STORY 29
Since 2018 I have signed 2 NDA’s after experiencing bullying and disability discrimination in 2 different workplaces.
Workplace One:
The first there was a toxic culture and bullying seemed acceptable, when I started suffering with mental health problems because of the bullying due to my physical health problem it got worse and I was deemed a danger to my colleagues because my managers behaviour towards me caused me to feel suicidal. When I raised a grievance HR instantly offered me a settlement agreement, this dragged on for 3 months which cause my mental health to get worse and worse by the time the agreement was put in front of me I was ready to sign anything. I wasn’t allowed to change the agreement and it basically shut down the investigation and meant I had to leave with a gagging clause. I had 10 days to process, take advice and get back to them. I left the business as agreed 14 days after that signature.
Workplace Two:
I started another role in a different company, my second since signing the NDA, and instantly I knew my manager was a bully and I couldn’t reveal my physical or mental health problems. As they came out over a 12 month period my manager got worse until after 23 months he served me with compulsory redundancy. I had been too scared to report the bullying due to fear of losing my job so now I had nothing to lose – I did report it as I had kept very detailed records. This time the grievance was pretty much ignored and they continued with the redundancy which would require a settlement agreement for a measly £3k I stuck to my guns and insisted on compulsory redundancy.
As it got closer to my supposed end date I started to be mobbed and a better settlement was offered with a strong NDA. They played my mental health until I was a complete mess again and gave me 48 hours to get advice and return the settlement agreement.
I had no idea what I was doing by the end of it I was so heavily medicated I have no recollection of the legal advice I was given apart from the soilictor saying something along the lines of ‘2 agreements in 2 years, nice, not many get that chance’ and hating him for it.
Thankfully I got help [after this time during the COVID-19 pandemic] and was under a crisis team. It took 3 months before I could even consider looking for work. I took the first thing I could as money was running out, but I finally landed a dream job 6 months after signing the settlement agreement. I have been extremely open about what has happened in the past and my health and feel a lot more secure and settled at this workplace. But, I am always on heightened awareness of something going bad at any time. I am on anti-depressants for life now and I feel my mood is never quite what it was pre bullying and discrimination.
