In the very large Fortune 500 Company I work for, there are a number of bureaucratic safeguards against bad management and instant employment termination.
1) A manager can't just fire someone on a whim but instead needs to work with HR, Senior Management and go through a process of progressive discipline with an oral, written warning and performance improvement program. (Unless there is gross misconduct.)
2) There is a formal non union grievance system where the employee can submit a formal complaint against their manager. Which will be investigated and evaluated by a special committee.
3) There is an open door policy where an employee who feels they are mistreated can get an appointment to discuss their situation with their bosses manager and if that does not work, the harassed employee can move up the corporate latter all the way to the CEO.
If you work for a similar organization have you ever seen this bureaucracy used effectively by an employee to protect themselves from misconduct on the part of their manager?