What should I do

[ichangedmynamenow]

I work in NHS and have been working for a long time. I have a staff member who doesn’t come to work on time, refuses to get work done and despite all the evidence they just don’t want to be seen as a lazy person and keeps reporting me to my seniors. Every time staff reports me to a senior manager I get sent an invite to meet, I present my evidence and conclusion -this staff is wrong .
But still they keep reporting me on to different senior manager and the cycle starts again and have to show them the truth/ evidence. I reported to HR.
The staff has now raised bullying and harassment against me but I don’t think it’s correct as they have been bullying me and intimidating me so I get off their back.

HR are now saying that we should start with mediation, I don’t understand why I have to sit through the mediation process for this when it’s clearly other way round. HR is not going to help me because HR thinks I should be out from managing this person and I should only focus on mediation and try to resolve this issue informally.

so now this person will be managed by someone else who has no idea how the service works and I am pressed to try and make mediation work.This sucks as I was only doing my job and despite being reported to so many other senior managers every single one is in agreement with me.

should I raise my own grievance or is it too late.

If they are now being managed by someone else, then why do you need to do anything? Are you in a union?

I thought mediation was an option not complulsory. We can all sit in a meeting and say what we have to say, what others want us to say.

I'm sorry - no your not cos of you were you would have said it a long time ago.

I didn't realise my actions affected you - yes you did you, you're not stupid etc

MollysBrolly thank you. I feel that the staff is trying to lable me bully but I feel that I am being bullied here.

If I were you I would count my lucky stars they were being managed by someone else.

It's shit, OP, because you get these allegations made towards you for trying to do your job. And I fully understand why you are unhappy about the line management being switched, because it could be interpreted as an admission by the organisation that you were bullying the individual. I would be angry too.

However, it's actually a fantastic outcome because it will no longer be your problem. The new manager will have to deal with all this shit instead, and hopefully they might get a bit of extra support because it will be clear who is the problem. But you get to wash your hands of the whole sorry saga.

It might not feel like it right now, but honestly, this is a gift. In your shoes, I would go to the mediation and simply repeat my point like a broken record...it wasn't personal, you were not meeting my reasonable management expectations, I was just doing my job and I have plenty of evidence to back that up I don't have anything further to add. And repeat.

You're so much better off out of it...accept it as the gift that it is!!

Thank you everyone for the advice I really appreciate it.

MollysBrolly and MrsBennetsPoorNerves Thanks for making this meeting easy for me. I do feel better now.

Glad it helped! Good luck with the meeting!

Sounds like upwards bullying/lots of cases I see where a manager is ‘managing’ someone and their behaviour or performance and out comes the bullying allegations.

yes mediation should be an option to see a way forwards but it sounds as though action needs to be taken against this person’s performance. If they raise an allegation of bullying then they need to provide evidence! But it doesn’t stop the process. For HR to move them to another mgr is just moving the problem

Today, I received an email that the staff has now declined the mediation request with service manager present. Another reasonable request declined from this person. HR are now looking for someone else to do the mediation and if this staff refuses to meet then I don’t know what else they can offer to help this person.

Says a lot when someone declines mediation I think. Yes it’s not compulsory but looks like they are not prepared to work with the Business to mend the working relationship. So you move forward and continue to manage them (or their new manager) and if there’s further poor performance they are dealt with down that route.
make sure you document everything and collate your evidence but if they raise a complaint again- you are a manager doing your job. Are these formal grievances they are raising? If not then management should just press on. Let them raise a formal grievance and prove you are bullying. It’s all very well claiming you’re being bullied but going ahead with a formal grievance when you have no evidence….

NHS director here. I've had exactly this issue. You're correct, grievance procedures work both ways. I'd put in a grievance against him, its a form of bullying and insubordination. Refusing to meet reasonable management requests. Your role is to enforce policies and procedures.

I have refused mediation as in my view that it was an attempt to further bully me into not managing him. Put a grievance in with timelines of events and all your evidence of what he's done and what your management response has been. They key here is that you're not bullying him, you're responding to his actions. If he doesn't like it he needs to stop being stupid.

If you're in a union get them on board too. These people need smoking out the system. Stay strong

I escalate all allegations of bullying and harassment in my organisation to the formal grievance procedure now. People shouldn't be able to just make unsubstantiated allegations without a proper process in which the accused has a right to reply.

He may start lying and making up events. Dont let it upset you. If they didn't happen then there's no evidence. Let him do his worst. If its any consolation, I had multiple made up stories. In the end my record was clean, the guy's reputation was blown to smithereens. I on the other hand became well known in HR as being very competent as all my records and management decisions were praised by investigators after each allegation was shut down. Best of luck, these experiences are the making of great future leaders. Remember, hold your nerve x

Quick update
This person has now refused any mediation. I am asked to write a response statement but told that I am not allowed to see what was in their statement. Just a very brief summary was provided which is not accurate and very vague.

what I want to find out is when I write this statement, should I write as a response or should I write it as facts / issues with the example of the recent events. thank you

@ichangedmynamenow you cannot reasonably be asked to respond when you don’t know the substance of the allegations.

Talk to your TU rep.

Find the grievance process and read it assuming the colleague has raised a grievance against you. It should set out what the process is and your rights. Write to HR stating you want the allegations set out in writing so you can respond to them, reference the grievance policy. If necessary, say it’s against the laws of natural justice to be asked to defend yourself without knowing what you are being accused of.

When you get the allegations respond to them and at the same time add in your evidence, ideally a time line of incidents with supporting evidence.

Tippingadvice thank you very much for the advice . I’ll contact the union rep tomorrow morning and read through the policy details.