DEAR DEIDRE: A guy who fancies me at work slapped me hard on the bottom after a training course. Now he stands to lose his job.
He’s 49 and I’m 37. We are both single and we were friends. That was all it was – I never fancied him, but he was always asking me what I was doing that evening or at the weekend. I could tell he was flirting with me.
One evening in our hotel after training, he came up behind me at the bar and slapped me so hard, it brought tears to my eyes.
The friend I was standing with was shocked.
When I turned around, the guy was walking away with his head down.
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I felt embarrassed and angry because he was somebody I liked. My friend went on about it and said I should speak to HR. So when we went back to work, I reported him.
Now my friend has been asked to give a statement about what happened and I understand the company is investigating this as possible gross misconduct.
But the guy seems to be popping up in the office wherever I am at the moment. He makes me feel so uncomfortable, and I felt disrespected when he slapped me.
I feel dreadful about the whole case.
DEIDRE SAYS: He's not the man you thought he was. You’ve done nothing wrong. This was a physical assault.
Smacking you very hard is a strange way to show you that you’re liked. This may be down to his unconventional social skills but that’s not your fault.
If he loses his job then he’ll have to move on, but it may stop him from doing the same to somebody else.
Keep a note of any time when he comes near you in future, just in case you will need it for evidence.
That way, you can substantiate your case if HR asks for more information.
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