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Workplace violence/threatening behaviour

Discussion in 'Serious' started by Lorquis, 7 Sep 2008.

  1. Lorquis

    Lorquis lorquisSpamCount++;

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    Right, this one is a little bit odd, but earlier today I fell victim to a complete cockface a workplace voilence incident. Basicaly I'm looking for a bit of advice as where to go with this as I'm in two minds but slightly leaning towards one route rather than the other.

    To set the scene... A coworker and myself were having a friendly game of throw-the-soft-stress-relief-ball-to-relieve-the-mind-numbing-boredom. Now as being human and not a pro-baseball player I had fumbled catching about a hand-full of times and the ball went in a not entirely intended direction (note, none of these instances came anywhere near the person sitting next to me/besides me who for the purpose of clarity we shall know him as idiotboy). The final time I fumbled it, it bounced off my hand, rolled down the desks behind his keyboard and to the person sitting next to him, who kindly passed the ball back. However idiotboy informed me that I had done him a terrible wrong and asked me un-politely to stop. I obliged and put the ball in my bag. This didn't stop the tirade of verbal abuse. I was for 5 solid minutes threatened with impending violence (memorably "you watch you gonna get slapped yeh? you watch yeh?") and repeatedly called a *****. After such a time that I got bored and extremely insulted by these comments I calmly said "Do not threaten me, and do not call me a *****" at which point he took off his headset, stood up and grabbed the side of my neck and throat.

    When he released he issued another threat of violence, I put down my headset, got up walked over to a manager who I'm on good terms with and explained in private the situation whilst the adrenaline in my system sent me into what I can only describe as a quivering buffoon.

    This has since been escalated to all managers including my own for the center, including the center manager. And also the agency managers (both of us are agency staff)

    My option as it stands is, as it was plainly assault and unwanted touching, do I (as suggested by the company managers) go to the police with this and file charges. Or just leave it.


    (If it helps you get a picture of this person he has apparently in the past used threatening and abusive behavior to the company managers and agency managers to which no formal complaint has been reported, in essence he has gotten away scott free so far.)

    So... whaddoahdo?

    The word caught by the swear filter is another word for penis, starting with a P, and is also what a needle can to if you poke yourself with it.
     
  2. overdosedelusion

    overdosedelusion I mostly come at night, mostly..

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  3. DarkLord7854

    DarkLord7854 What's a Dremel?

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    I'd file charges
     
  4. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    Agreed with at least making a report, and probably filing charges. If you don't stop it, it WILL happen to someone else, and may escalate to the level of doing serious bodily harm. It will also make it easier for the company to fire the <expletive deleted>.
     
  5. TheCherub

    TheCherub Minimodder

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    I would agree. Whilst what has happened to you may not have a lasting effect, that level of temperament needs dealing with, as he is clearly well out of control. When you consider the proportionality of the effect to the cause, it is really rather staggering!

    So yes, I would report him for that; it is against the law to assault someone and people shouldn't expect to get away with it.
     
  6. Ryu_ookami

    Ryu_ookami I write therefore I suffer.

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    File charges, after all if he does it to you and gets away with it, as he has in the past he will think that he will get away with it every time. Each time he does bully some one it will escalate a little bit more, until he eventually does hurt some one. basically he is a bully report him and press charges.

    also report him to the agency you work for as well. They have a legal responsibility to ensure that your workplace is safe before placing you there. That safety includes being safe from physical violence and verbal harassment.
     
  7. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    You reported the incident to your manager (which you should) and he is escalating it (which he should). Depending on how your employer deals with it, you could also file charges with the police.
     
  8. Atomic

    Atomic Gerwaff

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    File a grievance with the company you are working for, physical assaulting another member of staff is gross misconduct and is a sack-able offence.
     
  9. Bogomip

    Bogomip ... Yo Momma

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    If he doesn't get the sack id escalate it to the police, if the managers dont sack him for repeated abuse and assault then i'd report it to the police.

    You clearly shouldn't have to work with this guy.
     
  10. DE.223

    DE.223 What's a Dremel?

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    Wow, I am really sorry to hear such a thing happened to you. Does the guy have a history of this or what? At any rate get the asshole fired. :nono:

    If your manager does not do it automatically appeal to the HR reps in the company. Sounds like the guy has issues, who knows what could happen to someone else further down the line. Regarding the filing of charges be careful with this, as unless the assault was GBH I think you could have a hard time getting any kind of meaningful conviction.
     
  11. Charel

    Charel What's a Dremel?

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    It's a matter of principle, throw the book at him.
     
  12. kingred

    kingred Surfacing sucks!

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    wait till he gets fired, then break into his house and poop in his bed.

    if you have his address and in the usa we can send pizzas, boxes, religious groups and greenpeace around to pester him for a while. you can also report his car stolen so he gets pulled by the feds all the time.
     
  13. EmJay

    EmJay What's a Dremel?

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    I think we're all in agreement that he needs to have the book thrown at him in some form or another. Since the company's apparently been sweeping this behavior under the rug for a while, you might get the police involved to prevent it from happening this time. It depends on your local culture, though. Are the police going to care, or do they have better things to do? Can they do anything about it? Would it put your own job at risk if you called the cops? Do you mind the risk? I assume there were witnesses? Will they back you up?

    If he ends up with an arrest or a conviction on his record, it might warn other companies away from hiring him (or at least warn them of what they're getting into). If it's all handled internally, he'll be in the clear as soon as he changes jobs. Not ideal.

    Good luck, let us know what happens.
     
  14. Solidus

    Solidus Superhuman

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    Im sorry but if you let this go without no action - You deserve to be treated like that.

    Its a form of bullying and it happens even when were adults in many forms - this being one. You should stand up for yourself, what you did so far was excellent but you need to file charges - that is the way to handle these things.
     
  15. Akava

    Akava Lurking...

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    + 1, simple as.
     
  16. OverQloker

    OverQloker Haven't Touched No Dremel

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    its payback time

    and payback's a bitch......
     
  17. Matticus

    Matticus ...

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    Well doesn't he sound like a well rounded chap.

    Definitely get the police involved, he may have other non work related acts of violence recorded against him, I believe that some cases like this can end in a "warning" where they note down the person, speak to them to let them know they know it has happened, but it doesn't get officially recorded but it will be filed, if that makes any sense. A similar thing happened to me when I was randomly attacked at school, though I didn't call the police the school did, so that may pan out differently.
     
  18. Rum&Coke

    Rum&Coke What's a Dremel?

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    Jesus christ just hit him back.
     
  19. kempez

    kempez modding again!

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    Ye fantastic idea, then lose your own job in the process :eyebrow:

    Press charges, I would
     
  20. Rum&Coke

    Rum&Coke What's a Dremel?

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    a guy pushes you around you push him around it's not that hard and pretty much everyone understands
     

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