Am I being Harrassed at work?legal advise needed?

Question

For a while now I am being accused of things that are completely untrue due to rumours being spread around my company. For example, a while back a family member was rather ill and I needed to take time off to take care of them. I took this time as holiday that i was entitled too . I was then confronted by my boss saying I had lied about the family member to get time off work. Considering I was entitled to the time off I had no reason to lie, so why wld I? This has been going on for so long that i handed in my 1 mnths notice last week. today i got sent home from work b/c a collegue asked me if i had heard a rumour about her being spread and i said yes and also said i couldnt be sure of the source. she then confronted this person and my boss got involved. This collegue then claimed I told her to confront the other person, I did not!!! My boss told me to go immediately and that on monday i wld be told as to whether i still had a job!! I beleive im being harrassed? what should i do?

Another thing. Everytime i get confronted about a situation my boss doesnt ask my opinion , he takes his opinion as fact. In this case, he told me i started the rumour. No proof or evidence to this effect!! Can he legally send me home when he has no evidence and only hearsay to fall back on? I am trying to work my notice and leave as per my contractual obligations and it just seems that they are trying to make it as difficult as possible for me to stay there working!!! Literally everyday i am accussed of something else . I also brought it a sick note from my doctor once and was told i forged it!!! I mean comeon, It was a hospital letter on the official hospital letter head etc, but apparently I made it myself. This is what i deal with everyday? I really dont know what to do! I want to walk away right now but need to know my legal standings if i do so or if they fire me for the above situations!!

To answer one persons question, i can honestly say i do not beleive i am being discriminated on the grounds of race, sex , age or any disability.
Another thing to add as to why i did not take the time off as extenuating circumstances when my family member was ill was because my boss was the one to suggest i take it as holiday!! I wld have rather had it as EC because it falls under that heading. I also provided medical letters to prove my family members illness and time spent in hospital. This was why i was so shocked my my bosses accusation!!

Answer 1

It does seem that you have a very unfair employer - no wonder you have given in your notice! That said, as you have given in your notice to terminate your contract I'm not sure that there is a lot that can be done.
OK - you could initiate a grievance regarding the way you have been treated. But this would need to have some solid basis - it couldn't just be a general accusation that you are always getting blamed for something - a grievance needs to be made on the basis that you are unhappy with x and you would like y to be done about it. Given that you have three weeks of employment left I genuinely do not see the point (I think it would be different had you not given notice). You will not be able to claim constructive dismissal if you resigned before going through the grievance procedure and if you did not explicitly state the reason for your resignation at the time.
Regarding being sent home - annoying and offensive though you might find it - it is the employer's prerogative. It seems to me to be completely unreasonable and again could be the cause of an official complaint (if there is someone higher up than your boss). But, as long as you are getting paid and as you have given in your notice, again this is not necessarily going to achieve much.
What is your boss going to do on Monday? Sack you? You've already given your notice in - he has to give you 4 weeks notice, unless he is claiming it is gross misconduct (which it cannot be), in which case he still has to go through a proper disciplinary procedure. If he tries to terminate your employment before the 3 weeks that you have left you can take him to a tribunal to claim wrongful/unfair dismissal (if you have worked there for at least a year).

Answer 2

I am an employment law specialist but am not practising at moment due to having a health problem and taking time out to raise my kids. I am happy to give you some advice: It sounds like you need to raise a formal grievance. The Employment Act 2002 laid down minimum procedures for Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures that every organisation must follow regardless of size. Ask at HR/ Personnel if the company you work for is large enough, otherwise, go above this guys head with everything that is going on, having written down all the facts so far and how his behaviour has affected you. Do you really want to leave this job or is it just because of his behaviour you handed in your notice? If it is the latter you may have a case for constructive dismissal dependant upon the facts, but either way you must go through the Grievance procedure before a tribunal will entertain you. When you say you were sent home, were you suspended and if so, this must be on full pay, and the employer is required to have reasonable grounds to do so. Can you think of any reason your boss may have for harassing you? It also depends upon how long you have worked there or whether you are being Discriminated against on grounds of your sex, race or any Disability

Answer 3

You say, "today i got sent home from work b/c a collegue asked me if i had heard a rumour about her being spread and i said yes and also said i couldnt be sure of the source."

To be brutally honest, if anyone ever approaches you asking a question similar to this (whether or not you actually know if a rumor is going around), just say "I don't know anything". Your boss was likely angry that this person you told that there was a rumor going around about him/her made a scene and thus disrupted other employee's work.

Honestly, when dealing with rumors and office gossip, it's best to not engage in it or aide others in it by confirming/denying the existence of a certain juicy rumor or piece of gossip. As its been said "better to be silent and thought of as a fool than to open your mouth & remove all doubt".

Also, you say that your boss doesn't ask for your opinion and believes their opinion to be fact. Alot of bosses are like that, I'm sorry to say. I do believe however, that the reason your boss sent you home is because you told something to your coworker and that coworker went on to make a scene during work hours.

Answer 4

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Here's the hard part: Pretend she never existed, like it was all a dream, don't call her, that will make you the smaller person, be the bigger person since you deserve better, what she did to you on Valentines Day was immature, especially after dating for four years. This person wasted allot of your time and through it out the window. Go out tonight, even it it is only yourself, don't drink and call or feel sorry for yourself, this will only cause you embarrassment! I know your hurting..This will eventually will go away in time. Today is not a good day for you and your emotions are spinning all over the place.

Please, whatever you do, don't answer her calls and don't call her. If she keeps calling, which she pro bally won't, don't return her call for 5 days. Make her sweat and DO Not get back together right away if you discuss this in 5 days. Tell her since she Broke up with you, you have done allot of thinking, and had the taste of "being single again" and you would like more time being "friends" for now, so you are sure you are making the right decision. Remember "She decided she didn't want to be with you" so the door is open for you to get out and see what you have been missing for four years. You honestly need to do this for yourself.

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Your life isn't ruined, hers is..She lost someone special, and gave you a gift to let to live life and find someone you deserve. You are not getting back at her, your teaching her what an idiot she is and what she lost and what you gained without her. SO when You eventually talk to her, tell her thank you for what she did...
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Answer 5

Oh my god I feel so sorry for you , that is really no place to work , you should get yourself out there fast, and you should say nothing to no at all , I think every one doesn't like you , your boss is really bad , if someone again askes you if your heard a rumour about them just say no , why say yes and get into they mess , and then being in trouble for something you did not do, stand up for yourself girl, if you really want to take this seriously then get a socioter, that is bad really terrible god help you.

Yes that is harrass, every thing you do they putting it wrong ,. God if people did that to me, I swear I beat the crap out of them.

I just realised something you ought to be very careful to your boss, because are you a nice girl?

and you don't let him near you so he's trying to let you down now , maybe because your serious and reverved towards him, you know you wouldn't let him touch you, men can be bad so becareful ok and quit this job , don't even go tommorrow I mean that.

Answer 6

Be very cautious, and don't cop an attitude. Smile, and be pleasant, firm, conciliatory & professional. Quietly get an attorney. You can go to HR, but in my experience, HR works for them and is paid by them, so get get your hopes too high. Management cronies get connections & HR may have to kiss their b__'s, too. If you're a christian, pray, pray, pray. I've seen it help a lot. A big boss decided to go after me once when I did nothing wrong. I prayed, and she soon got the axe from another matter. It may be that you'll eventually need to leave for peace of mind, even if you go the legal route. If you stay on nice terms as best you can, you may still maintain a good reputation & good business contacts for the future, as others you know may also bail on that company, afterwards, and go elsewhere, themselves.

Answer 7

I don't see harassment here. I just see a manager who is ignorant and biased. many people mix up those terms. Harassment has specific definition in the company world in order for them to monitor and investigate and prevent it. You have already decided to put your resignation in. Just focus on that fact and work hard in your last days. Don't let these people bother you for now. As well, I wouldn't use any of them as a reference.
You could see HR, but how much can they really do in a couple weeks, especially if you're not sticking around. Not much.

Answer 8

Go to your HR department if you have one and ask for a private meeting. Document all the issues with times and dates as accurate as you can so you dont bumble over the words and dont make any threats because people will instinctively get their backs up and fight their corner, but let them now there are issues that HR is dealing with. They should be impartial and listen to you.

Answer 9

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The funny thing is I came to the realization that I had to change a little too late. After I was kicked out and after I was about to lose the only things that truly mattered to me - her love. A funny thing happens when we truly love someone and lose them. We do what ever it takes to get them back. For me I had to drop bad habits that had caused not only our relationship to sour but practically every other relationship I had had in the past. Not only with women, but with friends, co-workers, family, you name it.

Which is why I say to you as my ex at the time said to me, the only thing you can do is change yourself. Work on yourself and improve on the person that you already are. Drop the negative things in your life that don't belong there and you will see all of your relationships start to take off to new heights.

Answer 10

Do you feel they are forcing you to leave? Some one said thsi wasn't harassment- But I disagree. If you had 'holiday" time to take as you saw fit why would yoyu need to falsify a reason? For them to confront you about this is harassment.