Work Problem

LegacyUser

due to the nature of this and fear of being identified, i can't post this in the work problems section as people know my username, so hopefully it is ok here

this is a bit of an odd problem but its been eating at me for a while.

last year a colleague of mine was suspended and subsequently fired having worked here for around 8 years. he was accused of working for a competitor and was fired.i believe it was claimed that this was gross misconduct. he had an unblemished record here prior to this.

the company he was accused of working for is run by his wife and is in fact not a competitor, but thats not how our boss saw it. he completely denied working for his wife, who i believe was only in the process of setting up a business. long story short, the whole case is up in front of the EAT and i believe he is also going to court seperately.

fast forward a couple of months to the christmas party.
another colleague of mine who happens to be the boss's best friend and has worked here for years (he has a history of hiring mainly friends) had a complaint made against him by a female collegue who he touched/groped at the christmas party. i don't know what happened to him but i believe he was spoken to about the incident. he is still sitting near me.

now i like this guy and i think that was a pure moment of madness but in my eyes (and in some of my other colleagues eyes), this was gross misconduct.yet he wasn't even suspended.

but my above mentioned colleague was suspended and fired for doing nothing.

the reason i'm writing this is because firstly i was upset when he was fired, particularly as it was really for no reason, but then for the incident at the Christmas party to happen, with his friend involved and for him not even to be given a suspension. i'm so annoyed about this. i don't know whether i should be making a complaint to anyone about this such as employment rights people etc.

the colleague that was fired i'm sure doesnt even know about the christmas incident. i'm not sure whether i should tell him or not.

it's frustrating sitting here knowing what has happened. we are a small company with about 15 staff so everyone knows everything that goes on.

sorry, i just needed to rant and am hoping for some advice. i find it very difficult to work here under these circumstances

dudara

OP - you can post anonymously in the Work Problems forum, so we can move this thread there if you'd like. I'm also happy for it to stay in Personal Issues.

MrWalsh

So basically you dont like the management ethics of the company.

From the managements point of view - they got rid of someone they suspected of working for a competitor - to their mind this could have threatened the company itself. An ongoing issue and probably not going to go away as it was his wives company. This would be seen as a breach of trust.

And they kept someone who didnt threaten the company but who behaved badly towards another staff member - while under the influence of alcohol. A one off incident silly drunken incident.

Clearly you feel the first guy shouldnt have been punished and the second guy should have been punished more severely?

Unfortunately you dont have any control over how management choose to handle staff issues and if you dont like the company culture or ethics - then really all you can do is look elsewhere.

LegacyUser

MrWalsh wrote: »

Unfortunately you dont have any control over how management choose to handle staff issues and if you dont like the company culture or ethics - then really all you can do is look elsewhere.

There is no causality / dependency between the two issues.
They are entirely separate.
OP referencing them together or telling other parties about them is not going to have any desired or preferable outcome for you or any other alleged "wronged" party.

As to how the company deals with staff matters is out of your control.
If you are uncomfortable with this it leaves you two choices 1) let it go and chalk it up to experience or 2) seek employment elsewhere.

LegacyUser

MrWalsh wrote: »

So basically you dont like the management ethics of the company.

From the managements point of view - they got rid of someone they suspected of working for a competitor - to their mind this could have threatened the company itself. An ongoing issue and probably not going to go away as it was his wives company. This would be seen as a breach of trust.

And they kept someone who didnt threaten the company but who behaved badly towards another staff member - while under the influence of alcohol. A one off incident silly drunken incident.

Clearly you feel the first guy shouldnt have been punished and the second guy should have been punished more severely?

Unfortunately you dont have any control over how management choose to handle staff issues and if you dont like the company culture or ethics - then really all you can do is look elsewhere.

Thanks Dudara. Didn't realise I could post anonymously over there. Maybe best moved?

In relation to my colleague being fired. The issue there is that firstly his wife's company it's a competitor and secondly he wasn't actually working there. So effectively he was fired because he is marrie to someone who owns a company. Anyway that one is for the courts to decide.

The second person sexually harassed a colleague. That's clear. Yet he wasn't officially reprimanded. Warning, suspension, investigation etc.

To me, as a woman, this is very c

MagicMarker

MrWalsh wrote: »

And they kept someone who didnt threaten the company but who behaved badly towards another staff member - while under the influence of alcohol. A one off incident silly drunken incident.

Are you seriously trying to downplay a sexual assault on a woman?

MrWalsh

workishprob wrote: »

...a complaint made against him by a female collegue who he touched/groped at the christmas party. i don't know what happened to him but i believe he was spoken to about the incident.

Workishprob wrote: »

The second person sexually harassed a colleague. That's clear. Yet he wasn't officially reprimanded. Warning, suspension, investigation etc.

But you said you dont know what happened to him - how do you know he wasnt officially reprimanded - he is hardly going to announce that he has been warned for groping someone is he?

And anyway, its not really any of your business. As I already said above, if you dont like the company culture or way of dealing with staff then you can leave or you can get on with it.

Im not really sure what else you think you can do? You dont run the company, you dont make the policies.

And that you are a woman working there, well if the guy does anything out of line then you can make a complaint against him.

meeeeh

The first incident is before the courts and for them to decide. About the second one you can make a complaint to the company HR. With 15 employees I suspect it is your boss and they have to follow a procedure. If you intend to do something you should probably first talk to the co-worker that was groped.

Incidents are completely unconnected and frankly the first one is none of your business, the second one is if you feel that company is not dealing with sexual harassment properly.

IlmoNT4

OP neither of these of incidents are any of your business. You dont have the full facts, you have office gossip etc which is never to be believed.

You have two choices...if you dont like how the company is run, then find another job

Other wise, stay out of it, and get on with your job.

If you present yourself to HR/your manager with this, they'll tell you that they cant discuss either incident with you and that you should return to work.

shaymus27

You seem to have a sense of fairness and are upset by the apparent unfairness of what has happened.

To me it is ultimately about legalities.

The first one is being treated as a legal issue and is being dealt with properly.

If someone drunkenly made a racial comment to someone it would still be treated as a big issue so groping a woman is an even bigger issue.

It's up to the woman in question to pursue the matter further. I don't know how you can pursue it. It's possible she may have sought legal opinion already.

You could talk to the woman and offer her your support but ultimately there's nothing you can do to right something you believe is an unjust thing.

I am concerned that your focus is on the comparison of the two events or letting the first party know how the second event was handled rather than just the woman's experience in itself.

I don't have all the facts, have no legal qualifications and am just offering opinion.

Wompa1

I've quit two jobs over feeling I needed to on principal of how colleagues were treated. It's a luxury I can afford since I don't have a family. If you are in a sound situation in your personal and financials life, why not find another job?

In then end, I'm happy that I stood by my principals.