After being harassed at work for several years, an incidenr tipped me over.
Like all employers mine has an anti-bullying policy which states that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated. There is a grievance policy which will lead to investigation and if upheld there are repercussions.
However it does not seem to apply to management.
Various iincidents occurred, culminating in me taking out a case with the support of my trade union. When the CEO of the charity I work for got the papers about the case, he said he was 'appalled at the way I have been treated' However this was in a 'protected' conversation. He has now offered a considerable sum of money for me to leave as a 'Settlement Agreement' to leave my job. This sort of thing has happened in the past to others with disabilities. They offer money to avoid the bad publicity, in other words to be able to continue to break the law by discriminating against disabled people and removing them from rheir employment.
I only have two and a half years before retirement, and naturally all finances were arranged with this in mind - pension, paying off mortgage, maintaining myself. There is little chance of me getting further employment.
The sum, although very substantial, will not maintain me for this time.After paying the mortgage in full I will be left with a hundred pounds a week to live on using the money, and this will have to support not only me but my wife as well. Take from this the council tax, the service charge for the property, gas and electricity and I am left with about twenty pounds a week for food transport and other expenses. My pension is also greatly affected because contributions will not be made.Even with the humilliation of signing on at the unemployment exchange I will be many times worse off even considering the sum than I am presently.
I have had legal advice to accept the offer as otherwise I could end up with nothing if the tribunal thought the offer was fair, a chance I am not prepared to take.
My point about this post is that an employer can break laws regarding discrimination, pay a sum of money in an out of court settlement, and then be free to do the same again. The employer keeps away from bad publicity, is free to do the same to others while the person who suffered the discrimination suffers for the rest of their life.
This is the just and understanding society we live in!
