended up claiming that I had not been upset enough by the process against me, as part of her case - sometimes people really search for ANYTHING they can possibly accuse you of!

As an aside, if your LM cried when you spoke to her, it does rather suggest that you may sometimes come across as quite scarey, maybe consider a suitable course (assertiveness maybe, which is about being neither passive, nor aggressive)? It might not hurt for you to undertake something along those lines, for the learning, and to show that you want to do everything possible to get along with people.

I'made not saying you have been unprofessional. I'm saying she might think you have been.

I deal with grievances against peers. Usually bullying because that can be a really broad 'catch all' description.

To be told you are accused of bullying really hurts and that is the first initial sting that you need to get through, so you can understand the facts. These things can move so quickly that you don't realise you have some good evidence to support you until case is closed.

In an informal setting, you could feel obliged to apologise to try and end it there. That apology validates the colleagues feelings and can cause it to escalate further in to a formal hearing. Only apologise if you feel you have done something wrong.

ACAS Guide in pdf One of the things it says is that employers have to remember that a grievance is not a disciplinary and shouldn't be treated as such. Plus you do need to be told what the allegations are.

I use dictation software as I have a disability.

I was accused of creating an intimidating environment. (This was another employee, I'm not a bully really! 😊)

They thought the microphone was recording everything that was being said whilst I was away from my desk, and that I was then listening to it, or a dictated version of it. I was shocked and saddened, because if they had just asked, I could have shown them how it works. Given a demo and they would have seen it's as useless as Siri. Certainly can't record a conversation or pick up voices across a room to then type accurately what they have said.

Paranoia and poor self esteem are the biggest drivers of grievances in the workplace. IMHO.

Maybe focus on how to improve communication when discussing this at all, show that you are keen to resolve problems and make things work well (rather than in any way apportioning blame to either yourself or the other person).
I was advised not to talk about the future in a similar situation, but I did, and the person dealing with the case remarked in writing that they had been v impressed with my constructive approach to solving the problem and learning from it.

paloma line manager didn't cry when I spoke to her. I wasn't there. She cried when someone else told her I had been talking about something (nothing bad) . The stress got on top of her I think.

Interestingly, I have tried recently to send friendly but assertive emails and they have landed me in some difficult situations.

Separate issue though.

I will try my best paloma :)

The irony is I am the one who finds this colleague intimidating!

Email communication is never the best way. So much can be over or misinterpreted. But I have come to feel I can't talk to this colleague. She doesn't say hello to me even when I walk in.