Rights Commissioner -right route?

P

Paddylast

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A friend has been sidelined from his position within his office - boss has been ignoring him for months. Has now begun giving his duties to another person in the office with the result that most of his work is now being done by someone else. He is under terrible stress. I have advised him to report this to his HR manager. Unfortunately, he works with a very small company and the HR dept consists of one person who is not the most approachable.
Frankly I believe he is being bullied but he is afraid to accuse his boss of this as he thinks he must be prepared to leave the company if he does so. The man is now in his 40s and is feeling very vulnerable. No union in this company either.

Could he take his case to a Rights Commissioner? Is this the correct route?
 
Thank you for that information Crumdub12. Will certainly let you know if he get something back on this. He is reluctant to go the bullying route in case it is he that has to leave the job. However, things are so bad now that I think he may have to. Might get him to inquire as to a grievence procedure policy first and see how he gets on with that.
I can't believe such bullying is allowed to go on in the workplace and that the victim should feel he is caught no matter what route he takes.

Will definitely post back.
 
Hi
I have been having a hard time in work too and the best thing that your frined can do is as the previous poster said is to start keeping a diary and write into it on a daily basis of anything that happened. As far as I am aware the Rights Commissoner only realy deals with issues in relation to pay (could be wrong).
If your friend decides to leave work himself due to the bullying then he can take a case of constrcutive dismissal against his employers and he your friend would have to prove this whereas if he is let go from his job and he thinks he has been unfairly treated then he can take a case of unfair dimissal against his employers and it is up to the employers to prove that he has not been unfairly treated. Both cases take about 12 months to be heard. constructive dismissal is apparently quite hard to prove and the compensation that is received is generally the loss of earnings from leaving one job to getting the next. So it is of vital importance to keep diary of events.
 
Thanks mcb. I think the advice about keeping a diary of everything that happens is a good idea. I just feel though that the odds are stacked against him no matter what he does. If he accuses his boss of bullying the two cannot really work together any longer and it will not be the boss that will leave! All very well having legislation but when it is so difficult to prove anything, I can understand why people just put up and shut up. Dreadful to see people suffer like this all due to cowardly bullies.

Will post back if I get some info on the outcome. Might be helpful to others.
 
It sickens me to see what employers can get away with and i think that it is a disgrace that there is no quick solution to these issues. My employer has refused to pay me the past bank holidays and the only route i have to go to is the Rights Commissioner which will take about 6 months to solve and can you imagine the atmosphere in the office?
 
What about the others in your office - have they been paid. If not, why don't all of you get together and approach the problem collectively. Strength in numbers and all that... If you have a case I think your employer would find it difficult to just not pay a group. Join a union, me thinks, that's the option.
 
Hi Paddylast
He paid some of employees and didnt pay others but employer has said to me that he didnt pay anyone but I know different. Really annoying because the employees that didnt get paid for it just go along with it and as long as they do that then employer will get away with treating us this way. But I dont care, I will demand to get paid or else i will take it further. I cant afford to be down a day for the last two weeks. Employer just said that he cant afford to pay us, but that is not my problem and he can afford to pay us, that is bull!
I will do what i have to do, I just find it difficult to be treated like this, extremely frustrating.
 
To the original poster: there is unfortunately no good solution to this, and I would advise leaving such a poisonous environment. If your friend wants to fight it, then definitely keep a diary and go through the grievance process with the company first. However, keep in mind the desired final outcome. Unfortunately legislation in bullying in the workplace is sadly lacking - there are best practice guidelines but absolutely nothing saying that an employer must follow them. Stress can make people ill, so finding an alternative job before your friend's health suffers is the best option. There are definitely better places to work out there.
 


I Appreciate the point you are making, but leaving the job is the aim of employer, why would this be in OPs best interest ....

He needs to check to avenues highlighted, and if he feels incapable, join a Union.

I have said this before, just because an employer does not recognise Unions, because state does, they have a valid role in harrassment cases.
 


I agree unions are extremely useful in such cases. However, the reason why leaving would possibly be in the OP's best interest is that an ongoing situation of stress and unpleasant working conditions is not necessarily going to get fixed by taking a case and can have a significant impact on the OP's health. The legislation is simply not clear or powerful enough to protect the rights of the employee in such cases. If it is a large employer where the employee can move to a different position, then this is a possible solution. Sometimes it is better to cut one's losses and preserve your mental health, but I agree that all avenues need to be examined in order to reach the best way forward.
 
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