Bully Brown!

Fresh bullying claims for Gordon after more calls for help revealed
By Richard O'hagan
Last updated at 3:53 PM on 22nd February 2010
Comments (19) Add to My Stories Bullying claims: Gordon Brown today as a row over his treatment of Downing Street staff raged
One of the most reassuring things about childhood is being able to grow up in the certain knowledge that, whatever they did, bullies always got their comeuppance in the end, be it by being comprehensively outwitted by their opponent or by the generous application of a slipper to the backside.
The reason why this happens, of course, is that the bully always has someone with authority over them to mete out any punishment – a parent or a teacher, usually.
But once we get out into the ‘real’ world of work, however, the problem is often that the person with the power is the one doing the bullying. This makes it much more difficult to deal with.
This is where the law steps in. For the person feeling bullied at work, there are three main avenues of redress.
The first is that every employer is obliged to have a formal grievance procedure. This can be a useful way of resolving issues with a superior in a large organisation, but in a small company the person handling the grievance is very likely to be the one that the complainant feels aggrieved about.
The second avenue of redress is that, where the situation becomes so bad that the person has to leave their job, they are entitled to bring a claim to an employment tribunal, citing constructive dismissal. This means that they were not sacked from their job, but that their working conditions became so bad that they had no alternative but to leave.

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At the most extreme end of the scale there is also the right to bring a personal injury claim for damages for the stress caused to you by your working environment. However, this is subject to two conditions, both of which can be quite hard to overcome. The first is that you need to have forewarned your employer that the job was causing you stress. The second is that, in the absence of any sort of physical injury, you need to have suffered a recognised psychiatric illness.
The combination of the two – plus the fact that any sensible person would much prefer to have the bullying issue resolved rather than fall ill because of it – makes this an undesirable solution compared to the first two.
What the law does not require, though, is for someone to prove something as hard to define as ‘bullying’. What one person finds tolerable conduct on the part of a co-worker or superior might be intolerable to another.
My first employers in the law were a husband and wife, both of whom were known for their ferocious tempers. I vividly recall that, during my time there, the husband’s behaviour became so outrageous as he dealt with one particular deal that, at the end, our employers had to take the whole office out to dinner to apologise. On the other hand, they were both exceptional lawyers who built up a hugely successful practice which enabled them to retire before they were fifty, and they had a loyal support staff who were prepared to tolerate the bad times.
For an aspiring young lawyer, the training that they gave and the responsibility which they entrusted you with were second to none – two of their trainees set up hugely successful firms of their own and are now regarded as leaders in their respective fields.
Christine Pratt, the founder of the National Bullying Helpline, in London today
The fact is that none of us ever thought we were being bullied simply because one boss turned the air blue on a regular basis or the other regularly added new dents to the filing cabinets by kicking them. If you can’t stand to work for the sort of person who regularly behaves like this, then this probably isn’t the job for you.
The true test of whether someone is being bullied is whether they are the regular butt of a particular person’s ire, with no good cause. Anyone in that position has to be sympathised with and has to be encouraged to use the remedies which the law provides.
The worrying thing about the Gordon Brown revelations, so far as I am concerned, is not the fact that he has a vile temper, but that the National Bullying Helpline have felt the need to stick their oar on.
On a personal level I find Brown’s alleged behaviour as described by Andrew Rawnsley abhorrent and frankly childish, but to my mind this doesn’t excuse the charity’s very public intervention.
Whatever Christine Pratt, who founded the national helpline, may think, if you are a charity who holds themselves out as a charity providing a confidential service, you cannot then go and identify a group of complainants.
Everyone in the Prime Minister’s Office or the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office will know who the regular targets of their bosses’ ire are and therefore who the complainants are likely to be.
Whatever Pratt thinks privately, there are claims she allegedly breached confidentiality towards those people by coming forward. If she did not first obtain their permission to do so, then she has done herself and her employers a very grave disservice indeed.
Richard O'Hagan is a solicitor based at Brittons Solicitors. He specialises in litigation, media and sports law.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1252907/Gordon-Brown-faces-fresh-bullying-calls-charity-helpline.html#ixzz0gLjSkfZz

I saw this article yesterday and TBH I was a little incensed by it.

Anyone who has worked in a high pressure environment understands the need to blow off steam every now and then. The accusations of "bullying" are absolutely absurd. If you can't handle the stress of working for the PM, find another job!

Now Cameron wants an inquiry into it?! Is this going to be at the taxpayers expense? Do we really care that Maude the secretary had "her feelings hurt...?" Do we care enough to actually spend money trying to find out what happened?

The way Cameron pounced on this story suggests to me a dirty tricks campaign against Brown. Now whilst I couldn't care less about the one eyed buffoon it irks me that Cameron is willing to waste precious resources in a time of recession only to smear his rival.

Brown is a repulsive pig, but Cameron is no better IMO. It is madness to fork out for yet another inquiry that goes nowhere.

Makes you wonder all this suddenly comes to light when there is an election, I don't really like Brown but i hate when Political parties bring up crap about other Politicians and draw attention from the real issues.
Can't trust any of them.

ColinS wrote:Makes you wonder all this suddenly comes to light when there is an election, I don't really like Brown but i hate when Political parties bring up crap about other Politicians and draw attention from the real issues.
Can't trust ant of them.

Completely agree! I couldn't give a toss about Admin staff at No.10. Stress comes with the job description and they're all overpaid bastards as it is...

I want to know about Policy. I want to know precisely how Cameron intends to sort out the mess the country is in.

It's an insult by the Conservatives to every voter in Britain to drudge this rubbish up.

What gets me is the way downing street completely denies this,

then goes into overdrive and starts dripp feeding smears out against the woman & basically bullys her,

odious people like peter mandelson ( disgraced from government office twice ) 3rd time lucky is made a lord, you couldn't bloody make it up.

come out and says its a plot by the conservatives ffs.

They just dont get it do they.

Mind you saying all that there was a poll today and it put the conservatives with only 7 point margin,

Says it all for the Tories, the way labour has fvcked this country up and they have only got a 7 point margin,

David cameron is seen in the eyes of the public as another tony blair,

all posturing with populist grand standing but absolutely sod all to back it up.

British politics has showed itself for what it is with the expenses scandal that still hasn't gone away,

immigration

Europe, were is the referendum tony promised?

They re-brand the treaty so we dont get a vote.

They are out of touch completely with the voter, also rotten to the core.

This wretched woman deserves every bit of bullying she gets. Who do you think convinced her to go public and sell her story?

Labour, Tory, and this woman are all as vile as each other.

El_Guapo wrote:This wretched woman deserves every bit of bullying she gets. Who do you think convinced her to go public and sell her story?

Labour, Tory, and this woman are all as vile as each other.

I think you will find that is what i have said EL as regards to Tories and labour,

yes i agree she is not fit to hold her place on the charity for breaking the confidentiality of the callers.

But as i said the immediate response from the government and other politicians is to smear & bully.

All for political gain