This is one of those should I or shouldnt I posts, but here goes…
A couple of months ago, I posted on here that the unit I work on (NHS mental health rehab ward) is being decommissioned and will close in March next year. Since then, I have been acting as ward manager due to staff sickness, with no support, guidance or supervision. As often happens in these circumstances, the staff on the ward have all turned on one another, forming destructive little cliques and apportioning ‘blame’ where they see fit, mainly at me at the moment, as I’m fairly new to the ward and the rest of the staff have worked together for years. I was approached by one member of staff about a month ago, who advised me to ‘watch my back’ as some of the staff had openly stated they would attempt to ‘get rid of me’. I initially put this down to gossip and the kind of bitching and backbiting that sadly goes on in these settings, and ignored it. However, it soon became obvious that things werent right, there were numerous occasions when staff chose to ignore me and go straight to other members of staff, in effect keeping me very much out of the loop. I discussed the matter with my line manager, who more or less stated that as the ward was closing, I should keep my head down and just get on with it. About a week after this, I recieved a message from my line managers secretary that she (the manager) wanted to see me the following morning at 0900, with no indication what it was about. When I got to see her, she told me, in a very blase manner, that a student nurse on the ward had made an official complaint about myself and another staff nurse, and was very vague about the nature of the complaint, stating ‘she’s trying to say you were unsupportive and bullying’. I was obviously upset about this, but was again told ‘dont worry about it, you’re not being suspended or anything, we just have to follow these things through’. Then, almost as an aside, she told me to ‘get union representation, just in case’. Since then, I have had to work in an atmosphere where everyone is aware of this accusation, is openly discussing it, and to be honest, I feel I have been judged as guilty on what is a totally unfounded accusation. To make things worse, as I am not in a union at present, I have been informed that I am not entitled to union representation. Any advice?

Do we have a union rep who posts on here a lot? Yeah, you could say that. By posting you have performed the summoning rite and he will be along shortly.

In the meantime, I’m sorry to hear about your workplace hassle, it sounds very unpleasant. Can you join the union asap and be entitled to support? What is your colleague doing who was also accused? It’s important to have support in these circumstances, so that you’re not on your own.

In a well run, supportive workplace you can rely on your line manager to kick spurious allegations into touch. You’re describing a complete circus of a workplace, though, so it doesn’t sound like you can take anything for granted.

hang on a bit, i am just off to the chippy for some dinner.
then i will get myself comfy……………… 8)

TBH most managers with a reasonable amount of staff to look after will get accused of bullying, being offensive, aggressive etc.

Just make sure you do things by the book & thoroughly record any relevant incidents

I’ve seen you ‘getting comfy’ before ton, in that clip you posted of you and some like minded gents in your undies, and I cant say I’d want to see it again!

Can you join a union now ? If not take someone you trust in with you and admit nowt.

If you join union after an incident then they usually wont get involved in that incident (my sister had that problem) However, you are entitled to take anyone you choose into a formal meeting or involve them in your work matters if you choose (like a union). Where I work, the unions are a bit soft and are all hanging back waiting for management jobs within the trust, so the common practice is to get a proper employment lawyer involved, release a formal statement to your employer and then pick holes in their every ineptitude.

This might sound drastic, but my experience of the NHS is that every body covers each others back and picks out a scapegoat. If you are the scapegoat then nothing will scare them more than taking them out of their comfort zone.

It’ll seem expensive, when paying upfront, but conceder that I pay £15 a month for inept union representation for the last 8 years (over £1400) for little to no help, a few hundred to get it all sorted out seems like a good plan to me…

I used to be a union rep.

Most unions will refuse to help if you only join once you’ve got into bother – and you can’t blame them. Especially if someone is accused of something unpleasant like this.

You need to document your side of the story. Get supporting statements from other members of staff if possible and find a neutral friend or colleague to attend all meetings on the matetr with you and take notes on your behalf/stop you doing anything silly.

so the common practice is to get a proper employment lawyer involved,

Everywhere I’ve worked would only allow union or work colleagues as reps attending internal meetings

Hmmmm….

Has your Trust recently updated its Bullying and Harrassment policy by any chance?

I ask because I’ve seen a colleague become the subject of a similar accusation and it didn’t end well.

Write everything down, everything. Times names dates, everything.

It’s a classic situation; you’re not liked, not part of the team, and in a position to become an object of dislike. Using a student nurse to make a wooly accusation is almost perfect; whoever put her up to it wont be in the room when the thing is examined, and she/he will end up getting as much grief as you.

As above, if you can’t get good union representation, I’d be tempted to pay for a good employment lawyer and throw the book at them.

If you haven’t done anything wrong, then they can’t possibly prove it, so you have nothing to worry about.

Somebody flung an accusation at me once on the way out of their job (not one of my staff somebody I supervised on a project). I knew it wasn’t true so took a deep breath and calmly stood my ground, tried not to take it personally. All came to nothing as no proof.

I went out the next day and joined my professional association !

Unions won’t represent you until you have been paying subs for 3 months which is fair dos really.

So I feel for you mate, and Don’t Panic !!

If you haven’t done anything wrong, then they can’t possibly prove it, so you have nothing to worry about.

Comforting, but in this instance also charmingly naive.

If enough people line up and say ‘yes, he was a bit of a bully’, then whether or not you where becomes unimportant.

I hope lots of you are now going off to join a union, by the way.

You can’t legally discipline/dismiss somebody on hearsay, no matter how many people are saying it. Thats not naive, I have been on both sides of investigations in my time !

But thanks for calling me charming I’ll add that to my list.

But yes mud sticks – and panicking makes you look guilty.

YOu called?

Firstly why on earth in the situation you are in are you not in a union?

I know the union branch I used to be in the local rep ( me ) would provide representation and support but you wouldn’t get the full time officers / professionals if you were a new member. Try asking the reps of both unison and RCN. One might provide local support and join a ruddy union now.

AS regards this meeting – go in to it but be prepared to say that you are stopping the meeting to seek representation if it turns nasty. Will the person who warned you support you in front of the manager? Any investigation into alleged bullying statements should be taken from a number of staff – suggest to the manager this person is one of the people interviewed.

You of course are actually the victim of bullying here by the junior staff. It does happen. Counter disciplinary against them?

Are you being paid for the acting up grade? If not you should be.

I would be tempted with a grievance for the lack of support and supervision – there will be policies on this that your manager is in breach of.

Its extremely unlikely you will have any disciplinary action taken against you on the basis of unsubstantiated claims.

Your local law centre / CAB type place can provide representation support and advice.

Good luck – I was in a similar situation that was badly handled ( by me as well). Use my email if you want further advice

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/health/bullying

http://www.tuc.org.uk/

Stick their head down the toilet and say if they ever grass you up again, they won’t be coming up for air….

Needs must; needs must.

TJ+1

i had some excellent support and advice from the RCN when i needed it.

fingers crossed for you B’mitch, its a horrible situation being falsely accused!

Cheers TJ, Phil – elf, that’s what got me into this mess in the first place 😉

This will be tghe first of many similar incidents a speople look to take hostages or destroy peoples careers , due to them loosing their jobs.

Sadly the OP seems to have done nothing wrong, just been neglected by management.

Best wishes to you sir.

Well there’s a surprise 🙄 – I’ve just recieved two phone calls. The first was my line manager ‘just checking to see if you’re ok chuck’, the second was the RCN rep calling back to say he can offer ‘support’ but the difficulty is, he’s already been informed about the situation from several members of staff. This looks they’re all now trying to cover their own backs because the situation’s been handled appalingly so far. Another interesting thing to add is that (alledgedly), this same student has previously made complaints of bullying on another two units in the hospital. It’s a complete load of arse, but at the minute, I’m stuck in the middle of it. Seeking legal advice seems the best bet at the minute.

Find any record you have of support given to the student, items signed for, appraisals, email or if you have any records of meetings then use these. If you provide enough evidence you’ll be fine, just gone through the same thing and it got shot down in flames due to me having records. Added to that fact that the person involved never made any allegations and stated I had been very supportice through out.

It’s a horrible thing to go trough and even more so if it’s blatant lies. Good luck and keep your spirits high. Never let the bastards grind you down.

If you’re a nurse, join the RCN. Don’t committ anything to paper unless it is seen by your union rep. Any further meetings with manager get arranged at times that suit you & your rep.

Ask for any written statement that the student (should) have provided. TBH the student probably shouldn’t do any more of her placement on your unit, or indeed at your hospital.

Go sick and accuse your Manager of not supporting you 😉

union rep mail in profile e-mail me for advice etc Unison wont eoither TJ wont support on an ongoing dispute and we cannot even attend hearings for a friend outaide unions duities as mgmt wont recognise us
1. get hold of the procedure they will be following and make sure they adhere to every aspsect of this – probably based around the ACAS code
2. Get hold of the complaint you have the right to see this

Bullyoing is hard to prove and the previous allegations will cloud this ticking off anf training offered even if guilty so dont be overly worried but dont take it either
The rest I will do off line if you want to e-mail me and TJ in as well we can pool opinions