Wife's employer using dodgy tactics - legal?

[GM182]

This is a question on I suppose quite a narrow point but leads into a wider question of what to do.

My wife works for a large corporate firm which is US in its origin and a global leader in its sector however the EMEA region underperforms the Americas and Asia. So there is a new EMEA CEO who is shaking things up.

My wife is a longstanding account manager for SME customers and is part of a team of 8. They were told that there would be a feedback exercise as part of the management team wanted to get a better feel of how staff felt.

They were individually invited to talk to an outside consultant about their thoughts and opinions of how the company and team was managed and that all answers were confidential.

So my wife let rip about inconsistencies, favouritism,lack of support and understanding - the usual thing. She was not personal about her line manager despite the fact the woman is a snake. She is fairly sure that four others of the team said similar things while three she is not sure what they said.

Anyway, at this morning's team meeting her line manager has some paperwork on the desk that she can see has highlighted passages with quote marks and then quotes a comment my wife made about lack of interest in her work. The boss mis-quoted or twisted the meaning to turn it into a sarcastic remark in front of the team.

My wife has performed well in temrs of getting business but my question is can the company use the comments she made against her? Her boss obviously hates her now as she is outspoken and has showed her up on several occasions in the past and would very much like to get rid of her.

To me it looks like pure entrapment but I don't think it is documented anywhere that the feedback meetings would be confidential although that was clearly the purpose given verbally. The feedback was supposed to go to the new CEO but now apparently it is just for the team level managers...

[98elise]

It depends on what was supposed to be confidential. Typically in these sort of feedback exercises, its the author thats confidential, not the comments.

I've done, and received, similar feedback. If you know the people well you can normally work out who wrote the comment.

[The Beaver King]

As above.

The feedback is usually passed on, but the author of the comment removed. If the wording or terminology was kept as said, then it's a fairly simple connection to make.

I was part of a group of 12 who all had to provide written feedback on my line managers performance. I intentionally used words and terms that are not usually associated with me. I actually sat with my boss when he was going through the comments, he thought my actual comment was made by our Trading Director and he assumed my comment was one that was actually made by a client.

Needless to say, your OH's boss will have sat there and tried to link comments to people. Even if your OH had given glowing comments it wouldn't have mattered, the boss will still have picked the most critical and linked them to your OH due to a poor relationship.

[Gargamel]

If your question is really is this legal, then yes it is. After all what is the point of a feedback exercise if you don't use it to make the people involved aware of how they are percieved and try to use it as an opportunity to change.


Very few of us take criticism well, and it sounds like your partners manager has reacted negatively to the feedback.

Personally I never write anything in those things that I wouldn't be happy to say to their faces, or where there is a really clear cut example. Writing emotions or feelings is never going to work I am afraid.

[GM182]

Thanks for the replies. Maybe a bit of naivety from the OH in being so forthright.

The legal query was more about whether the comments could be used to construe she had the wrong attitude or the relationship is too far gone for the OH to stay on the team in a disciplinary setting.