Anonymous letter.

[stumpage]

I have a problem where I have received an anonymous letter relating to activities of a certain member of staff. I don't want to go into the details of the letter but what should I do? If what is written on the letter is true then I have a serious problem to deal with and I would have to fire the person in question. If it is false and I approach the member of staff what repercussions could happen?

[Epiphany74]

I agree with your first respondant. A friend of mine was once the victim of just such a malicious letter in her work. Her boss acted on the false letter and it all ended with her being vindicated in court - and the employer paying damages.

[dot.hawkes]

By the same token, if it is in fact a true accusation and you do not tell your H/R department and then the accused is later found to be guilty and the accusor says they sent u the letter, you would carry the can for not acting in a managerial role and dealing with it. If u ignore it and do not tell your superior (if u have one) then it may well come back to haunt you anyway.

[andy-hughes]

I would destroy the letter.

If you are going to get involved in ending someone's career, you need better evidence than an anonymous letter!

If you think the facts are true, see if you can make discreet investigations, but nothing formal without proper prrof.

[purplelily]

I agree with In A Pickle. I used to work for a local authority, and we received lots of nasty anonymous letters. The policy there was, 'if it's not signed, it can't be taken seriously', and any anonymous letters were binned.

I agree, keep an eye on the accused if you feel it's necessary, but at the end of the day, you can't fire someone for a rumour.

Good luck x.