This complaint was brought by the Complainant following her treatment by the Respondent line manager which she argued was bullying and harassment following a series of incidents. In one specific incident where the Complainant queried certain forms used by the company, the line manager approached her aggressively and stated that she had irritated him with her questions and he swore at her. The Complainant said that this type of behaviour was common.

In October 2017, the line manager asked her into his office and pointed out her mistakes in care plans which were uploaded to the manufacturer. The Complainant added that other people were making mistakes, but she was the only one getting the blame for them. Another somewhat disturbing incident involved the line manager showing staff pornographic images on his phone. The line manager would also make smart remarks about colleagues’ private lives.

The Complainant felt that she had no option but to go on sick leave. On her return to work the line manager later greeted her by saying that the office was ‘great’ in her absence. Subsequently, the Complainant handed in her notice and said that she had had enough of working in this ‘toxic atmosphere’.

The Respondent referred to the investigation carried out into the Complainant’s issues. It did not accept that the worker was bullied or harassed by her line manager or at the workplace. The Respondent stated that the Complainant was ‘incapable of doing her job and her performance standard was way below that of her colleagues'.

The Adjudication Officer noted that there was little documentary evidence in support of the Respondent’s criticisms of the Complainants performance in work. Consequently, the Respondent was ordered to pay the Complainant redress in the sum of €5,000.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2020/june/adj-00017937.html