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Not single spies, but vast battalions - shadows of echoes of memories of songs — LiveJournal
01:51 pm September 9th, 2003
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Not single spies, but vast battalions
As if there hadn't been enough trauma this month, one of my best friends has just had to resign from her job as a result of the threat of completely unjustified disciplinary action. Her employers aren't going ahead with the action in the end (having belatedly realised that it was, well, completely unjustified) but who wants to stay on in an atmosphere like that?

Meanwhile, I'm desperately trying (and failing) to think of advice to offer another friend who's become embroiled in a messy emotional situation. ... It's so frustrating to see one person upsetting other people so much while apparently remaining completely oblivious to what they're doing, and I wish I could intervene constructively, but a) it's not really my business, and b) the person who's doing the majority of the upsetting would react very badly if I tried to talk to them. I just wish there was more I could offer than hugs to the people who are on the receiving end of all this, but at the moment it doesn't seem like there is.

In other news, I seem to be getting more and more hysterical. I ended up in fits of something between giggles and tears last night while trying to beat Microsoft Word into submission so that I could fill in a job application form. Today I found myself once again struggling to choke back nervous giggles as more and more problems emerged with the data I'm working on -- which has reached the point of absurdity, but even so. In the end I had to hide in the toilets until I'd calmed down, and on the way there I noticed the sign on the wall between the Ladies' room and the Gents' room, which says
EMERGENCY
EVACUATION
PROCEDURE

and that nearly finished me. It's still making me giggle; the familiar shaky feeling just keeps welling up somewhere between the lines of the sign. Oh, feel free to laugh (with|at) me -- it's comical. Tragical. Comical-tragical. Scene individible.

I didn't get more than about 4 hours of sleep last night, due in part to the amount of coffee I'd consumed by the time I went to bed, but special thanks also go to the cretins who decided that our street was an excellent place to hold a drunken shouting contest.

I've got one thing left to look forward to this week, and if the bad news I'm half-expecting turns up tomorrow, that may well be off as well.

Current Mood: losing the will to live
Now playing: Pink Floyd, "High Hopes"
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Comment by Daddy Clanger
imc From: imc Date: September 9th, 2003 06:28 am (UTC) (Link)
Hugs.

That sign reminds me of a cutting that was once read out on the News Quiz or a similar programme, concerning a similar sign in some building or other. It said (and I paraphrase):
In the event of a fire, please make your way to the nearest fire exit and leave the building. Do not use the lifts; do not stop to collect your belongings; do not go to the toilet, but evacuate immediately.
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Thread started by Stephen Gower
From: scat0324 Date: September 9th, 2003 07:03 am (UTC) (Link)
As if there hadn't been enough trauma this month, one of my best friends has just had to resign from her job as a result of the threat of completely unjustified disciplinary action.

Sounds like possible constuctive dismissal. Has your friend taken any legal advice (start at the CAB, if there's no Union involvement)?
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lnr From: lnr Date: September 9th, 2003 07:20 am (UTC) (Link)
Definitely worth checking with the CAB. And soon ish, there's only so long you have to make a claim. It may not be possible if she's not been there long enough though, I'm terrible at remembering the details of these things.
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beingjdc From: beingjdc Date: September 9th, 2003 07:38 am (UTC) (Link)
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j4 From: j4 Date: September 9th, 2003 08:43 am (UTC) (Link)
I don't think she's been there for a year yet. :-(

I'll definitely suggest the CAB but I know she's had trouble actually getting through to them in the past (apparently it's all automated phone systems etc). I'll pass on the above URL too -- thanks for that, that looks quite useful actually.
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karen2205 From: karen2205 Date: September 9th, 2003 08:43 am (UTC) (Link)
No - IIRC it's three months to go to an employment tribunal, but you must exhaust all internal avenues first eg. firm's formal grievance procedure.

Go to the Citizens Advice Bureau and ask though.

The form for applying to an ET is actually fairly straight forward to fill in - eg. it's designed for lay people not lawyers.
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j4 From: j4 Date: September 9th, 2003 08:49 am (UTC) (Link)
IIRC it's three months

The info on the page that beingjdc linked to seems to say 1 year.
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karen2205 From: karen2205 Date: September 9th, 2003 08:51 am (UTC) (Link)
Opps - I'm replying to the wrong question - you have three months to bring a claim.

You must have a year's service unless you're complaining about dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or on the grounds of intimidation etc due to your role as a TU rep/health and safety rep or a couple of other things which I can't remember right now.
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Thread started by Eleanor Blair
lnr From: lnr Date: September 9th, 2003 07:46 am (UTC) (Link)
Reminds me of Dan's extra caption photo: apologies for the inconvenience.

I've heard more than one extremely drunken slanging match out of our bedroom window late at night. First one sounded like a really acrimonious breakup, which was sad. Still made me cross at them for keeping me awake though.

I hope, hope, hope the news is good. *fingers crossed*
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j4 From: j4 Date: September 9th, 2003 08:58 am (UTC) (Link)
I've heard more than one extremely drunken slanging match out of our bedroom window late at night. First one sounded like a really acrimonious breakup, which was sad.

The couple downstairs from me at the flat on Oyster Row used to have screaming, hysterical rows with each other that usually involved breaking things, and once involved them screeching at each other and threatening each other down the entire length of the street, for long enough that I seriously considered calling the police. On the other hand the police probably wouldn't do anything (...and when they arrive they say they can't interfere in domestic affairs...) and given how violent they both seemed to be I didn't really want to get involved at all.

I hope, hope, hope the news is good. *fingers crossed*

Me too. But I'm also trying to convince myself that it won't be, because I know that if I let myself hope too much, it's likely to completely destroy me when the news turns out to be bad. If you see what I mean.

Just want to know, to be honest. It's the waiting that's the worst bit. And if it's bad for me I can only imagine what it's like for the person whose news it really is ... and I feel like there's nothing I can do to help them at the moment. :-(
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lnr From: lnr Date: September 9th, 2003 09:03 am (UTC) (Link)
*hugs* I do SWYM yes. And I wish there was anything I could do either. But whatever the answer is it's probably still going to be better once you know. At least you're not living on hold any more, and can work out where the hell to go from there.
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k425 From: k425 Date: September 9th, 2003 11:52 am (UTC) (Link)
I called the police once when next door were fighting - loud enough for me to hear her crying and saying "no, no" and the occasional smack while he and another man yelled.

The police duly arrived and the first thing they said was "we've had a call from your neighbours". Thanks a lot. However, the fight was stopped, which was what I wanted - even if it was a false alarm I'd like to think that if I'd been crying as much as she was someone would have done the same for me.

Next day he put a stone through the neighbours' on the other side's window - her parents, he assumed it was them who'd called the police. He did pay for it, and I had a word with the parents and said it was my phone call, and they said they'd rather have a broken window than a broken daughter, which was what I'd expected.
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