Do You Have Legal RIght to Quit Job Because Fellow Employee Calls You A F***B** Everytime She Gets Mad at You?

Question

Someone doesn't like another person on the job. The person is a bit older than the girl who who is always calling her that name. She only does it when the boss is not in the office. Actually she is rather jealous of the older woman because the older woman is really smart. The girl just plain resents her. One day it got so bad the older woman left the office and didn't come back. (She'd already told her employer about the abuse but he just told her that he "didn't want to become involved" We (the others in the office) had overheard this type of abuse for months. But the boss is denying her unemploment benefits. What should she do?

Answer 1

No. The boss is "contesting" her unemployment. Tell her to stick to her guns. She has a legitimate complaint and unemployment will recognize it sooner or later but the employer does have the right to contest her applying and she does have the right to an appeal.

{Edit} I had to add this because of the ignorant remarks above. YOU CAN TOO GET UNEMPLOYMENT IF YOU QUIT FOR CAUSE. Look it up before you make such outrageously wrong statements.

Answer 2

Smells like a lawsuit to me! Not only is she working in a hostile enviornment but management is doing nothing to correct it. Tell this lady to make a formal complaint by this i mean write an email or letter describing the situation to your boss. If after a couple of days maybe give it a week, nothing happens then resend the letter except this time also add the part about it being neglected and copy your human resources director. I sure something will be done then if not copy it to a lawyer.

Answer 3

if the boss is denying unemployment benefits then their will be a hearing on the matter where both sides will be able to give testimony

The problem is your friend quit her job based on fellow employee conduct, if the unemployment office finds that your friend voluntary quit work with out good cause IE the problem with the fellow employee then your friend will not be able to collect any unemployment until they return to work for at least six weeks

Your friend should outline when the problem occurred, when she talked to the boss, then that the boss refused to address this problem, then after boss refused the other times afterward your friend was harassed, it's going to fall on your friend to show that the working conditions became so hostile she had to quit

Answer 4

Honey, You just don't realize your power. You do not have to work in an environment that is harrassing and stressful. You have already brought this up to your boss so she needs to do something about it. No one has the right to talk to you like that. If you work in a big company, go to your human resource department and complain to them. If you work in a small company it may be difficult. Bottom line, you deserve to be treated with respect. You can sue the boss for not defending you!
I hope things get better for you.
Look up Employee Rights online! You will find a lot of interesting things about your job!

(check out these websites)

Answer 5

We have the legal right to quit a job for no reason. As far as collecting unemployment benefits, that might be difficult unless she kept a journal of the times she asked her boss to intervene. Harrassment is against the law but difficult to prove. The boss is a wimp for allowing it to continue as it is counterproductive. The woman needs to contact her state's unemployment office right away and the boss needs to learn employment law.

Answer 6

you can walk aay from any job but the rules have changedd you take a chance , and walk away from a job you will get no unemployment from them unless its medicall or some damn good resons. the big companies and , smalerr ones, are , not shelling out, unemployment benifits. the only thing she can do, is move on downe that lonesome highway and find another job. anyways the person who started this should have never been hiredd for a office job maybe pushing a mop in a airport. who ever hired this other person has no idea what there doing figures some of these places hire real winerrss as the trouble maker in this one.

Answer 7

The employee needs to notify the person above her boss. She needs to state that the other employee is creating a "hostile work environment" and that it is interfering with her ability to work in that setting.

There are laws concerning unemployment benefits. It is not something that the boss can arbitrarily deny. If she is legally entitled to unemployment benefits, then a polite indication to her boss that legal action may follow may be in order.

Answer 8

The one being mistreated can and should report both the abuse and the lack of action on her boss' part to the labor board. and to whomever else the labor board recommends her to report it to.

if she doesn't it will happen to someone else in that office, and the offender will continue to get away with it.

there is also the police, ask them if that doesn't constitute grounds for harrassment or something else she can be charged with.

Bottom line? Do something about it - Doing nothing but walking away makes you just as wrong as the offender.

Answer 9

"You don't get unemployment benefits if you quit. This is the first mistake."

NOT true.

There are certain instances where quitting will not affect your eligibility, such as if you quit for what your state defines as "good cause". Being subjected to abusive profanity directed at you in anger on a regular basis is good cause.

I hope your friend has documentation of all this (memos to her boss with dates and times, exact quotes, witnesses, etc) because "good cause" involves proving that she made a good faith effort to resolve the situation before quitting.

Your friend should appeal the ruling and introduce her documentation and proof of the severity of the situation and proof of her employers indifference.

Answer 10

this is called constructive dismissal according to the employment tribunal and is explained thus " ...or if you have resigned because of something your employer did or failed to do which made you feel you could no longer work for them."
I suggest she puts her claim in writing to her employer, then see what he says in response. If this does no good, submit a claim with the employment tribunal or county court. Be aware though that there is a time limit for making a claim. Get advice from the CAB or www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk. good luck!