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Stuart D
Member - 1 post
There is a woman at my wife's work who is very verbal in her comments about other people behind their backs.
A while ago my wife had a problem with something this woman was doing. She asked to speak to her quietly outside the office, to make her aware. This woman opened the office door and started shouting at my wife, to make sure the whole office heard. Unfortunately a senior manager was showing round visitors and this came back on both my wife and this woman. Because of the whole visitor incident the underlying issue was never resolved!
A member of the team is currently off on Maternity leave and this woman is arranging a team lunch to meet up with her. The problem woman has invited all the female members of the department, but not my wife and 2 other people she has had problems with before.
The woman on maternity leave is friends with my wife.
The whole situation seems petty, but is actually starting to effect my wife and these 2 other women.
Is this classed as bullying?
Thanks in advance
Stuart
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David Sharp - Workplace Law Network
Online advisor - 119 posts
Stuart - First thing to say is that this forum is really intended for managers and employers, to help give them advice and support in managing people. So it's not really looking from the perspective of someone like your wife, who clearly finds herself in an uncomfortable situation - one which is not good for her, or the company she works for.
There is no fixed legal description of "bullying" (or indeed of "harassment"), but there are some recognised definitions such as the ones used by ACAS and the CIPD. There's useful information from ACAS from an employee's perspective here: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=797.
Your wife's employer should be taking an interest in this situation, because they may find themselves vicariously liable in the event that this behaviour results in any form of claim against them, either from your wife or indeed from her colleague.
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