Bullying grievance...options if it fails?

[Confusedandpeckish]

Put in a grievance complaint against manager. His behaviour is such that i can't stomach working for him again if anything but his dismissal is the outcome.

I have mentioned this in my interview as part of the investigation and was bluntly asked if i wanted a settlement. I said that wasn't what i was saying just that i wouldn't be able to work with him again. He has form for this as others have left due to his bullying but im the only one to take the formal route.

Frankly though, what are my options?

confused you are courageous to take issue over being bullied. Bullying is vile and toxic (there are about 16 characterisations of bullying and I expect most of us have been subjected to them in one form or another).

Taking the formal route is a double edged sword. Corporate have bullying/harassment policies, but resent it when employees actually ‘call them’ on it! However, taking the formal route ensures they have to investigate rather than kick it into the long grass and go into denial mode.

IME - a big factor in how seriously they take you is how powerful the bully is in the corporate food chain, and how much they value your skills. That’s not a nice thing to face but let’s be honest, we are all only important if we offer something unique to the organisations we work in.

Options are to see the process through, ensure they give you a proper outcome. Keep looking for alternative roles either in or outside the company. Realistically they are unlikely to move the manager. If they value you, they may find you a different role, so be open minded and feel lucky to escape with your sanity!

Either the boss will be dismissed, you'll be moved to another job in the firm with your consent or they'll offer you a lump sum to leave.
Well down you for standing up to the bully. If I were you I'd see the process through

I'd personally nail them to the floor, pocket a nice lump sum and get another job.

Bullying is not actually illegal. They will have zero incentive to pay a penny. Forget a lump sum - I can almost guarantee that won't happen even if you lodge for Tribunal OP. Far better to focus on a new role and remove yourself from the situation

Is his dismissal a realistic option? Unless he’s on a final warning for similar already, that seems unlikely.

Therefore, if there’s no way you can continue working with him, and things like mediation or similar won’t be an option for you, you can either ask to be redeployed elsewhere, if that’s a possibility, or you can resign.

I too struggle to see much of an incentive for them to give you a “nice lump sum”. That’s only worth their while doing if either they are the ones who want you to leave, rather than the other way round, and/or there is some kind of significant legal vulnerability.

Serious and persistent bullying can sometimes be sufficient for a constructive dismissal claim, if the employer has failed to deal with it satisfactorily. But you’d need to give them an opportunity to address it through a formal grievance before this is a realistic option to even consider, and it’s also a very stressful thing to go through and extremely difficult to prove sufficiently for a successful claim.