Can work deprivation be called bullying?

bizguy

Herself has been working in a company for over 2 years, during this time they've starved her of work to the point of her being on stress leave for a few weeks. She has repeatedly begged her boss and HR department to rectify the situation but still nothing has been done. Unpaid leave has also been denied. Does this fall under "bullying" and could she threaten them with legal action/force redundancy?

mikemac

Have there ever been issues with her performance?

We had a guy and he was very poor, constant mistakes and terrible appraisals and eventually got put in a corner filing and doing other basic things.

I'm not saying she's poor, just a fair question.

MagicMarker

You probably need to clarify what you mean by ''starved her of work''.

bizguy

feelingstressed wrote: »

Have there ever been issues with her performance?

We had a guy and he was very poor, constant mistakes and terrible appraisals and eventually got put in a corner filing and doing other basic things.

I'm not saying she's poor, just a fair question.

Good question, from day 1 to present day, she has been "significantly above target" and has received written reviews saying same and bonuses to match!

MagicMarker wrote: »

You probably need to clarify what you mean by ''starved her of work''.

2 hours work in a 40 hour week, every week. Spends 38 hours a week on the internet. Promised that things will be different but they never materialise. Job description revised last year, now aligned to a company product that won't exist until 2013 at best.

listermint

well tbh with that little amount of work she is lucky they are paying a wage at all. surprised they can afford to keep her on.

is it a big company?

bizguy

listermint wrote: »

well tbh with that little amount of work she is lucky they are paying a wage at all. surprised they can afford to keep her on.

is it a big company?

Roughly 50 employees. Most staff are working around 20 hours a week out of 40, all on an excellent salary (40k +) in a place well outside a southern town (not in Dublin). The novelty of doing nothing wore off after the first 30 days.

listermint

bizguy wrote: »

Roughly 50 employees. Most staff are working around 20 hours a week out of 40, all on an excellent salary (40k +) in a place well outside a southern town (not in Dublin). The novelty of doing nothing wore off after the first 30 days.

yeah that can happen, but i dont believe there is any 'discrimination' with this case. More boredom.

She may have to look for other jobs as I dont believe a lack of work constitutes and sort of case for bullying. Especially these days, people could stick someone in a corner a few years ago and have them file away. Most companies of this size certainly wouldnt have the money to allow this go on.

She would be far more bored on the dole queue. I would suggest if she feels underutilised to scope out where he expertise may be used in other areas of the business. Possibly try to look into obtainining new opportunites for the company as a whole in other areas, or be on the lookout for another position that she feels matches what she is qualified to do.

best of luck OP

jimoc

Can I have her job, I'd love to get payed that for 2 hours a week

In all seriousness though, why not take up an online course or something like that, instead of just tooling around on the internet?

jimoc

jimoc wrote: »

Can I have her job, I'd love to get payed that for 2 hours a week

In all seriousness though, why not take up an online course or something like that, instead of just tooling around on the internet?

Easier said than done, though. I have a similar issue re lack of work but I still have to look like I'm doing the work I was given (when I complain about being bored I'm told to recheck what I've done and other boring/pointless stuff) so I can't really properly get into anything online. I just flick around on news sites and Boards, and obviously look for another job. Doing a course wouldn't be practical, as I still need to talk to colleagues and join in conversations. I know a of people say they'd love to have nothing to do but in reality it's soul destroying and demoralising. I'd rather be run off my feet all day than be bored.

tenchi-fan

Is she actually being bullied or victimised?

To be honest, when someone takes stress leave they're unlikely to be lumbered with more work. It's possible she even lost some responsibilities while out on sick leave.. One of the other work-hungry employees snapped them up! How can she be trusted with more work if there's a chance she'll get stressed out again and disappear for another few weeks?

And you've heard the expression, if you want something done, give it to a busy person.

However, when life gives you lemons.. she's on a good salary, has 38 hours a week to do an online course (she could pay for it herself, and get her managers blessing to do it during work hours). The product that won't exist for a couple of years, but surely it's good that she's involved in a product launch? She could take on a few pet projects at work, either improving an existing system, or use the internet to research something that would be beneficial to the company.

looksee

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Is she actually being bullied or victimised?

To be honest, when someone takes stress leave they're unlikely to be lumbered with more work. It's possible she even lost some responsibilities while out on sick leave.. One of the other work-hungry employees snapped them up! How can she be trusted with more work if there's a chance she'll get stressed out again and disappear for another few weeks?

And you've heard the expression, if you want something done, give it to a busy person.

However, when life gives you lemons.. she's on a good salary, has 38 hours a week to do an online course (she could pay for it herself, and get her managers blessing to do it during work hours). The product that won't exist for a couple of years, but surely it's good that she's involved in a product launch? She could take on a few pet projects at work, either improving an existing system, or use the internet to research something that would be beneficial to the company.

While it is difficult to understand how a firm can afford to pay people to do nothing, I can readily believe that serious underwork could lead to that level of stress. She would be less stressed if she had more work. There is nothing more depressing and exhausting for a person with an interest in their job, and a lively mind, to spend days just trying to pass time.

It is also not all that easy to 'make' useful work for yourself. I think possibly trying to gain some sort of qualification or expertise would be the best course of action. If it were something that could be considered relevant to the business or the proposed new product it would be more credible if anyone queried what she was doing. Though by the sound of it no-one will care.

Its a peculiar situation and presumably there is some sort of politics going on at a higher level, but I don't think it could be considered bullying.

JJJJNR

Maybe she should go to counseling, or take up a hobby like running or an impact sport.

Mrs OBumble

I suspect that it could be defined as bullying - but really can't see how applying that label to the discussion with HR would make any helpful change to the situation. It would just make her be seen as volatile.

I'm assuming that she's some kind of professional who the company are very keen to keep around because she'll be useful in the future (2013), but just don't have the work for now. If that's true, then I'd suggest that she gets involved with a professional organisation (either locally or on-line) and that the company makes a substantial contribution (of her time) towards doing something that the organisation wants done.

Another option is that she's got enough evidence (of something in the past) to sue for constructive dismissal, so they're too scared to make her redundant or to tell the truth in her reviews. This is the hardest case, she needs to find a way to negotiate a settlement that gets her officially redundant without exposing the company to risk of being sued. Consult a lawyer.

Hmm ... I guess there's a third option that she is one of those brilliant people who can do in 15 minutes what takes the rest of us 3 hours. (Yes, I have met a few ... very few, but they do exist.) In which case I'd suggest she undertakes some serious study (during work hours no less), and when she's finished that Masters or PHD she looks for another job.

mood

jimoc wrote: »

Can I have her job, I'd love to get payed that for 2 hours a week

In all seriousness though, why not take up an online course or something like that, instead of just tooling around on the internet?

+1