This section is attracting an unbelievable amount of hits per day at the moment, even when I read back through this and part 2, I still find it unbelievable that these individuals are classed as fit to be in charge of Drivers.
Investigation report on "Bullying & Harassment" between
Managers, Darren Waters & Mark Atkinson
If you are a director of First Group, this evidence is from actual transcripts, not made up by me. Do you really expect your Manager's to behave like this?
This complaint was made by Driver Manager Darren Waters, principally against Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson.
My reports over years had evidence of bullying and harassment, of course totally IGNORED. My claims about this to Managing Director Vernon Barker received a favourable response, that he took my claims seriously and that an investigation would ensue by an outside party, only it never materialised!
What I would like to ask you to judge, quite simply, if a group of Drivers behaved in the way these individual managers behave, do you think that you would still be in a job?
Especially after what occurs on page headed 159f!!!
My reports over years had evidence of bullying and harassment, of course totally IGNORED. My claims about this to Managing Director Vernon Barker received a favourable response, that he took my claims seriously and that an investigation would ensue by an outside party, only it never materialised!
What I would like to ask you to judge, quite simply, if a group of Drivers behaved in the way these individual managers behave, do you think that you would still be in a job?
Especially after what occurs on page headed 159f!!!
So, this complaint centres on what Manager Darren Waters considers bullying, harassment and victimisation, which in turn causes stress to render the complainant unfit for duty.
Ironically the investigators do not agree with Manager Darren Waters. So lets take a look at the evidence and see what these actual findings show.
From the above page we can see the following crucial facts:
1. "Incomplete / ineffective implementation of the change management
process during the restructuring that created the team". Everything
that I ever come across was incomplete or ineffective, nothing is ever
thought through because it is the same individuals,with the inability
to improvise and learn from previous mistakes.
2. A lack of acceptance towards restructuring. Managers uncomfortable
in their new roles, contempt towards others regarding work
being carried out and the different levels of competency.
From an outside point of view this pictures a far from professional
attitude and approach from individuals who are trusted to regulate
and control many Drivers.
3. "A culture of robust banter between team members and in their
dealings with third parties, including the Drivers they manage".
Is there any wonder that deep -seated animosities occurred? It
portrays the situation as nothing more than a bunch of squabbling
school children.
Is there any wonder that Drivers lacked respect for these individuals?
The robust banter was nothing more than "bullying and harassment",
which sadly spread through the whole Management set up, not all
Managers behaved this way, there was a couple of exceptions, but
very sadly these exceptions were quickly controlled from the bullies above!
Collusion and collective bullying: Under the protection from
harassment act 1997, in light of the case, (Case Ref: 209 EWHC 907
QB), employers are vicariously liable for harassment caused by the
acts of two or more employees, provided the conduct is linked.
4. "Some process failures and inadequacies in the way the company
manages both organisational change and the situation in which an
employee cannot derive parochial care from his line manager because
he is in dispute with that line manager".
There was always a lack of guidance, there was never any urgency to
sort out, even basic issues, these failings were present even before
organisational changes are added to this equation.
As for deriving, "parochial" care? Firstly there was no chain of care,
just an air of IGNORANCE. I thought,"parochial care" was something
that derived from a church upbringing and education, although
descriptively it is better used describing the type of Management as
being set with limited values and scope, narrow minded with no
ability to change.
When you look through these admitted failings and the behavioural attitude of these so called managers then I can understand how the tensions can cause a person to suffer stress.
Ironically the investigators do not agree with Manager Darren Waters. So lets take a look at the evidence and see what these actual findings show.
From the above page we can see the following crucial facts:
1. "Incomplete / ineffective implementation of the change management
process during the restructuring that created the team". Everything
that I ever come across was incomplete or ineffective, nothing is ever
thought through because it is the same individuals,with the inability
to improvise and learn from previous mistakes.
2. A lack of acceptance towards restructuring. Managers uncomfortable
in their new roles, contempt towards others regarding work
being carried out and the different levels of competency.
From an outside point of view this pictures a far from professional
attitude and approach from individuals who are trusted to regulate
and control many Drivers.
3. "A culture of robust banter between team members and in their
dealings with third parties, including the Drivers they manage".
Is there any wonder that deep -seated animosities occurred? It
portrays the situation as nothing more than a bunch of squabbling
school children.
Is there any wonder that Drivers lacked respect for these individuals?
The robust banter was nothing more than "bullying and harassment",
which sadly spread through the whole Management set up, not all
Managers behaved this way, there was a couple of exceptions, but
very sadly these exceptions were quickly controlled from the bullies above!
Collusion and collective bullying: Under the protection from
harassment act 1997, in light of the case, (Case Ref: 209 EWHC 907
QB), employers are vicariously liable for harassment caused by the
acts of two or more employees, provided the conduct is linked.
4. "Some process failures and inadequacies in the way the company
manages both organisational change and the situation in which an
employee cannot derive parochial care from his line manager because
he is in dispute with that line manager".
There was always a lack of guidance, there was never any urgency to
sort out, even basic issues, these failings were present even before
organisational changes are added to this equation.
As for deriving, "parochial" care? Firstly there was no chain of care,
just an air of IGNORANCE. I thought,"parochial care" was something
that derived from a church upbringing and education, although
descriptively it is better used describing the type of Management as
being set with limited values and scope, narrow minded with no
ability to change.
When you look through these admitted failings and the behavioural attitude of these so called managers then I can understand how the tensions can cause a person to suffer stress.
From above, "stated complaint". I think anyone could understand the fact that a medical appointment is "personal", the very basis that Route Driver Mark Atkinson requested to attend shows exactly what Manager Darren Waters had to contend with. This request in itself is nothing more than harassment for whatever reason Manager Mark Atkinson has in mind. I find it really hard to believe that Manager Mark Atkinson cannot see that this action is bound to cause distress to Manager Darren Waters, but then again, this attitude is common place among this management.
Remit of Investigation. Straight away, from earlier, by Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson wanting to attend the medical of Manager Darren Waters is surely behaviour that can be deemed as offensive therefore harassment and victimisation.
Workplace Stress: This is something that I had encountered first hand, very similar to Manager Darren Waters in that "inappropriate behaviour"
is a TransPennine Express Management trait.
This behaviour is something I had to endure for years, I brought this to the attention of this management so many times and as this website proves, IGNORANCE was the only (non) response.
The tensions between these managers highlights a very unprofessional atmosphere and really brings into question the capabilities of these men to actually manage.
The two incidents shown by Manager Darren Waters typify the questioning of this management from top to bottom. How can a trainee driver in the care of a senior manager move a train without a right away signal? After all this is the very basics going wrong.
Why would a manager have to re-write another managers reports? This again is basic competency, how can someone who cannot correctly form a report become a manager in charge of a large group of drivers? Lead by example? Lets hope not!
But what really stands out here, is something that was rife throughout this whole management, VICTIMISATION that would result in BULLYING!
Clearly pointed out by Manager Darren Waters in that, Manager Abbas Khalifa displayed very aggressive behaviour towards drivers and would on occasions "have it in" for certain drivers, furthermore setting his own standards which is clearly designed to belittle and humiliate his victim(s).
The above behaviour is something that I constantly point out, yet the above evidence comes from this very management, how and why was this allowed to continue? You only need to look at the track record of Manager Barry Cook to find your answer.
If you are a member of the First Group Board reading this, is this how you want your management to behave? Is this the standard of professionalism you set? Are these managers at the level of competency required?
Because if this is what you want, then First Group should quite simply be running a circus. I do not believe that the way they behave is what you want or expect from a group of so called Senior managers, what this report has shown and with more evidence to come, portrays a picture of a group of self made individuals who are in a position of power far above their capabilities, that they have to squabble and behave like spoilt children.
As for finding inconsistency with the way Manager Abbas Khalifa behaved causing frustration, you should look at my frustrations highlighted throughout this website, that is REAL FRUSTRATION!
Tensions are clearly apparent because there is no leader, no manager to take control and develop each managers strengths and help with any perceived weaknesses. Especially with Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson being a ruthless bully, these managers he is in charge of are basically mirroring their leader, by example. What an absolute shambles of a management team!
These managers even have a team meeting where Manager Paul Russel requests Manager Darren Waters is sacked, again what this shows is an attitude of utter contempt, this is clearly something that has originated from this management that individuals can openly express the wish to have an individual dismissed.
What we see next, in paragraph 3, is an exact copy of an earlier paragraph, which like I pointed out in the investigation report, reports are made to measure, mainly to hide what was really said.
It is also very evident from reading the events that happened in the Driver Management Office at Piccadilly Tower that these so called managers behave like feral children, the "robust working banter", which includes bad language! TransPennine Express have a bullying and harassment policy, yet here we have the very management that are meant to promote this policy behaving exactly opposite and this also includes a female manager. The way this report reads so far, it could be a script from a Carry On film, because this is slapstick behaviour.
But there is other evidence here that suggests SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION, the degrading of women in the workplace. Lets face it, none of this is taken from my words, this is taken from a TransPennine Express Report.
SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION however seems to be rife within TransPennine Express Driver Management, but WHO CARES? They certainly don`t, but then again if you get your friends to investigate any claims, this management team are UNTOUCHABLE. Another example of SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION, a lady conductor gets an interview for a Drivers job, as she leaves the interview room, DRIVER MANAGER ANDREW STEELE gestures to the interviewing manager with a sexual gesture and says, "I bet she gets the job"! I personally find that behaviour absolutely disgusting, yet TPE Management found this acceptable, WHY?
Andrew Steele was reported for this to Barry Cook by Manager Naz Chikhalia.
These managers even have a team meeting where Manager Paul Russel requests Manager Darren Waters is sacked, again what this shows is an attitude of utter contempt, this is clearly something that has originated from this management that individuals can openly express the wish to have an individual dismissed.
What we see next, in paragraph 3, is an exact copy of an earlier paragraph, which like I pointed out in the investigation report, reports are made to measure, mainly to hide what was really said.
It is also very evident from reading the events that happened in the Driver Management Office at Piccadilly Tower that these so called managers behave like feral children, the "robust working banter", which includes bad language! TransPennine Express have a bullying and harassment policy, yet here we have the very management that are meant to promote this policy behaving exactly opposite and this also includes a female manager. The way this report reads so far, it could be a script from a Carry On film, because this is slapstick behaviour.
But there is other evidence here that suggests SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION, the degrading of women in the workplace. Lets face it, none of this is taken from my words, this is taken from a TransPennine Express Report.
SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION however seems to be rife within TransPennine Express Driver Management, but WHO CARES? They certainly don`t, but then again if you get your friends to investigate any claims, this management team are UNTOUCHABLE. Another example of SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION, a lady conductor gets an interview for a Drivers job, as she leaves the interview room, DRIVER MANAGER ANDREW STEELE gestures to the interviewing manager with a sexual gesture and says, "I bet she gets the job"! I personally find that behaviour absolutely disgusting, yet TPE Management found this acceptable, WHY?
Andrew Steele was reported for this to Barry Cook by Manager Naz Chikhalia.
"Difficult relationship with line manager". It seems that the word relationship is doomed within this management team, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that any individual actually gets on with anyone else. As for Darren Waters description of Mark Atkinson as being "in your face", this was the very attitude that I encountered in my hearing from start to finish, this man displayed a behaviour that I have never before encountered in any hearing, it was aggressive from start to finish, but we all know the reason for that.
"AWARDS CEREMONY". Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson and Driver Manager Darren Waters attend this awards ceremony as representatives of TransPennine Express and also the whole of First Group.
Then an incident occurred between these two managers, this is where the author of this report attempts to disguise the incident by stating, "spirits were high and all concerned were under the influence of alcohol, a discussion the subject of which is lost in the fog of celebrations".
This is where ROUTE DRIVER MANAGER MARK ATKINSON HEAD BUTTS Manager Darren Waters. Quite rightly, Manager Darren Waters was unsure if he or Mark Atkinson were in trouble over this incident.
Lets evaluate what happened. Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson assaults Manager Darren Waters with a head butt, what would happen if a member of staff did this in a mess room or on a station concourse? We all know that answer. So how can Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson be allowed to get away with this type of behaviour especially as he was an acting ambassador for First Group and TransPennine Express on that fateful evening?
If the bullies investigate the bully, quite naturally they all stick together, one rule for them and one for everyone else.
"AWARDS CEREMONY". Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson and Driver Manager Darren Waters attend this awards ceremony as representatives of TransPennine Express and also the whole of First Group.
Then an incident occurred between these two managers, this is where the author of this report attempts to disguise the incident by stating, "spirits were high and all concerned were under the influence of alcohol, a discussion the subject of which is lost in the fog of celebrations".
This is where ROUTE DRIVER MANAGER MARK ATKINSON HEAD BUTTS Manager Darren Waters. Quite rightly, Manager Darren Waters was unsure if he or Mark Atkinson were in trouble over this incident.
Lets evaluate what happened. Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson assaults Manager Darren Waters with a head butt, what would happen if a member of staff did this in a mess room or on a station concourse? We all know that answer. So how can Route Driver Manager Mark Atkinson be allowed to get away with this type of behaviour especially as he was an acting ambassador for First Group and TransPennine Express on that fateful evening?
If the bullies investigate the bully, quite naturally they all stick together, one rule for them and one for everyone else.
From the above small paragraph, one thing really sticks out, "the need for documented standards", because quite simply, from the Operations Director downwards each individual makes up there own set of plans and ideas of how they want a procedure or rule interpreting, with Operations Director Paul Watson being the top of that list. You only need to read my appeal hearing minutes to realise that this man twists anything he likes to benefit his situation.
Mark Atkinson paints the picture again, one of complete resentment among the management team. Yet we need look no further than Mark Atkinson`s ideology behind his view of a management team, it is to "BE LIKE A FORTRESS", I thought a fortress was something you would defend or take prisoners to, and to me on witnessing first hand this mans behaviour is exactly how he see`s those under him, nothing but prisoners who must obey his beliefs or be disposed of.
Further proof of this is the fact that he didn`t like Manager Darren Waters intervention when issues became heated, Mark Atkinson promotes the bully boy attitude and wants his managers to do the same, I must say, hats off to Darren Waters for seeing sense and trying to resolve issues with a level head and a decorum of diplomacy. I think if you asked any driver who you preferred out of the two of them to manage, Darren Waters would win hands down.
Why? Because you could obviously reason with Darren Waters, you couldn`t reason with Mark Atkinson because he is never wrong.
Further proof of this is the fact that he didn`t like Manager Darren Waters intervention when issues became heated, Mark Atkinson promotes the bully boy attitude and wants his managers to do the same, I must say, hats off to Darren Waters for seeing sense and trying to resolve issues with a level head and a decorum of diplomacy. I think if you asked any driver who you preferred out of the two of them to manage, Darren Waters would win hands down.
Why? Because you could obviously reason with Darren Waters, you couldn`t reason with Mark Atkinson because he is never wrong.
Amazing! But you wouldn`t expect anything else, Mark Atkinson see`s his own behaviour at the awards ceremony as something that could be put down to "high spirits", and failed to see why Darren Waters had put this matter on record!
This Route Driver Manager (Mark Atkinson) should have been charged with Gross Misconduct for his behaviour on that evening, yet amazingly there wasn`t even an investigation carried out. What more can I say!!!!!!
That is a an in depth look at what happens behind the scenes with this management, you can make your own minds up, but a complete shambles is far too kind for their behaviour and interaction with themselves and the drivers they supposedly manage.
NOW READ PART 2.
This Route Driver Manager (Mark Atkinson) should have been charged with Gross Misconduct for his behaviour on that evening, yet amazingly there wasn`t even an investigation carried out. What more can I say!!!!!!
That is a an in depth look at what happens behind the scenes with this management, you can make your own minds up, but a complete shambles is far too kind for their behaviour and interaction with themselves and the drivers they supposedly manage.
NOW READ PART 2.