Moving desk on mat leave

[MyPurpleHeart]

Looking for some advice here

I manage an office of ten people

We have had an office extension and have had a shuffle around

One lady went on mat leave in February. Whilst she was away the lady that sits next to her confided in us that she was being picked on by the lady that had gone on mat leave and was dreading her return.

When the office was extended we decided to move all the teams around and it worked out that I can move the picking on lady further away from the picked on lady so that they aren't right next to each other. This seemed like a good solution as picking on lady is known to be very disruptive and loves a good chat during the day. Many people have mentioned that they can't get on when she's around

Picking on lady came into the office for a visit yesterday and I casually mentioned that the office was having a shuffle and showed her the shiny new desk we had bought for her. She has gone batshit and said she will not sit there and will only sit at her old desk. Her old desk has now been reallocated.

My MD is nervous because he doesn't want to upset her and be accused of making her leave on Mat leave (this isn't the case there is very much a job here for her when she returns and I've even agreed to let her come back part time to help ease with childcare)

Have I got this wrong or is it a storm in a teacup? It feels very primary school fighting over who we sit next to

Think you need to take some testimonies from everyone about her behaviour. Obviously this has cropped up whilst she is on maternity leave so do not want it to look targeted. However when someone is out of the office, reports on poor behaviour often crop up.
The desk shuffle is an obvious time for people to choose a little more who they sit with. If a 'bully' is out of the way, it makes it much easier to say something.
Well done for you for staying strong and stating how things will be when she returns. Please make a note of her behaviour when she was told and subsequent follow up behaviour including the messages to coworkers. It all helps paint a picture and gives you some back up should she try anything. You may have to have a conversation with her about the reports of her behaviour......

I would reiterate everyone got moved, no one got to choose, and she has to sit where she’s put. If some desks are better than others, quiet corner, window seat, away from management etc, maybe you could instigate a rotation policy. I’ve been hot desking for years, firstly on a first come first served basis, since Covid and hybrid, we now have to book a desk. The idea of anyone insisting on a particular desk is ludicrous.

You sound like a really nice boss.
We had a bully in our team. We were all asked where we wanted to sit during a shuffle. One colleague said she’d sit anywhere but please don’t put her next to Bully. That’s exactly what they did 😞

Everyone has moved so it's not a result of her leave and she's suffered no detriment bevause of a desk move. If she starts again you reiterate why this new space is a suitable alternative and the office will not be disrupted moving people unless there's a valid undisclosed reason as to why it's necessary in which case you will consider her objections.

As you say keeping her close with help you monitor the situation and manage her going forward.

She sounds a right one good luck op

Would it be end of the world if she resigned over it? I suspect not. And she would have no viable Tribunal Claim. Might be the preferable outcome TBH. Don't bend.

She has a job waiting for her so it’s her choice if she returns or not. My friend returned after maternity leave to a complete reshuffle and had to literally spend her first day trying to find a desk, chair, pc, phone etc.

This lady might just need some time to adjust.

That's not grounds for claiming constructive dismissal. Be firm and don't engage with her again. If she persists in being disruptive write her up

Ok so the new desk is just a first measure. I was on mat leave and apparently the bullying cooled when I came back. I was told by lots of people the bully is much quieter when I'm around. The victim only disclosed to me what had happened about 3 months ago. (Bully went on mat leave in February)

The victim asked me if they could be moved apart which I have. Bully comes back in November so I was going to start proper action then, but as she is sending abusive texts to the victim I will be calling her in officially to give a warning. Because as far as I'm concerned the texts are the bullying continuing.

I have asked the victim to write me a statement and timeline and will be asking the others in the office to do the same.

I will not tolerate any bullying and the victim has my full support. I've been unsure what to do as the bully is on mat leave and it's not something I've dealt with before as a manager. My head office put the frighteners on me and said I had to tread very carefully when someone is on mat leave.

Read up on mat leave rules/protection and/or get HR advice. If you belong to any sort of union it is worth making contact with them. Might also be some training you can do to improve your knowledge of mat leave laws.
Interesting that the bullys behaviour changes if you are or aren't around! She obviously knows you are not going to stand any nonsense. Equally she could get sneakier in her bullying behaviour.
Mat leave never protects an employee from poor behaviour but you just have to be extra careful, so they can't complain about possible discrimination!
Good luck

DO NOT call her in now.

Stick with the desks, and monitor things when she is back.

You are setting yourself up here.

You can’t call her in when she’s on Mat leave. Other employees can block her and you can make her aware that when she returns there will be in investigation which might result in disciplinary action into her conduct. If she doesn’t want that hanging over her, she can choose to have that done now while she’s on maternity leave

This is why I've been treading so carefully, I didn't think I could do anything while she was on mat leave and was just trying to diffuse the situation until she came back. I've already asked everyone she was texting to not engage and ignore it for now. Okay I won't do anything until she officially comes back.

Yes she's a completely different person when I'm in the office. It's like she thinks she can be an arsehole and throw her weight around when I'm not there and no one will tell me!

Can you frame it to her as a positive that because she is part time being nearer to whoever the relevant manager is will be beneficial for her to keep up to speed on anything which happens on her days off? She won't like it but hard to argue against it.

I wonder what the nature of the abusive texts is?

Because in any well run organisation, sending abusive texts should be a disciplinary offence.

And in the UK it can be a criminal offence.

You need to grab this and deal with it.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/127

It really doesn’t matter about being on maternity leave with the abusive texts. If people are willing then share them with HR and ask them what to do but this behaviour is not acceptable. You have a duty to protect all workers. Tell the workers to just block her on their personal devices.

No one has rights to a desk of their choice. So ignore that one. She has a right to a similar job on not worse terms and conditions. That's it.

Secondly I hope that when she is back at work you deal with her bullying behaviour.

I will be calling her in officially to give a warning

FGS Please speak HR before doing this.

Yes you should deal with this.

But you must follow a proper disciplinary process. You need your investigate. Give her notice. Allow her to be accompanied. Right if appeal etc.

You can't just 'issue a formal warning'.

You could land yourself in all kinds of trouble not following proper process especially when dealing with Simone on maternity leave.

Excuse the typos.

You shouldn’t even be touching this. Present your case to HR and let them deal with this. Stop being so nice and people pleasing. It’s a business, not a friendship group.