Hi Stallion

I went through something similar with a bullying boss a few years back. As Liz says, document everything, all the tasks that your wife is being asked to do and how long it took another person to do them previously, all the hours she has to work, how the working conditions changed during this woman's sabbatical, the name of the line manager who took over during the sabbatical. Get your wife to her GP to show the deleterious effect that the situation is having on her and to get it all documented. Then go see a solicitor!

The problem with this kind of abuse is that the perpetrator gets their victim to a state where they do believe that there is something lacking in them. The victim needs to learn that it is not their fault and that the abuser is the one to blame. Is it just your wife who is being picked on or are there others in the same situation? If so, just one legal action started could open the floodgates of complaints against this woman.

I was lucky - there was a good procedure in place for complaints and I had a good union rep who backed me all the way.