EE rocked by call centre bullying

EE rocked by call centre bullyingMobile giant EE has been engulfed in yet another controversy after an employment tribunal has heard of a catalogue of bullying and harassment at one of its call centres.
The case centres on Teesside contact centre manager Fay Hand, who claims she was made a scapegoat after she was sacked when one member of staff was knocked unconscious at his desk last October.
In mitigation after the event, the employee told bosses he lashed out because he had been provoked, and said the month previously colleagues had pinched his car keys and removed a computer game from his car.
He claimed he had been harassed at work, that the game was held to ransom and there had been a fake disciplinary hearing about it.
The call centre staff were skilled members of the EE team with a higher technical knowledge of the network system, and better paid than regular call handlers.
Hand delegated the incident to a junior manager but EE claimed she should have done it herself, as the firm had an “almost zero” tolerance of harassment and bullying.
Seven employees were sacked as a result of the incident – including the man who kicked his colleague, the victim and their team leader.
John Mitton, representing the claimant, told the tribunal at Teesside Magistrates’ Court: “We believe that the punishment being summary dismissal is completely disproportionate for someone with this amount of service and an exemplary record. At the very worst, a final warning should have been issued.”
The tribunal judge Gerald Johnson reserved judgment for two weeks.
After the hearing, Hand wept as she recalled her time with the firm, which she said had made her a “scapegoat”. She told the Hartlepool Mail: “I put an awful lot of time and effort into that job. I loved it and everyone who worked with me would vouch for that.”

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