Advice on bullying

DDesigner

New Member
Hi,

I'm feeling a bit low tonight.

I have been bullied at work and took the company to court, it's really stressful and I worry about my health. I was in employment for nearly a decade and the bullying started a few years ago (I broke down at work once). I was signed off ill and asked to be terminated from my contract. The financial implication didn't cross my mind at the time.

The case is ongoing, financially I'm stressed but I feel necessary to go through it. I was told to remove their work from my portfolio - they were my designs. They denied any wrongdoings and now threatened legal action over my portfolio (on copyright), even though I have credited the company in the description and I had verbal permission from the departed Creative Director. In the creative industry so much hinges on presenting a visual portfolio. I've been with the company for a long time, without their work I will find it difficult to seek employment.

They humiliated me at work, now they're making it hard for me to look for jobs.

I don't know what to do.
 
If you created the work during employment at the company, then they will own the rights and be able retain the right to ask you to remove them from your public portfolio. Verbal permission from the CD is worthless, you need it in writing as a form of proof, and even then the CD may not even have the final say over whether you can or cannot display work. If you have an ongoing legal dispute with this company then it may very well be in their best interests to refuse to let you display the work to make it clear they are opposing you (like how divorce lawyers never want their client willing leaving a property as it makes their opponent's case stronger).

There's nothing to stop you showing your work to potential employers at face-to face meetings though. I mean, there probably is a clause in a contract you signed somewhere, but who's to know? Just be wary about displaying anything publicly or sending out emails with PDFs of said work. Now would be a good time to start working on some personal work to rebuild the portfolio. Try and focus on creating the work you'd want to do everyday and you might just end up doing it.
 
No way!

It really does boils my p@ss when people act like that and there's no room or reason for bulling in whatever form.
If you don't mind me asking, what form did the bullying take?

Regarding your portfolio. Being an employee, they own the rights so can pretty much stop you using it but as Paul says, it'd be hard to stop you presenting it face to face in an interview situation.
I'd just start building up your folio with your own stuff.

That being said...
Did you use your own designs for the company or did you do them 'in-house'?
Do you have a "Designs & Inventions" clause in your contract?

I was in a similar situation a few years back. :(

Saying that. Looking back I see plenty of burning bridges. :D
 
Thanks guys.

They also claimed I wasn't part of the design process, when in fact they were my ideas and concepts. I wouldn't have shown anything that wasn't done by myself.
To be honest, they were to bulk up my personal, creative work and to show that I've been working in the past many years. I was never going to keep them up for long.

The bullying was purely verbal. I complained but it was always dealt by the same bully. It was never impartial.

Sorry, I just needed an outlet and wanted to see what other creatives think about their rights to the work in portfolios.
 
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