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Is this Bullying or Harassment |
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Larry61au ![]() Newbie ![]() ![]() Joined: 09/May/2013 Location: Australia Posts: 1 |
![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: 20/November/2018 at 00:11 |
Hi and thanks in advance to any help received
My Partner is having trouble at work and would like opinions as what action to take Being Employed for nearly 3 years she has had some issues with health and i am concerned some of these are work related and caused buy harassment. She has taken sick leave to the extent of not having any sick leave left and some unpayed days . All these health issues have been authenticated with Doctors certificates . She is in a service technician role as stated for 3 years and has recently been asked to attend a meeting concerning her absence and performance . They changed her familiar run with another unfamiliar to her . This is causing her slight stress and due to her not knowing the area , parking arrangements and customer needs this is slowing her down and she isnt performing at her usual capacity . She has mentioned this on several occasions to her supervisor and has been told if you don't like it leave. This response is concerning to me and makes her feel not wanted in ways understandably . This is not a response i would expect or like to hear myself. She was asked to attend a meeting with a higher manager plus the supervisor and in that meeting was told that enough was enough and she was letting down the team . Also more alarming was that she was told that other employees had resigned because of her absence due to her health issues. Not knowing the law i find this disgraceful and undue accusations . She has notice in the work environment that nobody will talk to her anymore and feels alienated . Why so i ask . It seems obvious to me .Now moving on to the performance based accusations. Prior to the new unfamiliar run given to her she achieved all but a few monthly bonuses that are granted due to KPIs being completed . This to me would suggest her performance prior to this was satisfactory . The manager also suggested she could resign if she liked ...more pressure applied and unsatisfactory to me. She isn't familiar with workplace laws and feels she has to deal with whatever they seem to dish up.I disagree . They have told her to make a decision by Friday with another meeting and this creates in my eyes more pressure that i am afraid will have more effects on her health . Is this normal practice? Should she be subjected to this form of unprofessional behavior, criticism and accusations ? I have also looked at her work load and calculating the daily KPIs recently given suggests and unachievable and unrealistic achievable target. How can i help her and do i have genuine concern on the way she is being treated Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks in advance Larry . |
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citizen-joe ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 09/October/2005 Location: Australia Posts: 692 |
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Hi Larry, clearly there is problem, but I'm not sure that it could be defined as Bullying or Harassment. Her employers are entitled to set a level of attainment they expect from their staff and they are entitled to have meetings with those they believe are not achieving that level. But the big question is, how realistic is the level expected.
Now an individual worker has their back to the wall when discussing such matters with their employer. This is why unions exist. Is your partner in a union? Also it is not up to her to resign, if they believe she is not performing at the level they expect they can dismiss her, but they have to be able to prove that she was not performing appropriately in any unfair dismissal case that she should bring. A union is a good ally in any such case. Another question to consider is, is the job worth it? is it a skilled job, or could anyone do it? How's the pay rate, what other opportunities are available in your area? Others will probably make some comments here, often they take a bit of time replying, so don't rush off and act immediately. Remember the ball is in the employers court so do't be forced into resigning unless she wants too. |
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smurfergirl ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 18/August/2010 Location: Australia Posts: 532 |
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Have a look into constructive dismissal, which is illegal.
This is the correct category for this scenario. |
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