Bullied by team - grievance?

[pinotmore]

I manage a team of around 15 and have done so in my place of work for around 10 years. We have always been a close-knit team. One team member has sporadically made accusations against me of bullying. These have always been investigated and dismissed, because I have not done so. I am in a position now where I am basically afraid to pull her up on anything. She works well in most ways, but there are a few issues she struggles with that should be dealt with but are not. She does have a mental health diagnosis and allowances have been made.

Recently, there has been quite a bit of staff turnover (not just in my department, but in the organisation as a whole as well). Some new members of the department have buddied up with this person and gone to senior leadership complaining of various aspects of my leadership. The nature of these have changed over the course of a couple of weeks and have been dismissed by our line manager as baseless. However, the original team member lodged a grievance against me - this has never happened before as previous complaints have been informal. The grievance was very painful to read and was largely completely untrue and/or based on things that were outside my control. Several issues had been previously brought up and dismissed, often years ago. After I responded to the grievance, it was dropped by the team member.

This feels like bullying now. Would I be unreasonable to lodge a counter grievance and could I also complain about some of the newer members of the team, some of whom have told this person they have heard me make negative comments about her (I haven't) only to then say they can't remember any specifics when questioned. I just don't know how we can move forward from this unless this is dealt with head on.

I would start by writing a timeline.

I have no experience so not very helpful I'm afraid.

Are you in a union?

Firstly, keep a record of instances.

I think it might be time to speak with your manager and HR about activities and strategies to build the team's effectiveness. These allegations and inability to work together must surely be having an impact on staff turnover, productivity and reputation.

After making constructive efforts to improve the teams dynamic, then yes I think you need to consider a formal grievance route.

Of course you can. But read your post back to yourself - does it sound like a good situation that your "close knit team" is all filing grievances against each other, possibly including you? Personally I would move on. I took a team like this over and the main problem was that enough people had been there for too long that it kind of festered until we broke up the dynamic by moving people on.

I'm a union rep. My advice is that you need to move onwards and upwards, either by staying and taking the moral high road - carry on doing the job you're there to do.

Or leave if that's the better option. But tit for tat grievances are never going to have a good outcome.

I'm afraid I agree with this/ To be honest, much as I understand how painful it is to have a false grievance against yourself, stop and think what signal it sends that a manager is taking out a grievance against their own team. At that stage, it doesn't matter what the outcome is - you are telling the employer that you have lost all management control over your own team. That cannot possibly end well. Even if they agree with you, there is no way back from there - you are asking your employer to effectively discipline your team because you cannot manage them and they have no respect for you. Unless they are willing to relocate/ redeploy / dismiss the team, then it is you that must be moved, and that will be a reflection on you that will undermine any authority that you have with a new team and with the employer. Such things are never "secret". Better to move on under your own steam if that is going to be the outcome. Or step up and manage.

Thank you for all comments.

I am very much aware that raising a grievance against my own team looks awful, as set out above, which is really why I am hesitating, and also because I can't see how it would be possible to move on from it effectively. Though I also can't see how it's possible to move on effectively without doing it either, so...

The problem is, the malicious and deliberately disruptive comments and behaviours should be a disciplinary matter, as far as I am concerned. I can't get past why these matters should not be dealt with. This wouldn't necessarily need to be a grievance, or would it? My place is a bit hit and miss with HR matters. Obviously I don't want to go into details, but we are public sector and have service users on site - we aren't in industry.

I do have a close working relationship with our senior team and they have been supportive of me, but I think just want to take the path of least resistance, so maybe I should just go along with that. This last couple of weeks has been the worst of my career though so I don't know if I can just rise above it from Monday.

If you continue with this then apply for a new job would it come out what has happened? Ie in references?

I see this a lot in my job- a manager trying to manage someone (esp if there is poor performance) and they are acaused of bullying.

They will need to have evidence to support their claims and if this is an ongoing pattern of raising complaints with no doh cation then the business can co aider what her it’s vexatious. I was certainly be mentioning that in your grievance Interview.

do you think mediation would help! Between you and the person or even as a group? Teams can become toxic even if it’s one person leading/influencing the others. It sounds like potential upwards bullying.
keep a record of everything but as a manager you shouldn’t be worried about addressing performance etc for fear of a complaint. If you have a performance discussion with them, following it up in an email ‘you to summarise we discussed xyz’
I don’t think an employee with multiple complaints looks very credible!!!

its not ususal for a manager to raise a grievance against their staff- I would advise this is a disciplinary matter. You should raise this but have another investigator/decision manager do it for independence- however before doing so is ensure you have the evidence. Without this it would likely be no case and then will this cause more issues in the team. Collate your evidence, think if you have witnesses to back you up

What a stressful situation. I’d be inclined to tell HR that due to the repeated unfounded complaints from this staff member that the position is now untenable and that you want support from then to have a protected conversation with her - where you effectively tell her to leave and pay her a settlement to get her out. If that isn’t an option due to it being public sector, I would be pushing for her to be redeployed to another team.

If she is raising these complaints to deflect you from performance managing her, then ask HR to help you implement a formal PIP and if she can’t or won’t follow reasonable management instructions on how to perform her role and isn’t meeting the standards you need, get her out.

what can’t happen is that she stays in situ poisoning the morale of the whole team and ultimately forcing you to leave your role because you can’t bear working with her any longer

@Whatyoutalkingabouteh This is really what is happening. There are definite attempts to 'recruit' new people to her cause - in fact, our line manager described it as a 'recruitment drive'! I have every reason to suspect that this person has told various people across our organisation about my 'bullying', though of course I have no proof of that because conversations stopping when I walk in etc is not proof and just makes me look paranoid.

As for mediation, I have not had mediation with the person who raised the grievance, but I have with someone else involved. However, in the mediation session she lied and cried and made herself look like the victim. I won't give details, but it was like being in mediation with my ex husband who, like her, went in with a game plan and manipulated the whole situation. He used intimidation, she used tears, and had I come back at her I would have looked unreasonable and petty. I just don't know what to do.

I knew this would be public sector (as am I!)

Honestly just move on and leave them to it. There comes a point in these situations where either the intervention needed is so big it's impossible, or you have to just accept this is how it will be. If the latter then you have to settle into it and accept that.

In my last role I encountered both in a leadership role. One team I restructured completely and this had the happy side effect of moving on enough of the problem people and broke up cliques that it sorted things out. It was a drastic solution that solved many issues, and I had senior back up on it.

The other team no one senior would entertain the difficult options, and so the team is still there festering away, banding together to bully people and being 1/3 as productive as they should be. Essentially, they were allowed to bully me, as management knew full well what was going on but preferred to let that happen than sort it out. I, however, now work somewhere else, so it no longer has an impact on me.

I sympathise as I am in a similar situation. I'm not willing to work with toxic manipulative people so I applied for a new job and I'm moving on next month. Life is too short.

It's hard for me to move on. At the career stage I am at I'm expensive and not that many roles come up in my area. I have limited options and as a single parent and sole provider for two kids I can't take a pay cut.

Also, the nature of our work is that people can't move teams - you are qualified to do what you do and that's the team you're in. I could move upwards and out of it in my organisation, and that has been discussed as a definite option. But even then, I worry about what other people I would then be working with might have heard. I guess at that point I would have the chance to prove myself and maybe they would see the truth?

Meant to add, you also can't get rid of people without going through a lengthy process which I believe the person involved in would pass, unless the process was essentially rigged to manage her out, but that isn't done in my place and I wouldn't want to be involved. It does happen in the sector but not where I work. As I said, she issues with certain elements of her work but she isn't downright incompetent.

This sounds sensible.

You need back up from HR and you need to manage this troublemaker.

It sounds like a really tough situation OP and being public sector gives it an extra angle of awkward.

Steps from here if people can't be moved teams easily is to implement a PIP regarding professional conduct, ensure HR are involved fully and set super clear guidelines on behaviour expected.

Either way, it sets the ground to either stop this behaviour or start managing her out.

It sounds awful and the last thing you need is for it to make you second guess what people are saying. There needs to be a cultural change in the team if there’s this behaviour going on. If your manager has commented on it, they have noticed. What are they doing to support you in this situation?

these unfounded complaints are causing you stress- how is the business going to support you?
senior management should be having a conversation with her

Hi Pinotmore. I have a vast experience working in the Public Sector, and your story isn't unusual. Your department will have Policy and Procedure for this. Whilst you seemed relieved that a complaint against you was dropped, personally I think it would have been in your favour had it been "not upheld" and formally recorded.

That aside, if you truly believe the complaints are to cause trouble, oust you or bully you, could I suggest you research your Departmental Policy/Procedure on Malicious and Vexatcious Complaints.

Hey, I'm in just the same situation. I had never known about upward bullying until recently. For 10 months Ive been constantly critised,isolated and undermined by one of my team and past months, other team members joining force. My upper management now recognise & acknowledge this, but don't seem to be able to do anything. They say they're supporting me but this one individual refuses to be in same vicinity as me, thus a conversation is not happening to try and resolve. I'm at my wits end. My physical & mental health is shot. I feel I have no option but to submit a grievance now. I've been avoiding as I didn't want to cause further troubles or bring my employers into disrepute.
Let me know what you devide and how it goes.
Xxx

If you have a Bullying and Harassment policy (sometimes called Dignity at Work) you might be best raising a complaint via this. Obviously I don’t know your sector but in a lot of sectors Grievance is more about processes, terms and conditions and not individual people.

It’s worth checking but definitely make it formal now. Good luck, I know how shit it is to feel this way. x

@UsuallyZen you need to performance manage any of the team members this applies to.

The worst thing you can do is allow them to continue to intimidate you and back away from taking disciplinary action, that empowers them to continue.

Follow your policies and procedures impeccably, document everything, keep HR engaged and ensure you have witnesses to any formal action so that there is someone who can vouch for your side.

Your workplace should have a set of behavioural expectations and values, use these as the basis of your performance improvement plan.

Oh and "individual refuses to be in same vicinity as me, thus a conversation is not happening to try and resolve."

You are their manager. Book a meeting with the individual, ask HR to be present to act as mediator if needed.

If they refuse to attend then you have a verifiable conduct issue as they are refusing a reasonable request from their manager. Invite them to informal disciplinary.

This situation sounds wholly toxic, unsupportive and evidence of a negative culture.

i don't think that multiple grievances being submitted is going to do anything other than inflame an already broken situation.

the fact you've already been accused of bullying several times and the situation supposedly resolved by HR / Leadership accepting that you weren't at fault each time, hasn't resolved it or made the behaviours improve, says that you are running out of options. Impossible to know how to resolve it further.

only you can decide if you're remunerated enough to put up with this, when you're being paid to do a job, not spend your time having to bat away accusations and constantly watching your back for the next knife being throw your way. It isn't something I'd put up with, life is way too short.

Sometimes spinning on your heels and walking away is the most expedient option. You'll wish you'd done it sooner!

Would your troublesome colleague be able to move to a different job in the organisation? Can you be proactive in trying to find a solution to their unhappiness/grievances as well as accepting absolutely no blame? I'd act very concerned in a very 'this can't be allowed to continue, you are obviously very unhappy in the team, would a fresh start help? ' way.

I have experienced this though to a lesser degree.
I have 2 rogue team members who are narcissists. They bully other team members by constantly watching and reporting them.
They haven't raised grievances but if i raise behavioural issues with them they immediately escalate to my line manager.
What I do have that helps is that 90% of my team do not support them and are very supportive to me. They report their behaviour and what comments they ate making.
It has only stopped a bit as one has gone on a years sabbatical due back January. If poor behaviour resumes then I will manage it.
How I managed the 2 rogues before is I dont feed into their behaviour. I rise above it and don't ever let them see it bothers me. I speak to them about their behaviour. And log it. Following up with an email covering discussion and required improvements.
If they bully staff I raise and log it. I keep all evidence. I am about to move to formal processes with the evidence if behaviour resumes once staff member returns. I have and I'm not afraid of tackilng their behaviour.
I am the Manager and they either follow instructions and expectations or they ate welcome to move on.
I have the backing of line manager and HR with my 2 rogues as they have a history of it with other managers.
I can empathise though how stressful this must be for you.
Can you request a transfer?