Bullying in the MOD

[Apache]

It's supposed to be frowned upon, so how come it happens? what can anyone do about it? If you have an ineffectual manager and a bully as a colleague who do you turn to?

Management? appear not to give a toss

ACAS? can only say it shouldn't happen and the manager must stop it

HR or PPPA? can only say it shouldn't happen and the manager must stop it

Doctor? can only say it shouldn't happen and the manager must stop it

Solicitors? say, yes but it'll cost you and you may lose. So, my wife has been signed off for another fortnight by the Doc and it seems there is bugger all we can do about it

[rog007]

As in any organisation, you have to have some faith initially on internal systems for managing grievances. I would certainly take some time to articulate my concerns with evidence and then hand a copy to my Line Manager for a response. If you are a member of a union, I'd copy it to them to. If you fail to receive a satisfactory response, then write a new letter to your Line Manager's boss and so on. It may seem convoluted and time consuming, but I'm afraid the allegation and counter allegation culture forces such a system and it seems the best available option. Good luck!

[T350 Al]

If your wife feels she can't approach her Line Manager about this, then she has choices. She can go above her Line Manager's head and speak directly to her 2RO who should be able to help resolve the issue. If she can't turn to her 2RO, then there are Welfare Officers in most establishments who anyone can turn to if they have any troubles at work, be they personal or work-related. If she doesn't want to do this, she can always get in touch with PPPA and raise a grievance with them, but as they're just a call-centre, it's best to either sort it through 2RO or Welfare. If she has a colleague/friend in another team who can help her out, so much the better. If your wife hasn't already, get her to read through JSP 763 (you might want to go through it with her) that details everything that can be done.

In my experience (having helped a colleague through the process before) any allegations of bullying/harassment are taken very seriously and dealt with quickly.

Happy to help if I can.

[Apache]

Civvy in the MOD, we're meeting her Union Rep tomorrow

[zaphod42]

Raise a formal grievance via HR, in writing with a log of the incidents?

[Taita]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Ignore this advice.

[Apache]

zaphod42 said:

Raise a formal grievance via HR, in writing with a log of the incidents?

Done, we have over 2 years of documented attempts by us to get something done by the old CO, we are about to reopen the original case that was put on hold as a diversionary tactic till he left. Medical reports that our Doc is champing at the bit to write and support by another employee who suffered the same lack of care under similar circumstances. The trouble seems to stem from a civvy boss who was promoted way beyond his ability who is managed by the Army who couldn't care less and an HR dept who doesn't have any authority.

[Apache]

Had a meeting with the new CO and the Union rep, he seemed pretty taken aback by just how out of his depth the civilian manager is and how long this had been happening. A formal Grievance has been raised and at last we feel we are being listened to, it's only taken two and a half years.
I am bloody fuming about this, is there anything else we can do? as it seems pretty clear to me that the MOD is in breach of contract by failing to ensure a safe work environment

[singlecoil]

What is the actual nature of the bullying, and what did the doctor give as the reason for signing her off?

[Apache]

singlecoil said:

What is the actual nature of the bullying, and what did the doctor give as the reason for signing her off?

verbal abuse, physical threat, signed off with stress...2 months now

[singlecoil]

Apache said:

singlecoil said:

What is the actual nature of the bullying, and what did the doctor give as the reason for signing her off?

verbal abuse, physical threat, signed off with stress...2 months now

So serious stuff then, and nothing's been done about it, evidently. Presumably she and others have recorded her official complaints, it seems someone is taking chances in failing to deal with it, dismissable offence, surely.

[Apache]

singlecoil said:

Apache said:

singlecoil said:

What is the actual nature of the bullying, and what did the doctor give as the reason for signing her off?

verbal abuse, physical threat, signed off with stress...2 months now

So serious stuff then, and nothing's been done about it, evidently. Presumably she and others have recorded her official complaints, it seems someone is taking chances in failing to deal with it, dismissable offence, surely.

The person at the centre of this has generally upset everyone in the building with her overbearing, rude and confrontational manner, yet nothing was done. Calling her manager and supervisor a w####r in front of witnesses resulted in, nothing. She has also been witnessed as being off site shopping etc when she should be doing coursework and going home when she said she was at work, fraud in other words, still nothing.
We have documented everything from the buildup two and a half years ago to the first complaint that we were persuaded not to go formal with by going through a mediation process. We knew it wouldn't work and it didn't. Only now, with a new CO is it being taken seriously.