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Have you considered copying the letter yourself and obliterating any personal information such as medical conditions?

Char, I do think it's important that you report him asap. If you wait until you are made redundant, your complaint could be viewed as sour grapes.

I would be inclined to speak to ACAS again. To expect you to travel that kind of distance, especially in current conditions is unreasonable and clearly designed to deter you from following through with your appeal. Have you checked your home insurance etc for legal expenses cover?

Char, he does sound to be a particularly nasty piece of work. In my experience, if someone is capable of this kind of behaviour it's unlikely that this is an isolated incident. There are probably other vulnerable females who have been targeted but feel too embarrassed and scared to report it. One other suggestion if I may. If your mobile phone can make conference calls why not make the phone call to him from the HR office and include the HR officer in the call? Just choose your words carefully so that it is clear that you are responding to his suggestions and not the other way around. Best of luck.

Congratulations

Why on earth would they send screenshots of them accessing the files from your login during their investigation? It does not prove your guilt but rather demonstrates the manner in which someone else could have accessed your login. Perhaps they did not expect you to examine them in such detail.

Shifty, I fear that by signing the CA you have effectively signed away all of your rights as far as complaints about the company, your industrial injury etc. Did you take the advice given by your solicitor or sign because you needed the money? In order for the agreement to be enforcable you must have had the benefit of advice from someone with the necessary qualifications and insurance. If they (your legal advisor) gave you poor advice, you could claim against them. However, if you refused to take their advice I don't think you would have any come back.

Presumably, if such software has been loaded onto a computer, there would be traces of it. If the software was loaded onto another machine it's a fair argument that you are hardly likely to leave incriminating evidence for others to find. Also, it could be worth comparing the logs of activity on your manager's login and those of anyone else who has administrative privileges. If activity ceased on their logins at the time of the unauthorised access and recommenced immediately afterwards, it could suggest that someone used your machine when you left it unattended.

A bit of a long shot I know but, if someone has your password and is logging on as you, would it be worth checking the times and dates against holidays and lunchbreaks. There would only need to be one occurrence that could not possibly be your responsibility to make all of them look doubtful.

From the Directgov website Dismissal relating to trade union reasons If you are dismissed for a reason around trade union membership, recognition or subscription funds it will be automatically unfair. This includes being dismissed for: deciding to join, not to join or take part in the activities of a trade union or independent trade union, or for using its services refusing to give up your rights under a collective agreement objecting to or refusing to make a payment for union membership showing your support or non-support of any aspect of trade union recognition in the workplace asking your employer to stop paying a contribution of your trade union subscription into the trade union’s political fund objecting to a deduction of unauthorised or excessive union subscriptions from your pay

Simbatim, in the course of my work I book staff through an agency and, in their defence they often do not get firm instructions from the client until late in the day. As Conniff said they were obviously doing their best to contact you in order to offer you work. Perhaps the problem could have been avoided if you had answered your phone. Also, knowing that you had already accepted an offer of a permanent job, would it not have been more fair of you to inform them rather than leaving them to waste time and resources trying to contact you?

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Health, Safety & Welfare Regulations 1992 place an obligation on employers to maintain the right working environment for staff, and this includes air quality. Additionally, under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 (COSHH), employers carrying out industrial processes are responsible for carrying out risk assessments to ensure adequate indoor air quality. Failure to comply may lead to prosecution or costly litigation with potential damage to the finances and reputation of any company.

This may be of interest to you What is the maximum/minimum temperature in the workplace?

Thanks, it was a big help. To be honest I think it's a shame that everyone can't have the support of a friend or family member. With the best will in the world not many workmates feel comfortable about speaking out for someone else. They understandably need to look after their own job.

That's why we requested that it be on a trial basis and pointed out that I have been treated abysmally since the original grievance. Fingers crossed.

Well, it's actually for me to decide if it's working. I was told that I was moving back into my old job a few weeks ago and it wasn't handled properly (long story). This time they are intending to do it properly. I can only really wait and see how it works out.

Well they did allow him to come in and it was a pretty positive outcome. I am signed off until 4th January and they have said that they want me to take an additional week off with pay to allow the HR Manager to speak with various people. The aim is to make sure that my return to my own job should go smoothly. They did accept though that, as the company have previously entered into agreements which were subsequently ignored, it will be on a trial basis. We have agreed to meet again a week or so after my return to work. If it doesn't work out the other options would be a different job entirely or redundancy.

Regardless of what the OH person says you may also have protection because of your CTS. This link has some information that may be useful http://www.rsi.org.uk/pdf/disclosing_a_disability_rsi_.pdf

Given that a compromise agreement requires you to sign away statutory rights, I believe that unless you have been given independent legal advice it is unenforcable. Without such a signed agreement from you, you are still entitled to pursue a claim against them in an employment tribunal.

Although I have heard of employers who seek to protect their reputation in such circumstances, it does seem so unfair. Is your Dad considering the possibility of legal action against the people who are responsible for the whole thing? If it hadn't been for their false accusations this would not have happened. It's a situation that anyone might find themselves in through no fault of their own. It's frightening.

When I have worked in wages in the past and, due to an error somebody has not been paid, we usually made an advance payment (petty cash or cheque) and recovered it through payroll when the correct payment is processed. Could you perhaps suggest this to them?

Hentooth, as your daughter has been working there since last January and her illness isn't exactly a 5 minute thing, could she possibly hold out until she has completed a year's service. I believe (please correct me if this is not accurate) that a year's service gives her some employment protection. If not isn't this just the kind of Christmas Scrooge story loved by the newspapers?

Thanks Teaboy and everyone else for your support and advice. I am off to bed in a few. So if anyone else has any thoughts I would love to hear them but please don't be offended if I don't respond until tomorrow.

Thanks Teaboy. My original complaint was not to do with discrimination. It was concerned with being placed in a dreadful working environment that damaged my health. I suppose that my issue at the moment is that, rather than level the playing field for people who might be disadvantaged by their race by providing help with language difficulties, they have gone overboard and allowed her legal representation and the comfort of a family member which is denied to others. As for victimisation, yes that will be on my list of complaints. I will also be advising them that I intend to claim for personal injury. My skin complaint, including the complication with my eye continues to be a problem (I have now been referred to a specialist) aggravated by the stress I have been placed under. I expect I sound bitter, probably because I am.