Threatened Employee
MB1004
49 Posts
Two employees get in an altercation. One physically threatens the other and the threatened employee is scared and concerned about his safety. The manager appears to have resolved the issue. But now I hear from the threatened employee-he left work at lunch, filed a police report and is quitting (unless we transfer him) b/c he says he's forced to work in a hostile work environment since he requested a transfer and the manager denied it. The manager says the employee did not request a transer. The employee never came and talked to me (HR) about the situation, this is the first I've heard of his version. So now what do you do? Allow the transfer? Or deny it b/c he walked off the job in the middle of the day and is giving us an ultimatium? We won't really face any legal ramifications if we let him quit-just unemployment. But are we doing right by the employee if we don't allow the transfer? Or are we allowing employees to push us around, walk off the job site and force our hand?
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Comments
I guess my question is this: What would be the harm to the company, financial or otherwise to allow the transfer? Don't focus on the fellow walking off the job and the ego part of looking at this as the fellow is pushing you around - focus on the answering the question about the transfer objectively. Resolution to something, especially if someone was threatened does not always get tidied up with just a meeting. Let me just say though that I'm not saying that you can't just let this guy quit - but ask yourself what would be the harm to the transfer? If it's too much of a hardship, then let him quit, but if it's not then let him transfer & write him up for walking off the job & let him know he has to follow procedures. I hope that the person who did the threatening was written up & not just scolded in a meeting - violence (threatened or perceived) is never the answer to figuring out problems in the workplace. JMO.
I agree-I don't feel the manager handled this well and me being brought in AFTER everything was finished is a seperate issue. We're going to sit down with him Monday when he comes back and get everything written up and straightened out, so he knows where he stands coming in.
On the issue with the other employee who threatened him. How do you deal with a situation where he adamantly denies saying anything and there ended up being no witness? I haven't dealt with this one yet as we've been pretty busy with the other side. But when it comes to a he said/he said issue-do you still write him up?
Is this the first time the ee has been accused of threatening someone? Is it the first time this ee has ever been questioned or spoken to regarding the tone of their speech with someone or how they handle work stress or difficulties with the job? If it’s the first time, well then that’s really a tough break, but if it’s not then if it walks like a duck…The big picture here is this (and this is just based on what you posted, so you’re going to have to analyze it further to reach your own decision) you had two individuals get involved in a dispute at work. This dispute was so poorly communicated between the two of them that it resulted in an undue disruption of the business at hand, accusations of threats and the need to transfer an employee out of the department/shift. Both involved should be written up for disrupting the business and not elevating the situation to the manager when things got personal. Poor decision making skills are at play here & you should let these folks know that disruptions to getting the product out the door or the customer satisfied are not acceptable. Don’t know if the write up will fly in a union shop or not, but in a private shop it would. Bottom line, you have to evaluate the best course of action given all of the information you know. Good luck x:-)
Thanks for your reply. Sometimes it takes someone to just step out of the situation or an uninvolved person to bring light to an idea that should have clearly been the option. Earlier today I was more or less thinking along the lines of how would we get away with writing someone up for saying something that they adamantly deny. I should have been looking along the lines of writing him up for the situation, etc. and not just exactly what was said. This is actually where I'm at now and was glad to see your post in that someone confirmed the conclusion I had come to.
The situation isn't out of character for him, but it will be the first time it's really gone this far. I feel comfortable with with what we're doing and I appreciate all the posts today!
You say he has filed a police report. That will bolster his arguement that he felt/feels threatened at your work. Despite all the intervention done by your supervisor, the ex-EE will next contact a hungry local lawyer and together they will determine the best way to get a check from your company.
What actions have you taken with respect to disciplining the EE that did the threatening? Perhaps the other guy deserved it, but I would build a file at a minimum and be ready for a legal fight.