Feeling Harassed at Work? Can You Take Legal Action Against Your Employer?

Dear Sir,

I am working in a private organization where I am harassed/mentally tortured by one of the top seniors. I want to know if I can lodge my complaint in court or if there is any organization that can fight against this misbehavior. What can the ILO do in this regard if a person working in an organization is pressured to resign without any genuine reason?

Regards,
Sandy

Dear Sandy,

Instead of going to the court of law first, you have to approach your management. You can raise your grievance against the senior manager who is harassing you. However, you need to have substantive proof of harassment; otherwise, there is every possibility that it will boomerang on you, and you may end up putting your career in jeopardy.

Write the application to your HR and obtain the signature of the person who receives it. Preserve this second copy carefully. If your grievance is not settled within a reasonable time, you can write a second application and address its copy to the Labor Officer of your area. This second application you can raise after a week or so.

If the management still sits on both of your applications, you can write an application to the Labor Officer of your area for not redressing your grievance. The Labor Officer will call both parties and give their verdict. The verdict is not binding on either party. However, the aggrieved party can approach the Labor Court if they feel so.

Never approach the Labor Court bypassing the labor office. Many times courts have rendered the petition of the employee null and void because the legal path to settle the industrial dispute was not followed.

The above advice is given based on the rules of India. I hope that you are from India and it is applicable to you.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Sir,

I am working in a private organization where I am harassed/mentally tortured by one of the top seniors. I want to know if I can lodge my complaint in court. Is there any organization that can fight against this misbehavior? What can the ILO do in this regard if a person working in an organization is pressured to give his resignation without any genuine reason?

Regards,
Sandy

Dear Sandy,

I suggest you to remember one thing: "Revenge is a dish best served cold," and never forget that "every dog has its day." (Sorry)

One of my seniors taught me something valuable: if someone slaps you in front of a crowd, do not react immediately. Instead, wait for your time to come. But when your time arrives, incapacitate him in such a way that he will never be able to use his hand again.

So, I advise you to wait for your right time. Remember, everyone is given a fair chance by God.

I hope you understand my message.

Regards,
Jawed Alam

Hello Sandy,

While I agree with Dinesh V Divekar on the modus operandi to be adopted in case the only option is to fight back, frankly, I am not so sure if that's the right option.

What are you trying to achieve by fighting back? What are you gaining? And do you think you will be allowed to continue in this organization after you go through the whole hog—especially since, as you say, it's a private company and the other person involved is one of the senior officials? Have you considered the time you will have to spend if you adopt this course of action? Is it worth it?

If you want to continue in this organization—for whatever reasons—I think Jawed Alam's suggestion is more practical and advisable too. Just bide your time to hit back—with proofs. And Jawed is right: Every dog has its day.

Another option you can consider is to look out for other openings and just move forward in your career/life. That way, you could at least have some peace of mind while you make the change—which in all possibility would be a better one in terms of the salary and also—after this experience of yours—career.

But finally, it all depends on what your choices/priorities in career and life are. And please do be prepared to face the consequences of your actions—and they may not necessarily be what you think they could be (that's after all what life is all about).

Regards,

TS

Dear Sandy, I suggest you remember one thing: "revenge is a dish best served cold," and never forget that "every dog has its day" (Sorry). One of my seniors taught me something important: if someone slaps you in front of a crowd, never react immediately. Wait for your time to come. But when your time comes, break his hand in such a way that he will never be able to use it again.

So, I suggest you wait for the right time. God gives everyone a fair chance. I hope you understand what I mean.

Regards, Jawed Alam

No, you are preaching non-violence and corporate warfare. Already, lots of injustice has been done by people in corporate to so many employees. Sandy, please take appropriate legal action against the person who is harassing you. This is my opinion.

Regards, Barath

Dear Sandy,

I think you have just started your career. Why do you want to adopt a negative path? Why can't you look for other options? If we look into the time we are spending at the office compared to the time we are giving to our family, we will see the difference. Do you want to remain under stress during these pretty long hours of your life? I would recommend you to follow the suggestions in the 4th paragraph of TS. My dear young professional, open your eyes, look around, see the opportunities waiting for you outside, and don't be a 'frog in the well'. But if you are in a 'comfort zone' barring only the harassment of one senior officer, TS has rightly concluded in the last paragraph.

All the best,
Gopal

Dear Sir,

I am working in a private organization where I am harassed/mentally tormented by one of the top seniors. I want to know if I can lodge my complaint in court or if there is any organization that can fight against this misbehavior. What can the ILO do in this regard if a person working in an organization is pressured to resign without any genuine reason?

Regards,
Sandy

It is only one side of the story. What the Senior has to say about this is not known. There may be extreme cases similar to what you mentioned. Normally, what happens is that due to lack of experience, exposure, or ignorance, one may feel harassed. Seniors become seniors by virtue of merits. If such seniors are not capable of managing the juniors, they will not remain in that position.

Dear Sandy,

Play it cool. What Divekar says is right, but you need to put first things first. It seems that you have started the career recently. First, see if others were also harassed like that. Don't you have some senior fellow with whom you can discuss this and sort out your own thoughts? There are invariably some oldies who have seen it all. Talk to them. It helps. Don't be a loner.

It is also possible that it's only the clash of attitudes and people may not have anything against you.

If the top-notch guy is harassing you, maybe all the managers will remain mute spectators; this happens in MNCs as well as smaller organizations. Remember, this is not the last company you are able to work with in this world. Why are you thinking of ILO and all? All that stuff is okay if you want to teach them a lesson. But then, who will build your career for you if you are busy teaching them a lesson?

I think the foremost thing is to organize your thoughts, and in all probability, you already have the solution. Do not get distracted; you are responsible to build your career, nobody else will do that for you.

There are bosses who have very low influencing skills, who have not been mentored properly, etc., who will end up torturing others. Don't worry. Think on a paper by putting down all your thoughts, organize your thoughts, talk to seniors if any. It may happen that all that you look at as harassment can only be a sort of practical joke for that person. Maybe he has a fractured professional upbringing. If this has been his way for so long, then he must be a pillar in the organization which nobody can move. Be responsible for yourself and do what is right.

Can you give some examples of what you mean by harassment? Can you list out a few specific instances? Thank you.