The first step would always be to approach your line manager and tell them what has happened and ask them for advice as to what the organisation can do to assist you. If you feel that the response of your employer has not been sufficient, then you can raise a formal grievance. If you ask your HR officers for a copy of the grievance policy, they will be able to tell you how you lodge your grievance and once you have lodged a formal grievance, then the employer is obliged to deal with it in accordance with their grievance policy and to give you an outcome. Hopefully as a result of your grievance, your employer will take the necessary steps to deal with the abuse or discrimination that you’ve suffered. But unfortunately, that might not always be the case, particularly if the perpetrator is somebody higher up in the organisation. If your grievance doesn’t get the result that you need, then at that point I would recommend that you seek advice from a specialist employment solicitor. A solicitor will be able to explore what has happened and explain to you the options that are open to you, which may include bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal for damages as a result of the injury to feelings that you may have suffered as a result of abuse and/or discrimination. And it’s important to say that if you feel at all unsafe in your workplace, or if you feel that what’s happened to you has actually been criminal behaviour, then of course you must go to the police and report it to them also.
