Wiretwister:
Did you have a witness accompany you during the interview? If not then why not? At the risk of sounding very harsh your witness can take notes, can also verify the account as accurate, and be physical as well as well as moral support.
Whatever the outcome that will be the single most valuable lesson learnt from this episode. I hope you get a just decision though somehow it looks like your abuser has more allies than you at the moment and your manager, being new, may also being manipulated.
Thank you for youy reply Wiretwister, the only witness was an in office bod , taking notes. The new manager took over last year although was working in the office before hand. And was tryingto victimise me when he took over .
Does your company grievance/disciplinary process allow for you to be accompanied at investigation meetings? If so you should have been advised of that fact so as to able to find a companion of your choice. By not doing so the investigating manager has broken the companies own process. How you want to proceed depends largely on whether you see your future with this company or not. If you want to stay, and have the guts and fortitude to face a lot of pressure then you will have to go above the investigating managers head. If it’s away then start looking for a new position, watch your back in the mean time.
If you are in a union, even if company does not have a recognition arrangement speak to them, if not citizens advice can help. Be in no doubt YOU ARE BEING BULLIED if you don’t address it your well being will suffer. If you are the only female in the company the bullying could be because of your gender being seen as a softer target. Good luck you are going to need it
That is a fact I am being bullied. As you say , targeted.
I shall make sure an independent person comes with me to any future meetings.
For more than a year I have stood up to the pressure of bullying from the warehouse bods, oddly since the meeting to cover the incident, I told them about this about warehouse staff attitude , & the following night , guess what, the warehouse staff were very helpful and extremely polite!!
I will take independent advise on this matter , thanks.
yorkshire terrier:
There’s some awful people in this industry.
Some seem to live life constantly angry and aggressive
No need
Thank you for your reply yorkshire terrier, there are good and bad in any walk of life unfortunatley, I have to say though in this industry I get on well with everone where ever I seem to be ( away from the yard), whether they are fellow drivers , yard staff, forklift drivers , office staff. There are loads of good people out there , its just a pity a minority have to behave in this way.
lorry driving is a very male dominated profession. it is highly possible that the OP is being treated this way because said manager and colleague don’t respect her because shes female… even though shes more than capable of doing her job… that being the (likely in my opinion) case, playing the equality at work card is about the only thing she can do.
rangechange59:
just a thought,ask around if other drivers have also had problems with this individual,i would think that not many if any would back you up but its worth a try
Thanks for your reply rangechange, I know one has recently had bad attiude from him , but wont say . The" individual" , is also connected to warehouse on a very regular basis. Who have been giving grief over the months periodically.
qwakers:
being female give you a load more ammo than us blokes have. dont be afraid to play the sexism card.
Thank you for your reply qwakers, personaly I see myself as an equal , neither better or worse than everyone else. With the exception of the few indiduals.
lorry driving is a very male dominated profession. it is highly possible that the OP is being treated this way because said manager and colleague don’t respect her because shes female… even though shes more than capable of doing her job… that being the (likely in my opinion) case, playing the equality at work card is about the only thing she can do.
Because if she’s being treated the way she is because of being a female, then if she plays the sexism card she will vindicate in their minds why they should treat her differently. It might stop the overt bullying, but then it will become more subtle and turn into a whispering campaign by those people which might mean more people join in as they felt she’s got special treatment because she’s a woman.
The best way is to out the bully’s for what they are cowardly [zb]'s who pick on somebody because they different, that way she’s more likely to pick up allies and get support from work colleagues.
If you know you are going to have to work with this ■■■■ again, perhaps for a short time in the yard etc, might be a good idea to keep your voice recorder switched on on your phone in your pocket. Bit of a faf to remember it, but they can record for hours if needed.
As you are secretly recording, you may not be able to use it as formal evidence in a case against someone else, however if someone else accuses you of something, you might be able to use it?
Employees can fall somewhat under lilly livered uk employment practice and be suckered into believing anything that happens under hallowed turf of at the job is subject only to company law and trial. Ah ha ha. Well it bloody well isn’t. Don’t entertain these report fiddling clowns and their procedures. Do not sign a report that is not correct. You could send your transport manager a communicae detailing your own report. State that regardless of company procedure, being physically threatened is potentially a legal matter adding that you do not wish to sign an incorrect account, this is your account and should any more threats or actual physical attacks actually happen, you will quite rightly report it to the police, not the company.
Sounds a bit OTT and to be honest we’ve all been there as two blokes and it’s all huff and puff and the idea of reporting most of it to the law is equally laughable (I’ve had someone try and push me, someone throw a spanner at me, but all in context ).
But bloke threatening a woman with violence under the circumstances? Call me old fashioned etc… Screw them. If this guy does start causing you hassle and threatening you more (sounds like a nutter to threaten a woman anyway) at least you have pointed out to the company you are quite aware you are not restricted to their micky mouse amateur pretend court. Doesnt mean you actually will report it to the po. Just by stating it to them, they hopefully will realise you do have other legal avenues open to you. Physical threats can range from laughable huff and puff to quite real. Depends on circumstances and forgive me for sounding like I’m undermining you by gender but the fact he’s a bloke and threatened to punch you, well. Just don’t be pushed around by the company playing little “let’s manage the people” games. Manage the situation yourself.
bonnie lass:
I can’t go into indepth detail at the moment, it is still being delt with.
I was at work one evening at the depot, & it was in a dark part of very full parking area, I could see that someone opposite was ready to pull forward in there vehicle, & as I didn’t want to hold them up, I pulled my vehicle straight forward, out of the way for them to pull out past me . I put the window down a way and asked can you get past?
I was met by a torren of very aggressive verbal abuse starting with [zb] & continuing with [zb] every few words for a time. He also threatened to hit me.
This is a work colleague. Needless to say I was frightened by the sudden, unnecessary aggression of incident, there was nobody around & a quiet dark place.
Now the new manager says his account of the incident is different from mine.
We had both spoken on different occasions to the new manager to say what happened, & I have now received the typed out details from my interview, which is not a true reflection of the incident, the new manager also was asking other things which were not relevant to the incident. I am supposed to sign this & return it for the next meeting. I won’t sign it as it is not correct.
the new manager has also left parts out, wording things a bit different & written it to put me in bad light !!
The new manager also asked in the first instance if I had recorded it !!!
Has anyone else had this or similar problem , or can shed any light on this type of situation please.
I am a none aggressive person who treats people with respect.
I have also has previous problems with this new manager before , as was on this forum last year.
write out a statement,date and sign it.
for a few quit you can forward your statement to a solicitor who writes it in a different language.
Only thing I’d add is whether you submit an amended version of their report or a completely new one get it proof read by someone and keep copies, possibly leaving one on file with a solicitor.
boredwivdrivin:
With regard to inaccurate incident report you dont wanna sign …
You are perfectly entitled to scratch out sentences or words , and write in your version .
Just make sure you initial each correction .
Sign and date it at bottom stating ’ edited for inaccuracies’
It is much better to submit a signed edited copy , than an inaccurate unsigned one .
Your version is then on record
Thanks for your reply boredwivdrivin, there is so much wrong with the incident report I thinking it needs rewriting , the whole thing. I dont think there is enough room for corrections & some of it is nowt to do with the incident.
bazza123:
If you know you are going to have to work with this [zb] again, perhaps for a s. hort time in the yard etc, might be a good idea to keep your voice recorder switched on on your phone in your pocket. Bit of a faf to remember it, but they can record for hours if needed.
As you are secretly recording, you may not be able to use it as formal evidence in a case against someone else, however if someone else accuses you of something, you might be able to use it?
thanks for your reply bazza, its a good suggestion, I could do with some form of self protection. As you mention there are some restrictions of use.
Employees can fall somewhat under lilly livered uk employment practice and be suckered into believing anything that happens under hallowed turf of at the job is subject only to company law and trial. Ah ha ha. Well it bloody well isn’t. Don’t entertain these report fiddling clowns and their procedures. Do not sign a report that is not correct. You could send your transport manager a communicae detailing your own report. State that regardless of company procedure, being physically threatened is potentially a legal matter adding that you do not wish to sign an incorrect account, this is your account and should any more threats or actual physical attacks actually happen, you will quite rightly report it to the police, not the company.
Sounds a bit OTT and to be honest we’ve all been there as two blokes and it’s all huff and puff and the idea of reporting most of it to the law is equally laughable (I’ve had someone try and push me, someone throw a spanner at me, but all in context ).
But bloke threatening a woman with violence under the circumstances? Call me old fashioned etc… Screw them. If this guy does start causing you hassle and threatening you more (sounds like a nutter to threaten a woman anyway) at least you have pointed out to the company you are quite aware you are not restricted to their micky mouse amateur pretend court. Doesnt mean you actually will report it to the po. Just by stating it to them, they hopefully will realise you do have other legal avenues open to you. Physical threats can range from laughable huff and puff to quite real. Depends on circumstances and forgive me for sounding like I’m undermining you by gender but the fact he’s a bloke and threatened to punch you, well. Just don’t be pushed around by the company playing little “let’s manage the people” games. Manage the situation yourself.
Thank you for your reply freightdog , you’ve hit the nail on the head with what your saying about the whole thing. I am taking this all in, & I am determined to get it sorted , & not signing their poor excuse of a report that has been cut chopped & dried, taking it away from the facts of the incident !
This same guy refused to go past my truck the other morning, so I pulled forward slowly to proceed , & when I got level with him , he then acelerated heavily & went from stationary to tearing up the yard.
).