Question
After I respectfully challenged a manager on contradictory instructions, they publicly humiliated me in team meetings and verbally abused me for 30 minutes on a one-to-one call, personally attacking my abilities without concrete examples.
They didn’t allow me to get a word in to defend my position. This is despite never raising any issues with me during numerous one-to-one calls.
I went to HR and made a complaint, but found out that the manager had been let go from the company. However, HR never addressed my complaint and it has left me feeling demotivated and disrespected.
I have also essentially been doing the work of three people, and I’m highly stressed and never able to shut off.
What rights, if any, do I have?
I have also since handed in my notice but have been informed by the department head that they will be implementing a non-compete clause in my contract, saying I cannot work somewhere else for six months, is this enforceable?
Answer
We spoke to those working in human resources and employment law to gain an insight as to how they would manage this multifaceted query.
In ideal circumstances, HR would have offered the opportunity to lodge a formal complaint, says independent HR consultant and workplace investigator, Michelle Halloran, of Halloran HR Resolutions.
“If it happened as described, that’s totally inappropriate. Behaviour that has the effect of undermining, demeaning or making a person feel humiliated at their place of work is the definition of bullying,” she says.
“Hopefully the manager leaving resolves the inappropriate treatment in a way, but it doesn’t let the company off the hook,” she says, adding that the affected employee could insist on an investigation.
Any problems with an employee’s performance should be dealt with respectfully, calmly and in private, referring to specific facts rather than a personal attack, she says.
An awful lot of health and safety officers still only learn physical health or safety
— Michelle Halloran, Halloran HR Resolutions
Given that the manager has departed the company, they can be invited to participate in order to gain closure for the affected employee, but they cannot be obliged to partake in any investigation surrounding the complaint.
“Aside from that, I would recommend a sit-down with the current manager for a stress risk assessment. The manager might have gone, but has the workload issue been fixed?” she says.
Halloran says many companies do not understand how to respond to allegations of work-related stress, though there is a guide for employers on the Health and Safety Authority’s website which may be useful.
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“An awful lot of health and safety officers still only learn physical health or safety,” she says, adding that the problem “tends to fall between two stools”.
The ideal recourse for someone on the receiving end of inappropriate treatment is never having to work with that person again, says Anne O’Connell, principal of employment law firm AOC Solicitors.
Receiving damages for bullying in the workplace in general is no easy feat, she says, unless there is a diagnosed injury as a result.
Even with that, it must have been “reasonably foreseeable” for the employer that their behaviour could have caused the diagnosed injury.
Obviously it is critical to read the contract, but the enforceability of a non-compete clause depends on how broad it is, she says, adding that time limits usually come with a geographical limitation.
First and foremost, O’Connell recommends seeking legal advice on the clause being imposed, as it may or may not be reasonable.
In addition to a reasonable time frame and radius, it often depends on the type of work or sector involved, she says.
For example, an employee who has a significant number of contacts and expertise in a niche area may be subject to a non-compete clause to protect the business they are leaving.
“For it to be enforceable, it needs to be limited in geography, time, and also in relation to the role itself,” she says.
Again, she stresses that all limitations must be reasonable.
“If it’s six months and they’re a hairdresser for example, a one-mile radius might not be fair, depending on where that radius is,” she says.
If you have a work-related question you’d like to ask our team of experts, from how to deal with difficult colleagues and big workloads to career progression, you can submit your question in the form below.
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