Bully boss costs firm $30,000

Posted May 23rd, 2010 by Dr James Pratt

A worker has won more than $30,000 after she was sworn at and intimidated for refusing to work overtime.

When Wanganui Realties Ltd property manager Colleen Pryce was asked to do a job at around 3.15pm, she said she wouldn't be able to complete it before her finish time of 4.30pm.

The response of then company director Ron Clark was to point a finger in her face and say to her, in front of three colleagues and a customer, "God, you're f***ing unreasonable".

Clark's outburst alarmed one witness so much, he thought the director was going to hit Pryce.

The real estate agency's current director Karen Luff moved in to separate the pair.

In a determination just released to Sunday News, the Employment Relations Authority described Clark's behaviour as "appalling", and said it was compounded by his subsequent refusal to apologise for the incident on July 27, 2007.

The ERA ruled Pryce had later been unjustifiably dismissed by the company. Pryce said she had been frozen out of the position.

The authority ordered the company to pay Pryce six months lost wages, an amount of at least $20,000, plus $13,000 for humiliation.

Pryce, who said had been unable to find a new job because of her age and health, wanted 20 months lost wages. She also wanted $50,000 for humiliation.

The ERA said her ability to find similar employment in Whanganui would also have been affected by the recession.

It also noted her relationship with Clark had been seriously strained prior to his outburst, and statements had been provided to the authority saying Pryce "could be difficult to work with".

Sunday News could not contact Clark, who no longer works for the company, for comment.

Pryce said the incident continued to trouble her considerably but she was trying to move on.

"This incident not only affected me but also my family.

"It markedly affected my confidence and only now with the help of family and friends I'm getting it back," she said.

"To be yelled and sworn at by a company director in front of my colleagues and a member of the public is unbelievable, appalling and obnoxious."

Her advice to others being bullied in the workplace was: "Don't sit back, do something about it, otherwise they will continue to treat you badly.

"However, in saying this, is it very difficult when you are still in employment and want to keep your job."

Pryce's employment advocate, Whanganui lawyer Fergie Mackay from Mircam Services, backed her client's views.

"There is no room for bullying in the workplace – do not tolerate it," Mackay said.

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"Often the 'bully' is another employee, not the employer, so we encourage any person who is a victim of bullying to bring their concerns to their employer's attention.

"Should the employer not deal with the problem, or be the bully, then seek external advice as soon as possible."

Andrew Little, the national secretary of the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union, said it was a boss's responsibility to protect the interests of employees.

"The reason why you hope managers get the job they do is because they have the personal skills to handle the level of responsibility," Little said.

"Businesses ... have ups and downs. But you are a manager of a business, in a senior position, a position of responsibility and you get paid extra for that.

"I think the minimum expectation is that you handle yourself professionally and responsibly."

The company's current sole director Luff said the whole issue would have been avoided had Pryce accepted what Luff believed was a "reasonable request to attend to a matter which was within work hours".

"It was about 3.15pm when that incident took place. Colleen finished work at 4.30pm. She would have had adequate time in which to [do the job]," Luff said.

Luff said the ERA had handled the case "fairly well".

She said she had provided Pryce with a reference she hoped would help her in the future.

A survey commissioned by the Labour Department, and released last month, said 17.8 percent of respondents were identified as victims of bullying. The international range is between 5 percent and 20 percent.

The highest rates of bullying were among workers in the education, health and hospitality sectors.

Source:

http://www.stuff.co.nz

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