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Friends and readers. A reader from Glasgow has asked us if we can elaborate further on the reply we gave to our friend in Dundee.

Of course we are delighted to do so.

Contractual obligations.

1] It is an implied term of every contract of employment that the employer will fulfill his duty of care to employees. Properly constituted and meaningful consultation should examine custom and practice where employer’s changes and impositions occur which are likely to effect conditions of employment and the dignity at work and personal well-being of employees.

2]Employer Responsibilities.

The three principle legal obligations on employers can be summarized as follows.

1]Legal Case:A] Through relevant Health an Safety and Employment law.B] Common Law duty of care.

Moral an Ethical case: A] Not to cause physical and psychological injury.B] Empolyer’s responsibilities for Personal Injury and negligence claims.

Business Case:A] Business benefits to be gained from good working environment and practices.B] Impact and cost to nation,employer and employee of long-term sickness absences.

Work-Life Balance

There is now a greater emphasis on’family-friendly’work policies and recognition of the need for a proper life-work balance for all workers at all levels. Those employers who run rough-shod over employees and care little for their well- being are open to challenge.

Section 2.

Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act places a duty upon all employers to ensure the health[including mental health],safety and welfare of all employees and to create safe and healthy working systems. RIDDOR 95 [Reporting of Injuries,Diseases or Dangerous Occurrences Regulations]. Under RIDDOR, employees have the right to report all incidents of a danger to them,including bullying and harassment. Employers are legally obliged to have reporting proceedures in place. Industrial Injury form B195 available from the Department of Work and Pensions should also be completed.

Management of Health and Safety at Work 1999 [includung the Approved Code of Practice]

This regulation deals with the requirement on employers to assess all risks to the health and safety of employees and to provide them with comprehensive and relevant information on those risks and actions to mitigate those risks. It also requires the employer to take into account individual’s capabilities when assessing the risks.Failure to produce and/or act upon assesments may be evidence of negligence

Negligence and Liability.

Employers must provide a safe place of work,a safe system of work,safe plant and appliances and safe and competent fellow workers. If an employer fails to take reasonable care to protect an employee froma forseeable injury by failing to provide any of the above,he or she could be found to have breached the ‘duty of care’. Redress would be via Cival or Criminal law.

Once again we are delighted to help our readers on these matters.  

Friends and readers. We have been asked by a reader in Dundee if we can post up some of the legislation with regards to Employment in relationship to bullying and harassment.

We are delighted to do so.

1]Employment Rights.

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996,an employee can resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal if they can show a breach of contract, which may include the employer’s failure to provide  reasonable support and a safe working environment.

2]Health and Satety.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers are responsible for ensuring as far as possible,the physical and psychological health,safety and welfare of employees at work,which includes putting in place measures to protect employees from the risk of bullying and harassment.

3]Management of Health and Safety at Work.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992,employers are required to carry out risk assessments to assess the causes of stress at work and introduce measures,as far as practicable,to reduce or prevent it.

4] Vicarious Liability.

Vicarious liability is an important concept in relation to bulying and harassment claims,in that an employer may be found to be vicariously liable for negligent acts or omissions by their employees in the course of employment whether or not such act or omission was specifically authorised by the employer.

The recent case of Majrowski has extended employer’s vicarious liability to bullying and harassment,so they can now be liable in criminal law for the bullying behaviour of their staff.

5]Human Rights

Under article 3 of the Human Rights Act of 1998,inhuman and degrading treatment is prohibited. Employers that do not prevent bullying and harassment outside the context of the equality legislation may therefore be in breach of the Act.

Thanks to our friend in Dundee for his request and we hope the above post is of use.

Friends and readers. We have received a post from a reader in Manchester who tells us that he and his colleagues have been following our campaign to have workplace bullying outlawed.

Our friend is employed in a large local Authority run organisation in central Manchester. He tells us that he and his colleagues are now  much more aware than they were before about the dangers of workplace bullying thanks to Pilton Sucks.

 He tells us that a question was raised at their weekly team meeting regarding the policy of bullying and harassment at work. He was told that the any kind of workplace bullying or harassment of any kind would not be tolerated and that disaplinary procedures would be rigourously enforced.

This is good news indeed and shows that at least this organisation is fully tuned in to the dangers of workplace bullying.This is the third post we have had from different parts of the UK with regards to our campaign and shows that people are now becoming more aware of a potential bully in the workplace.

This spurs us on to continue our campaign to have this workplace disease outlawed and be made a criminal offence. We have seen from our research that in some cases when workplace bullying is brought to the attention of those charged to deal with it, heads are buried in the sand with the hope that the victims give up,or resign their post.

This is not only morally indefensible it is cowardice  in the extreme. Pilton Sucks and other organisations who highlight workplace bullying must press for legislation to make sure bullys are stopped in their tracks and the organisations who protect them be named and shamed.

We know the cost of workplace bullying both in cost to the economy and in personal cost to the victims is enormous,and steps have to be taken to right this obvious wrong.

The more pressure that is exerted,to fight this evil,and the more publicity it receives the quicker employers will realise they have to clean up their act. There can be no hiding place for the bully or the organisation that protects them.

Pilton Sucks Will play it’s part in highlighting and fighting this workplace evil. We warmly welcome those that take the time to write in and tell us about their situation,and we will always help and advise were necessary.

Once again we say that your employer has a duty of care to you. If they choose to neglect that duty and hide behind some rule or other,they risk the adverse publicity that will surely follow.

There is no room in the workplace for a bully. 

Friends and readers. Lets hope you all have a spare jersey this winter because according to the greedy bastard that fronts Centrica you are going to need it.

That sleaze bag won’t need an extra jersey, his £1 million  pound a year salary will see to that. Jake Ulrich who made the comment of wearing an extra jersey to keep warm shows exactly what Centrica thinks about those least able to afford to keep Ulrich in warmth and comfort.

What does our Government do,while this clown makes remarks like that? Why nothing of course,just turn away and use that well worn phrase,nowght to do with us.

Both Brown and Darling are seen as prats by Ulrich and his pals,who know all to well that this totally incompetent Government are unwilling to intervene to firmly put these greedy utility companies in their place.

In fact it’s quite the opposite,if readers care to look at the biographies of the great and the good on the board of Centrica it’s littered with sleaze bags who have been given awards,no doubt for their undying efforts to screw the last penny from their consumers.

These are the individuals who are profiteering with the Governments blessing,and who could not give a toss if you can pay your bill or not.

We are living in oppressive times as our cost of living soars through the roof and will undoubtedly end in misery for many as they struggle to live in Britain the 4th richest country on the planet,but as we all know the wealth lies in only a few hands while the majority pay for it.

Never mind the Government has just announced they are to scrap Incapacity Benefit, and force people many of whom cannot work into low paid unskilled employment.

Once again our brave Government attacks the weakest while allowing the fat cats to wallow in their own self importance. Of course the plebs always have the lottery to take their minds off the harsh reality of everyday life in fat cat Britain.

Let the plebs dream while we shaft them good and proper. What has become of this land that it is ruled by those with the fattest wallets and the most expensive tiaras.

Where is the political voice that will stand up for the people,or have they to been bought off on the cheap. Who will come forward and put principles before expense accounts. We fear no-one will as the trough is now to tasty with all the goodies that shield our betters from the chill of poverty and destitution.

So friends and readers. Watch for the oldest dodge in the book,when times get tough attack the weaskest,and ignore those that have the fattest wallets,and the most to say about the need for restraint.

 Friends and readers. The Glasgow East by election is almost upon us and Labour have brought out their big guns to try and wear the voters down and con them into voting for them.

We are told they will be stuffing envelops and delivering leaflets in the run up to the vote,and of course will use every opportunity to press the flesh of the harassed voter.

Imagine if you will our hapless and inept defence secretary Des desperate Browne approaching you in a military style advance hand out stretched with a forced grimace of sincerity on his face,promising you won’t be drafted into the forces to protect Americas oil interests.

Or Harriet designer Harman wearing the latest cat walk fashions tottering on high heels as she walks down the pot holed pavements of Shetleston,grumbling beneath her breath about having to mix with the plebs.

All this and more is available in Glasgow East and for the next week or so the will be the political centre of the world. Now MSP and wannabee MP Margaret Curran is threatening to inflict Alistair well groomed Darling,once the firebrand of the left,now locked in financial melt down, on the voters of Glasgow East. It doesnt bear thinking about.

We wish the voters of Glasgow East all the best in their attempts to avoid this den of thieves as they attempt to con their way to victory. It may not be possible to avoid someone trying to shake your baby and kiss your hand,but if you can that will be a moral victory of sorts.

As one punter put it, I’m afraid to go to the toilet in case one of these blood suckers is in there waiting for me. Ah well happy days.  

Friends and readers. As you know we are campaigning for legislation to outlaw workplace bullying,so it is made a criminal offence,punishable by a custodial sentence if necessary.

What makes someone a workplace bully,what causes them to inflict such suffering on others,what is their purpose and how do they avoid capture.

All these questions have been asked of us,and we will attempt to give our opinion and reasoning as to why workplace bullys exist.

A workplace bully does not just appear out of thin air,because the fancy takes them,or they are bored so decide to abuse a work colleague.

No friends ,a workplace bully has his behaviour down to a fine art, crafted over many years, of Jekyll and Hyde performances designed to create the facade of being a reasonable person,hiding a vicious cruel individual who delights in tormenting his victim.

He smiles at those in authority giving the illusion he deliberately tries to create of a good guy,when in reality he revels in others misery he creates.

The workplace bully haunts the workplace making it a very unpleasant place to be as he targets victim after victim,confident in the knowledge his superiors are unaware of what is going on.

Workplace bullying is a covert operation as the bully selects his target,and the tactics to be used. Once successful and if not stopped the bully will move on to the next victim employing similar tactics.

From research we have carried out the workplace bully can very often take out his own frustrations on his chosen victim,punishing the victim,for reasons as diverse as his perception he has been overlooked for promotion,or has been stuck in the same post for years and believes he is better that the job he does,he may suffer from for instance dyslexia an inferiority complex,claiming all around him are idiots except him.

Of course he would not dare say that to their faces,simply because above all else the bully is a coward, and a liar,all to willing to hide behind who or what ever he can in order to protect his own skin.

There is of course and this happens in some cases that the bullys behaviour is known to others,but they to are intimidated by him,and having failed to do something to prevent the bully operating,it then becomes a case of damage limitation.

How is this done,again it’s quite simple harass the victim/s make them jump through hoops hoping they become fed up and walk away,leaving those that should have done something to prevent bullying,breathing a sigh of relief.

It is possible someone might have had a discrete word with the bully,but no real action was taken as the problem has now been resolved with the victim/s leaving their post/s.

But this is unlikely to have any real long term effect on the bullys behaviour,and he will strike again. Yes he may employ different tactics but the emphasis will be the same as will the end product,yet another victim.

If only one person takes on a system that ignores bullying,and opens up the can of worms,and forces action to deal with this most evil of workplace diseases,we have taken a step forward to having this barbaric behaviour outlawed,and helping to make the workplace a safer happier place to be. 

Remember your employer has a duty of care to you,if they neglect that duty,then they could be in breach of the current legislation,and are liable for the consequences.  

Friends and readers. First we had Bullying now we have class A drugs. What is our caring sharing Health and Social Care Department to do.

Seemingly unable or unwilling to admit to their obvious inadequacies,this monolithic department descends into melt down at any kind of problem it faces.

Only concerned for their own positions in their ivory tower, a clean out is long overdue. What must director Mr. Gabbitas think about all this or does he even know.

It appears he has no control over his empire allowing incompetent management to botch up any kind of staffing issue.If our friends in the press were to look under the veneer of painted on respectability the worms would jump out of the can to reveal a mess at the heart of this over manged department.

Institutionalised bullying,very low staff moral,intimidation and harassment of staff to cover up management imcompetance,the list goes on,and all this on the backs of the taxpayers money,surely time has come for an independent public enquiry into the running of this department,with it being broken up into smaller accountable units open to public scrutiny within the communities they are supposed to serve.

We now have a vehicle for scrutiny in the guise of the newly formed Community councils,where members are elected from within their own Communities,and sit together with elected members to serve the interests of the Community. 

The very thought of this would strike fear into the hearts of those that are supposed to serve the public but really only serve their own greasy pole careers. Pilton Sucks believes that Community Council scrutiny with advice from elected members would be a good start,with those charged to manage this disjointed department mandated to attend C/C meetings to explain how they are spending taxpayers money in the communities they serve.

The benefits are obvious,elected members could show they were leading the way in department accountability by supporting Community Council scrutiny and making sure those charged with public service do just that instead of hiding away in the leaky Waverley Court,using their policies and procedures as a barrier to prevent anybody  seeing in.

Pilton Sucks is not alone in thinking time has come for more public scrutiny and accountability,we are told there are a number of elected members that are of the same mind and can see the advantages of such a scheme.

If there is nothing to hide then there should be no objection to such a scheme,but as we all know that is not the case and strenuous objections would be made to any kind of dismantling of their power and secrecy.

Pilton Sucks believes in all Council Departments being opened up to closer public scrutiny,helping our elected members to make sure these departments operate properly and openly. 

Friends and readers. You are all aware that Pilton Sucks broke the story of the bullying scandal  in Muirhouse that the powers that be at Waverley court have tried desperately to cover up. 

Pilton Sucks   has yet again received some information from the leaky Waverley Court,where our old pal Frank the chancer Phelen is hiding ,still a fugitive from Justice.

We are told by our reliable source that a senior/AUM [assistant unit manager] is in jail on remand for, it is alleged having a  major quantity of class A drugs in his possession.

We wonder if our  journalist friends down Holyrood road know about this latest scandal to hit the leaky Waverley Court. 

Even the cover up specialists employed within the caring sharing Health and Social Care Department won’t be able to lie and hide their way out of this one.

Remember friends and readers you read it here first.

Friends and readers. Since launching our anti workplace bullying campaign,we have received many.many contributions from all walks of life. But one letter to us brought it home to us just how devastating this workplace disease can be.

It tells the story of how a victim of bullying went from a well adjusted person to a shadow,unable to perform  his duties ending with a suicide attempt,all because workplace bullying was allowed to take place.

Unfortunately this is all to similar to other bullying victims who have suffered at the hands of an office bully. Undermined,overloaded with work,unmeetable time tables,sent to coventry,humilated in front of colleagues,the list goes on,but it clearly shows the characteristics of the serial bully. Weak,cowardly,and usually an ass licker the office bully smiles at his superiors while rubbishing them behind their backs,this allows the bully to ply his trade against his chosen victim knowing that he is safe hiding behind those that should know better. This as you know friends and readers is the Jekyll and Hyde personality which is the prime characteristic of the office bully.

Given a long enough rein,the bullys superiors the one’s that should be taking the action to stop him become intimidated as well,the reason for that who knowes,it could very well be that action to deal with the bully was beyond them,so they do the next best thing and cover up what many know is going on,then turn their attention to harassing the victim with their rules and regulations. Again this is a classic sign not only of impotent management,but a denial that workplace bullying is a problem,so even with an abundance of available evidence nothing is done.

This type of inaction is a well trodden path,hoping the victim goes away or they can find a way to dismiss him/her. So we ask who is the biggest coward,is it the bully who sucks up to his superiors and them berates them behind their backs?or is it those employed to ensure a safe working environment?

The simple answer is both,and in a way they collude with each other out of necessity rather than anything else. But that facade of,no bullying problem here is at best skating on thin ice and relies on total refusal to see what is right in front of their noses.

So with that knowledge a prolonged attack on the victim is the easy option,as it offers a way out for the bully and his incompetent superiors.

The other favoured avenue is to shift the problem,give the bully another post somewhere else along with any little helpers he had. Then of course the bullying may disappear and management can say they have dealt with the problem. Unfortunately by doing that they admit after constant denial that there was a problem but they have now dealt with it.

They haven’t in reality dealt with it at all they have just shifted the problem out of the immediate firing line to somewhere else where in time it will surface again.

Dealing with the problem of workplace bullying is a get your hands dirty job and as long as the bully is allowed to go on,the job gets dirtier,so best left and clean up the aftermath,that way it can be hidden out of sight and those that should have done something about it can go back to the bullshit they live in.

But wait on what happens if a victim of workplace bullying does not go away as hoped but fights back,what then for the bully and his co-conspirators. There then remains the single option of maintain relentless pressure on the victim while hiding behind any hand knitted policy and procedures they may have.

There is nothing in their handbook about a victim fighting back except the standard dodge of passing the buck,that’s when the facade of deceit breaks down and like hungry wolves turn on each other in order to survive. 

On our voyage of discovery, examining workplace bullying,we have found that there are certain similarities amongst workplace bullys so they should be easy to spot,and then dealt with,not ignored. Workplace bully’s target their victims they are not random selections. The workplace bully will sustain a prolonged attack on his chosen victim until they crack or leave. The workplace bully is usually in authority over his victim i.e line manager etc,and therefore can exert extra pressure on the victim as we have already outlined.

The workplace bully is self centered but presents a face of all things to all people,allowing him room to carry on bullying his victim. This is not by chance the bully plans his campaign against his chosen victim,and he will be consumed by his determination to make the victims life a misery.

Is workplace bullying an illness,no it is not it is premeditated violence,harassment,intimidation and ultimate destruction of a victim. This kind of behaviour the bully will try and hide,only to be used against the victim,but it is difficult to hide all the time and more often than not stories will emerge about workplace bullying and this will reach the ears of others who may well have suspected for some time that all was not well.

It could very well be that the bully has a reputation for his behaviour,it is not unknown for the bully to try and intimidate others who feel strongly about his behaviour. And yes it could very well be the case that the bully even believes he is above the law putting the victim at at risk of injury,all in an attempt to force the victim to surrender to this thuggery and leave.

This friends and readers is the workplace bully,you may know one,the discription we give may ring alarm bells within you. If you do recognise these traits and you know of workplace bullying,make sure you are never in a position to be alone with the bully,always take someone with you. Do not let your guard down as this will allow the bully to exploit you. Be vigilant and if you know of colleagues who are being bullied support them and urge them to report the matter.

A victim needs support and help ,remember they have suffered the indignities of workplace bullying and possibly the wrath of management who may also attempt to further attack and harass the victim. They to are victims of bullying.  

Friends and readers. On passing Matheson’s the so called bakery in Boswall Parkway the other day,Anna our associate tempted fate and went in to buy some of their over priced rolls.

On the counter was the day’s special,called The Dave Hewitt Special. Two greasy pies and deep fried chips guaranteed to harden your arteries.

Of course we know our old friend and regular sucks reader Dave fatboy Hewitt North Edinburgh’s very own health supremo is a regular customer of the Harrods of bakery’s and special treatment is given to our old mate. The artery hardening grub is a favourite of Dave’s washed down with the sugar laden Iron Bru. Of course the staff can be seen regularly standing outside having a fag discussing the meaning of life and how many pies Dave can eat in a sitting.

The staff have now come up with an idea to try and stop Dave eating all the greasy pies. A sign is to go in the window saying, buy early to avoid disappointment,or Dave getting there first.