As an elected shop steward I was acutely aware of the constraint when dealing with issues surrounding bullying and knew instinctively management would close ranks to protect one of their own by often quoting phrases like "There's a narrow line between bullying and strong management “or "that's just the way it is" being confident of their assertion regardless of facts or evidence. Trouble is there is no defence against bullying so consequently employers protect themselves by replacing the standard of proof from " on the balance of probability " to one of "beyond doubt " whereas I would argue if more than one separate allegation of bullying has been made against the same individual over a period of time then on the balance of probability they're a bully. Truth is I believe managers are obliged to unconditionally support other members of management which surely is contrary to the process of natural justice.
My status didn’t grant immunity either a throwback I believe to the archaic dogma of Thatcherism which I believe is still thriving in Bradford as is Nepotism.
Interestingly a memo (1) was circulated to all employees of Bradford Council around the time I was being persued through the courts at their request. Please note this memo is the clearest example of Bradford Council being aware of bullies in their employ, but failing to act upon the that information.
So is a Machiavellian management system the best way forward?
As already stated I personally experienced unprecedented bullying at Bradford
Council, and incredibly the bullying continued even during my 14 month
suspension whereby regardless of my reasonable expectation of a private home
life I received unannounced visits while trying to deal with my fathers'
terminal illness and subsequently his death. During this period of personal
turmoil Bradford Council management cynically and shamelessly attempted to
manipulate my misfortune with the aid of a Branch Union official for no other
reason than to influence others with their own duplicity.
In all honestly I truly experienced hopelessness when I uncovered their deception resulting in something akin to being a manic depressive. Unfortunately I was never able to breakdown the built-in bias against me so my letters of complaint (2)formal grievances (3)(4)and appeals (5)(6) were dismissed out of hand.
However before you also simply dismiss my point of view please read the above documents and give consideration to the following accepted facts.. !
Employment history with Bradford Council.
Firstly I was a loyal and proficient employee for more than a decade with an
altruistic mannerism and incomparable approach to fairness. My attendance record
was second to none in addition to an exemplary sickness and disciplinary record.
Truth is there was never an alternative to my dismissal given the evidence put forward in my own defence. I implicated the Principal Officer, District and Deputy District managers of collusion with documented evidence. I noted inept witnesses, a bias investigation coupled with manipulation of facts. Even if management took the view all evidence against was truthful (and I don't for one minute) I would suggest the punishment on this occasion was too harsh given the circumstances, and therefore my dismissal was a forgone conclusion.
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(3)
Formal Grievance 30/11/2009
(4)
Formal Grievance 26/04/2010
(5)
Appeal against dismissal 17/10/2010
(6) Appeal against grievance outcome 01/10/2010