Culture of bullying revealed at Sunday tabloid

Similar to Susan's story, my Union (the CWU) did absolutely nothing to support me. I got a 15 minute free phone call to a Solicitor who was as useful as a chocolate teapot!

Seems like these Unions love to promote themselves and their "Anti Bullying" policies and campaigns. But when it comes to standing up and taking decisive action, they haven't got the balls to do so.

I was the first one to advise my telecoms colleagues to join the CWU. My advice now is don't bother, they are a waste of space. All talk and no action. Save your Union fees, you might need this to engage a decent Solicitor if the need arises.

Good luck Danny and very well done Sue!

A major well done to those in Sue's case who saw through all the other side's whitewash and half truths to see the real issues.

As regards Unison what can I say, I have seen it so many times where the Unions fail to support people as in Sue's case. For the sake of others I would hope that the media also focus on their inaction.

Regards

David

Brilliant news Susan. I have been awaiting this eagerly !

Well done for having the courage and determination to stand up for your rights. If people like you and the many others who have been subjected to this type of workplace bullying (yes, including me) did nothing, then these bullies and cowards would get away with this time and time again. How many more have not had the strength to carry this through ?

My wife is battling Cancer and I have had an 18 month battle to get a Solicitor to take up my case. The managers and team leader of the [LARGE TELECOMS COMPANY] from which I resigned were well aware of my circumstances. They kicked me when I was down. HR did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The Grievance Procedure was a whitewash. They promoted the Bully to Team Leader and held up the other Bully as a " Role Model " I will be suing them under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and I have a strong case against them. I won't give up.

Bullies are cowards. We need to stand up to them. Perhaps some day, people like us will not have to suffer a system which makes it so traumatic in order to bring these people to justice. As Nietsche once said "What does not destroy me makes me stronger "

No damages that you receive can make up for the stress that you and your husband have had to go through. Good luck for the future. Danny A.

Hi Paul

Thank you for your kind words, they are greatly appreciated. Yes I was with the union. UNISON, however the did not support me and the latter part of your comment is reflective particularly in my case. I know I am not alone with this particularly within Cleveland Police. I myself am pursuing this matter.

Well done on winning your case, I admire your stance greatly, have read with interest the news coverage on this and hope you take full advantage of getting your story out in the public eye. Cleveland Police as any other police force are there to protect, when barriers break down and they choose to abuse positions by imposing bullying and harrassment as in your case it begs the question how these people record crimes when reportings of the same kind come from the general public. Can I ask, were you in a union and if so did they support you, I have a particular interest in this at the moment as it seems people are paying good money to unions yet receiving no support, particularly when it involves the police.! SHAME ON YOU CLEVELAND POLICE

Sue Francis vs Cleveland Police,

Just to let you all know who have kindly been offering me messages of support that I have won my case against cleveland police on the grounds of unfair constructive dismissal.

Susan,

I run a support group for police, police staff and families www.ipsg.co.uk

I was a long serving CID officer with an unblemished record. I was targetted for 7 years for whistleblowing in relation to corruption and serious bullying.

The police are like may other large organisations but it is not well known that there is a loophole in the law which means police officers are unable to make a 'complaint' against colleagues. Although they now are able to report concerns to the IPCC, there is no right of appeal should a force decide not to investigate the allegations or cover up.

Ultimately this leaves senior officers unnacountable and allows a culture of fear and bullying to exist which also extends to police staff.

Feel free to e-mail me anytime.

Best wishes

Julian

I am with you Cindy but I suspect that it may be politic to leave further comment until after 16th February, when judgement is due!

Thank you for your contribution, Nigel, but I was asking Sue.

The usual no doubt, attrack being the best form of defence - undermine the individuals confidence in their account of events, attributing blame on past poor performance or problem behaviours as contributory to the break down in relationships, making the most of or creating perceived inconsistances in statements to discredit individual etc.

Standard giving of ' hard time ' to reduce victims confidence and make their grievence sound frivilous, petty or sour grapes and personal rather than an objective assessment of an insidiously coercive and bullying culture.

How appalling do you want appalling to be ?

Susan
How appalling is appallingly? What did respondent do & say?

Thank you to all, one thing I cannot stress enough is not matter what, the tribunal panel we were lucky enough to have, could not have been nicer people, help bring some sense of 'normality' to a process which is in itself stressful for all concerned. No matter what the outcome, I feel some satisfaction that they in themselves helped both my husband and I through, also the witness. The respondent behaved appaullingly, the local media were at the tribunal and they rang me to state, that they believe I have won, also to tell me they have never ever seen anyone treated so badly during their time on the witness stand, I just dont know how I managed to get through it, possibly the truth, knowing how I feel inside just came through, desperaion really in a matter of speaking, but feel some relief that I was listened to by the tribunal panel. will let you all know on 16th february when result is known. sue francis

Susan's ordeal is a prime example of how large organisations (which incidentally love to be seen promoting their "Equality & Diversity" programs, publicising their "Zero Tolerance" policies toward bullying and harassment) ALWAYS fall back to their old ways, COVER UP the facts, DENY anything took place , INTIMIDATE witnesses and make it ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE for the recipient of this type of bullying and harassment to obtain justice.

HR DEPARTMENTS and SENIOR MANAGEMENT are the WORST offenders. I know this only too well. The large TELECOMS company that I resigned from is no exception, regardless of all their published "Policies" which at the end of the day are meaningless. None of these companies or institutions has the balls to IMPLEMENT their policies. They are all admit to the problem but are ALWAYS too WEAK to take any affirmative action.

Good luck Susan. The truth always wins in the end. Bullies are cowards, that's an undeniable fact.

Still cannot understand the General's generic practice of "shooting the messenger" or scout for intellegence gathering and feedback ?

I thought only lazy naughty boys cut corners and swept everything under the nearest carpet when their Mum was trying to teach them something about "good housekeeping" !

Perhaps they think 'good housekeeping' is a menial task and beneath them ?

Of course, big boys now and they know best and don't need to listen to anyone and anyway there are always other people to blame for not informing them of thinks that they needed to "know or should have known" so they could retire to the shelter and take cover while the pooo storm blows over.

Trouble is still seeing problems everywhere rather than "opportunities" to improve operational and or functional dynamics through being people centred and solution focused.

"Wants" -v- "Needs" driven cultures never likely to work just a question of "when" not "if" it's going to come crashing down around their ears without a 'risk assessment' of the threat institutional behaviours pose to an organisation.... .

Hi all, tribunal in terms of hearing lasted 10days, respondent wanted a 15 day hearing but did not get his wish, terrible to go through, no wonder why people do not come forward, one of my witnesses dropped out largely due to a breavement but also due to intimidation that a work colleague he mentioned on his witness statement may be faced with as they are still employed by cleveland police and they presented each day with an entrage of staff. This situation has greatly impacted on my health, my family, my husband has lost two years holidays due to this, Cleveland Police should be ashamed of themselves, we have already proved an inspector has lied, we will await outcome on 16th february and report back, thanks for all your support and help through out this time.

Dear all

I am an independent investigator of bullying and harassment in the workplace and have previously worked with the police. There are a number of issues of concern to me about the way police forces investigate these cases, apart from my concerns that poor management practice often allows bullying to continue unidentified. The police investigate bullying using the same process as if investigating a crime and use specialist units (PSD's) to investigate, bypassing managers and/or HR Depts. This does not allow for a speedy resolution and often leaves those staff involved a lengthy wait for an outcome. Not good practice! Why do they remain in the Dark Ages? Many organisations are now using independent investigators who can give an impartial assessment and who can tell individuals and organisations exactly how it is. Wouldn't it be great that, if you felt that you were being bullied and had no confidence in management to deal with it properly, you were able to ask for an independent assessment? If you need more info. go to www.inquisitas.com.

Hi Susan,

Let us all know when it's over. Those of us who have experienced similar institutionalised bullying are all too aware of the problem. There has been a lot of attention in the media concerning this subject over recent years, but still no effective remedial measures have been put into place. Why should you have to battle your case in front of an Employment Tribunal ? It takes an incredible amount of strength and courage to go through with this process. Seems like workplace bullying is not enough... why not let the existing legal machinery bully the victim even more by placing a number of obstacles in their way... Why is it so difficult for these organisations to actually DEAL with the problem that they actually admit to ? Because they are bullies themselves and they haven't got the balls to admit it.
When you get some free time, please take a look at this 2006 survey from Connect, the union. Makes interesting reading... www.connectuk.org/ForceDownload.asp?id=5417

Hi Susan

You may find this website helpful : http://etclaims.co.uk/

hi sorry forgot to add Thornaby is in stockton on Tees, Cleveland, I have just contacted GMTV as they are running a programme about work place bullying just hope they contact me.

Thank you for all your comments, I cannot express enough how much they are appreciated, I realise I am up against a wal of steel but nothing will stop me from attempting to bring to light the amount of bullying I have endured and still suffering from. My tribunal date is 5th January at Thornaby Employment tribunal christine house, you are welcome to come a long, first day is a reading day, I will keep you all updated. In mean time, if anyone wants any support please feel free to contact me, in bringing my case forward we have armed oursleves with a wealth of knowledge which will only in the future be of benefit to anyone going through the same, It has taken two years to get this case to a tribunal and 2000 documents collated by us in the mean time. God bless and best wishes for new year to all.

Danny, What a load of w**kers your co-workers were. I've come across a lot of jealousy over differences in pay. Some people are just looking to feel aggrieved, looking to find trouble and if they have a friend in HR who informs them of the new employee's pay, then beware! My job was quite different to the others in my section, but it was enough for them to feel that I was "different" and therefore not one of them. Thank God I'm not one of them, because they are small-minded, heartless people.

Good luck Susan.
You deserve justice and I hope that the Tribunal will come down on your side. I realise what you must be going through. I quit a new job with a large, well known Telecoms company after only 5 weeks due to bullying and harassment (jealousy over pay) I was not even entitled to a Tribunal hearing. Due due to length of service, I could not claim unfair dismissal. I am now going through my second Solicitor and will be suing this company for damages to my health and my career under the Protection from Harassment act 1997. The law needs to be changed. Too many HR departments side with the Bullies and too many large companies and organisations use the weak legal system in this country to get away with covering up a Bullying culture within their organisations. Managers all too often protect the Bullies as they are either too weak or they themselves are Bullies and close ranks to protect their interests. I have no doubt that the culture within the Police force, as you have unfortunately experienced, is the same as within the morally bankrupt Telecoms company for which I had the misfortune of working.
I have signed Vi Gray's petition (see an earlier post)
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/08Bullying/
The law is definitely too weak and as a result it helps to protect the unacceptable Bullying culture within may companies and organisations within the UK.
Good luck, stay strong and beat the Bullies and cowards.

Susan, what a pity you are not nearer to me otherwise I would have attended your tribunal. I'm in London. What is it with the police? - they just never seem to learn do they? It's as if all previous newspaper reports on other bullying incidents elsewhere just dont stay in their collective memory. Same with councils. And these two groups pay out millions per year in damages. I worked for management consultants and was always out of favour with one of the 2 bosses. I was bullied for 9 yrs, the last 6 being the worst. When it's Management who is doing the bullying there is nothing you can do, because HR is involved and none of the employees will raise their head above the parapet. In fact in the end some of them joined in in the bullyinge/exclusion, etc.

Thank you to all who have replied, wish me luck if you want to attend the tribunal it is at Thornaby in Cleveland starting 6th January, listed for 10day hearing against Cleveland Police, media you are more than welcome to attend, win or loose.

Not forgetting not only but also < www.bullyonline.org/action/egroups.htm > Tim Fielding Foundation along with < www.whistleblowing.org.uk > pcaw (public concern at work) etc. etc.

Self-advocacy is the only tool one can use to pre-empt, prevent and mitigate as a defence to coercive, bullying cultures where "approval deprivation" insidiously used to increase "performance anxiety" undermining well-being and security of any individual in the workplace.

Unless nipped in the bud will give power to the knit picking pain in the neck.