What is the biggest workplace drama you've ever been caught up in?

Posted by sirfletchalot@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 387 comments

I'm a Chef, and work in contract catering (the staff restaurants you find inside big corporate buildings) A few years back, we had a commis chef who was around 50 years old, and honestly thought she was a princess, she used to argue with everyone, and had previously sued her last 3 employers for varying reasons, so, everyone was scared of her. One Friday, she had arranged with the unit manager that after her shift had finished, she was allowed to stay, and set up a little stall to sell some bits for an animal charity. Anyway, the manager was in the office in meetings all day, and she decided to set up while still on shift, and begin selling during her working hours. We were exceptionally busy, and down a team member due to her antics, and as the next in line as sous chef, I confronted her and told her it needed to wait until her shift ended, as was agreed. She walked into the kitchen, hurling a tirade of abuse my way, and stormed out. That evening, I recieved a text message from her, throwing more abuse my way, and even had the audacity to insult my wife, and say my then 3yo daughter should have been aborted! I knew she was fishing for a reaction, so I didn't reply at all, and instead took a screenshot, and forwarded it to my manager, the company area manager, and HR. She was suspended pending investigation, and had to go through multiple investigative meetings, in which she tried desperately to throw me, the unit manager, and the ops manager under the bus. She was finally relieved of her employment, and after, like clockwork, tried to sue the business for unlawful dismissal, which cost the company thousands. This was roughly 6 years ago. 2 years ago I saw a pic of her in the local paper, beside a story of how she had sued her new employer for sexual harassment. She is literally the devil.