Asking for a settlement agreement after work burnout and bullying caused sick leave - anyone has done that?

[summerskyblue]

I have had some ongoing issues with the company where I have worked for in a senior role for the past three years.

I have a disability (declared to HR and confirmed by occupational health).

There has been a series of disability discrimination and bullying/undermining issues that I have documented.

This led me to a burnout and being signed off for depression.

I am about to come back from sick leave and I expect a big show down as I can see that the company is now trying to manage me out and has out of the blue set new, unreasonable targets just before I am due back that I know there is no realistic way that I can achieve.

I have had enough of having my health affected to that extent.

I am planning to lodge an official grievance & take it to an employment tribunal if needed when I return but I wonder if anyone has successfully asked for a settlement, rather than wait for an employer to offer one in this type of circumstances?

I have no interest in staying in the job at this stage as it is so toxic but I worked hard in a difficult environment so I am not prepared to just resign...

For example projects that had an agreed turnaround target of 3 weeks are now supposed to be magically delivered in less than 1 week.

but she has also removed a load of responsibility too? So theoretically more time

and it could be argued that 1-2-1s instead of group meeting may be a good solution for an employee very stressed.

These changes don’t work for you. However I can see the logic

And everything will have been approved by HR. In fact, probably even suggested by HR

could you not have contacted any of these members of your team to find out why they suddenly disappeared?

@Roothewheel

I am not ''very stressed'' at this stage. In fact they are causing the stress...

I oversee a specific function and need to have oversight of everything that is produced and goes out the public. So giving some random person who does not answer to me, works in an entirely different role/department and has zero experience in my field is not helping in any way.

I know that one person in the team who 'disappeared' raise a grievance against my manager and took the organisation to an employment tribunal for similar issues (disability discrimination). They sacked another person without notice because they could not attend a weekend event...or so they say because I think that person just quit.

Excluding me from team meetings just means I no longer have any input on brainstorming sessions and that decisions that affect my workload will be taken without me being there.

Honestly this organisation is a mess.

"And everything will have been approved by HR. In fact, probably even suggested by HR".

I doubt that. Considering the manager made some very unwise comments during the return to work meeting that implied my lack of commitment and other criticism that can't be backed by any evidence.

Good luck with your grievance

No more meetings without someone accompanying you and writing up notes

It would seem a lot of hear say about colleagues that have left op but you haven’t actually had any confirmation directly from said ex colleagues re the circumstances of their departure

do you manage any of the team?

They sacked another person without notice because they could not attend a weekend event...or so they say because I think that person just quit.

who is “they”?

You need a solicitor to seek the settlement for you and you should also take legal advice before considering raising a tribunal claim

@Roothewheel

It is not hearsay.

It is what our manager openly said to the team...perhaps unwisely.

She mentioned a grievance was raised against her and that it was now a tribunal case so she would busy dealing with this rather than doing her usual role.

She had also made snarky comments openly to the rest of us about that individual.

She also bragged about sacking the other employee because they could not attend a weekend event.

I think it says a lot about this manager and her style of leadership.

so all these stories of colleagues suddenly “disappearing” - they have come from her?

Since I joined I have seen people in my team resigning without a job to go to (always a sign that something is not right) and others 'disappearing' suddenly without explanation.

have you had any info re their departure directly from said ex colleagues themselves?

So is your plan to engage a solicitor

Have you actually progressed anything at all internally with HR OP?

@Someiremember
I am drafting my initial grievance at the moment and want to take a couple of days to get the content right then I will send it to HR.

There is so much information about what went on when I was on leave that I need to go through a lot of emails and meeting notes to make sure I don't miss anything.

For example, I got hold of the notes from a meeting that was circulated to the rest of the team, but not me (my manager said I ''would not be interested in these notes") which in fact has a lot of criticism of my area of work so I am going to use this as well as evidence.

And all the while you are going in to work?

@CantHoldMeDown · Today 09:36

And also, you’ve got several threads all covering different bits of this. You haven’t mentioned here that you work part time and have other freelance contracts. It’s not clear whether that is allowed by your employer.

The fact that I work freelance as well is always clearly listed on my CV and mentioned at interview stage so my employers are always fully aware from the very start and it is in a completely different field so there is no conflict of interest. This is why I take on part-time roles (because I have other commitments).

Yes the OH stated on their report that my condition ''meets the criteria of...''

I assume the claim for disability discrimination by my former colleague was settled before it reached tribunal stage as the manager who mentioned that she was being taken to tribunal then boasted that it had been ''dealt with'' a month later.

@Someiremember

I am not quite sure what you mean. I am perfectly capable to work and spend time in the evening drafting my claim.

This in spades

You have completely misinterpreted my question

I was asking how work is on a day to day basis if you are continuing to work whilst also “drafting” your grievance.

You started the thread 3 weeks ago and I thought you were planning on instructing a solicitor

Put together all your other threads… and a rather different story emerges

I wouldn’t take that bet!

Fact is, you and I know that this is going to go no where because there’s no case.