- Original Poster
- #1
Hello,
My name is Robin and I work in the Civil Service. Up until 12 months ago, all was fine at work until a new Line Manager came along. This new Line Manager happens to be a military Line Manager.
On the 1st July of this year, he called myself and my colleague into what seemed to be a harmless section meeting. However, I have always felt uncomfortable where my Line Manager is concerned and my colleague feels exactly the same way as I do.
At one point during this meeting, already feeling edgy and uncomfortable, my Line Manager begun to talk about an issue, what it was escapes me now but I made the mistake of interrupting him and his voice raised to a level that I personally deemed to be unacceptable and I got out of my seat, told him that I wasn't going to be spoken to in such a way and left the room.
I admit I was wrong to interrupt him, but there was no need for him to raise the tone of his voice. I feel threatened by his presence, regardless of what occurred during the meeting and he is extremely intimidating. I am a man of a certain nervous disposition and I do feel threatened or intimidated by some people because of the way they come over in their behaviour toward me.
When this section meeting had finished, my Line Manager sent a letter to myself and my colleague, explaining we would be having a meeting to decide whether or not to instigate us both on restoring efficiency. The Line Manager during the meeting actually made up his mind before the meeting begun what he was going to do, which was a shade unfair as the judgment was made without either myself or my colleague being able to give a fair judgment first about our work performance. My Line Manager decided we were to go on restoring efficiency and that was that, but the reasons were very laughable and our Trade Union may even quash this. They seem to be on our side as the restoring efficiency might not be safe in the terms it was awarded and secondly, our Line Manager may not be even qualified to manage us.
I did send my Line Manager an email, explaining to him that at the last meeting I had before this particular meeting, I felt intimidated by his methods and also I did feel threatened. My Line Manager explained to me that threatening behaviour is when you act through a physical means. I don't believe this as I believe it can be done verbally as well. What needs to be remembered is that people have certain limits and that whilst one person may tolerate being spoken to in a direct and authoritarian manner, it might make someone else feel uneasy and make them feel threatened or intimidated, as it does myself.
Nevertheless, I received an e-mail from my Line Manager, saying he wanted to see me in the SWO's office at 1130am on 3rd August 2010. Some of the email text had been emboldened and not long before the meeting begun, I found out that my Line Manager had taken in two independent witnesses. At this point, I knew it wasn't going to be good news. Anyhow, I went along with all the will in the world and basically, when I was in there, my Line Manager told me that I had accused him of going against Equality and Diversity and he even begun to get out a dictionary and ask me what the terms intimidation and threatening actually meant. At this point, I found the situation demeaning and humiliating and asked him not to. He was basically saying he was within his rights to do what he did and was criticising the way in which I acted toward him.
My Line Manager told me I was also wrong to go behind his back and go to the PPPA about matters which concerned me from the first meeting and said I should have come to him.
I seemed to recall during the original meeting on the 1st July that he did mention the fact he needed to adopt a certain tone when speaking to his staff but my Line Manager denied this. I could almost swear he said it but I suppose its my word against his on that point.
My Line Manager then said he had to respond to the email I sent to him, even though I asked him not to do so originally before the meeting regarding the restoring efficiency because I just wanted him to reflect on the way I interpreted the meeting on the 1 Jul 2010, as I thought it was just a simple email to express my feelings on the matter. After the restoring efficiency meeting, I assumed that was that. On 3 Aug 2010, I received an email about going to his office to have the meeting to discuss the email I sent to him.
As far as I know, harrassment can come in many forms and its not at all always physical, it can be mental, verbal or indeed, you can feel threatened just by being in somebody's presence. Therefore, I believe my Line Manager is wrong on this aspect and he cannot turn around and say that he wasn't intimidating because when Line Managers speak to their staff, they sometimes don't realise that the way they speak to their staff has a very negative effect on them, even if they think they are speaking in a way that they deem acceptable because not everyone likes a direct, authoritarian approach and I happen to be one of those people.
Equality And Diversity is where people are treated unfairly - well, if my Line Manager can turn around and say I've made false allegations against him, I can certainly put in a case for the way he treated me when he wanted to discuss the email I sent to him as he humiliated me and left me feeling uneasy, especially the business when he got out the dictionary and asked me if I wanted to look up the meaning of intimidation and threatening.
What are your views on this and what do you think I should do?
My name is Robin and I work in the Civil Service. Up until 12 months ago, all was fine at work until a new Line Manager came along. This new Line Manager happens to be a military Line Manager.
On the 1st July of this year, he called myself and my colleague into what seemed to be a harmless section meeting. However, I have always felt uncomfortable where my Line Manager is concerned and my colleague feels exactly the same way as I do.
At one point during this meeting, already feeling edgy and uncomfortable, my Line Manager begun to talk about an issue, what it was escapes me now but I made the mistake of interrupting him and his voice raised to a level that I personally deemed to be unacceptable and I got out of my seat, told him that I wasn't going to be spoken to in such a way and left the room.
I admit I was wrong to interrupt him, but there was no need for him to raise the tone of his voice. I feel threatened by his presence, regardless of what occurred during the meeting and he is extremely intimidating. I am a man of a certain nervous disposition and I do feel threatened or intimidated by some people because of the way they come over in their behaviour toward me.
When this section meeting had finished, my Line Manager sent a letter to myself and my colleague, explaining we would be having a meeting to decide whether or not to instigate us both on restoring efficiency. The Line Manager during the meeting actually made up his mind before the meeting begun what he was going to do, which was a shade unfair as the judgment was made without either myself or my colleague being able to give a fair judgment first about our work performance. My Line Manager decided we were to go on restoring efficiency and that was that, but the reasons were very laughable and our Trade Union may even quash this. They seem to be on our side as the restoring efficiency might not be safe in the terms it was awarded and secondly, our Line Manager may not be even qualified to manage us.
I did send my Line Manager an email, explaining to him that at the last meeting I had before this particular meeting, I felt intimidated by his methods and also I did feel threatened. My Line Manager explained to me that threatening behaviour is when you act through a physical means. I don't believe this as I believe it can be done verbally as well. What needs to be remembered is that people have certain limits and that whilst one person may tolerate being spoken to in a direct and authoritarian manner, it might make someone else feel uneasy and make them feel threatened or intimidated, as it does myself.
Nevertheless, I received an e-mail from my Line Manager, saying he wanted to see me in the SWO's office at 1130am on 3rd August 2010. Some of the email text had been emboldened and not long before the meeting begun, I found out that my Line Manager had taken in two independent witnesses. At this point, I knew it wasn't going to be good news. Anyhow, I went along with all the will in the world and basically, when I was in there, my Line Manager told me that I had accused him of going against Equality and Diversity and he even begun to get out a dictionary and ask me what the terms intimidation and threatening actually meant. At this point, I found the situation demeaning and humiliating and asked him not to. He was basically saying he was within his rights to do what he did and was criticising the way in which I acted toward him.
My Line Manager told me I was also wrong to go behind his back and go to the PPPA about matters which concerned me from the first meeting and said I should have come to him.
I seemed to recall during the original meeting on the 1st July that he did mention the fact he needed to adopt a certain tone when speaking to his staff but my Line Manager denied this. I could almost swear he said it but I suppose its my word against his on that point.
My Line Manager then said he had to respond to the email I sent to him, even though I asked him not to do so originally before the meeting regarding the restoring efficiency because I just wanted him to reflect on the way I interpreted the meeting on the 1 Jul 2010, as I thought it was just a simple email to express my feelings on the matter. After the restoring efficiency meeting, I assumed that was that. On 3 Aug 2010, I received an email about going to his office to have the meeting to discuss the email I sent to him.
As far as I know, harrassment can come in many forms and its not at all always physical, it can be mental, verbal or indeed, you can feel threatened just by being in somebody's presence. Therefore, I believe my Line Manager is wrong on this aspect and he cannot turn around and say that he wasn't intimidating because when Line Managers speak to their staff, they sometimes don't realise that the way they speak to their staff has a very negative effect on them, even if they think they are speaking in a way that they deem acceptable because not everyone likes a direct, authoritarian approach and I happen to be one of those people.
Equality And Diversity is where people are treated unfairly - well, if my Line Manager can turn around and say I've made false allegations against him, I can certainly put in a case for the way he treated me when he wanted to discuss the email I sent to him as he humiliated me and left me feeling uneasy, especially the business when he got out the dictionary and asked me if I wanted to look up the meaning of intimidation and threatening.
What are your views on this and what do you think I should do?
