I was petrified of making a mistake, says bank official

A former commercial officer with Ulster Bank left the company after an increased workload made her “petrified” she would make a mistake, after the bank was restructured, a tribunal has heard.

Sinéad Gough, of Lemybrien, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, has taken a case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal for constructive dismissal against Ulster Bank following her resignation from the company in 2011.

She told the opening day of her hearing in Waterford yesterday that, after people left in a round of redundancies when the bank was restructured in Jan 2010, she was working three days a week but trying to fit in five days’ worth of work.

“I felt there was too much responsibility being given to me as commercial officer. I came in on my days off and was working late and working through lunch. We were given monthly deadlines and targets and I met those deadlines every month, but I did it because I was working so much extra time.”

Ms Gough told the tribunal the bank’s commercial division had “huge problems” with Ulster Bank’s IT system, which had been changed throughout the company two or three years previously, and there was no helpdesk for commercial officers if they had technical problems. “People like myself helped each other.”

At one point, she said, she asked her line manager John Fitzgerald to update her on any procedural changes that were outlined at meetings which she couldn’t attend, and he said: “It’s not my job to keep you informed.”

She felt “terrible” after this, she said. She was also afraid that, if there was any mistake, she would be made a scapegoat. “I was absolutely petrified and scared all the time, that I was going to make a mistake, through the pressure and the workload.”

In Jun 2010, she told the area manager, Vincent Kearney, it had all become too much and asked him if he could apply for a redundancy deal for her. She didn’t qualify, however.

She attended an appraisal meeting with Mr Fitzgerald in Dec 2010 and three negative points about her work were put to her, which hadn’t been raised before, along with some positive comments.

She later received a yearly rating of two out of five, which meant she was deemed to be under-performing, and was upset about this because of all of the hours of work.

By now she was getting chest pains and headaches and taking the stress home with her, Ms Gough told the hearing, and she logged a grievance with human resources on Mar 21, 2011, before handing in her resignation the following day.

The grievance officer found in her favour but she didn’t take that process any further as she had left the company by then.

The hearing has been adjourned until Jun 20 when Ms Gough will be cross-examined by the bank’s legal team and evidence will be heard from Mr Fitzgerald.