Suspended pending disciplinary hearing

[mazzyh]

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[Ell-enn]

Hi there, first of all try not to get too upset. I know it's hard, but it will help you if you can focus and put the facts of your situation together clearly. It sounds as if you have had a very stressful and upsetting time.

I have quite a few meetings this morning, but I will get back to you as soon as I can and see if I can help you further - although someone else may pick this up in the meantime and be able to advise you sooner.

Kind Regards

Ell-enn

[mazzyh]

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[tiglet]

Sorry to hear about this Mazzyh - I can't help, but am just offering my support as I've been through something similar many years ago.

Take a deep breath, relax as much as you can and I'm sure Ell-enn will be along to give you some great advice soon.

[borisbeaver]

I have had to officiate at three diciplinary meeting at my last job.

I absolutely hated it, but I'm glad to say that I was able to be neutral and able to weigh the evidence. Two of the diciplinary's I found there was no case to answer, with one of the managers, in turn, being made to re-attend a staff relationship course. The third, a fraud case, was quite clear cut. The manager bringing the case wanted to involve the police, but due to the mitigating circumstances and an unblemished work record, the individual had his employment terminated.

At the end of the day, you are only human and can do so much. Any company that is worth is salt and cares for it's employees will see the amount of stress you are under and it's affect. Stress can be very debilitating.

I used to work for a big bank and I had to take 6 months out for work re-lated stress. I went to councilling and the chap running it made the following statement, and it's something that I stand by.

"You are a survivor. You have had problems, but you are still here. There are opportunities everywhere."

Once you stop enjoying you job, it's time to look to pastures new. Ask yourself this question, and be honest. "If I get through this diciplinary meeting, do I really want to stay with this company?"

I know I'm rambling, but you have people here who will help, guide and support you.

And remember. Don't let the ***** get you down!

[mazzyh]

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[k65]

If you have not recieved the information from work by the time of the hearing you do not need to answer any questions asked at the hearing.
they are supposed to provide this information before the hearing allowing you enough time to respond to the points raised. if you recieve this and they then ask questions not in the information you do not need to answer them.
always take someone with you, give them a pen and paper and ask them to write down what is said if they are a slow writer slow the meeting down to make sure they get everything.
do not be pressured into agreeing to anything you dont agree with.
do you have a terms and conditions of employment/staff handbook if so read up on disciplinary action.
have they followed proceadures correctly.
although you might not feel like it i would suggest always fighting tooth and nail in circumstances like this, although the outcome will probably not change you may recieve a offer to go.

[mazzyh]

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[mazzyh]

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[mazzyh]

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[shywazz]

1. You should get a formal letter from your employer out-lining the reason/reasons for holding the gross misconduct hearing. You need to know the full extent of there claims towards you, and the reasons fully explained.
2. You should request in writing to receive a up-dated copy of there full proceedures in all disciplinarys.
3. You can request to have a copy of your full employment file, the company has 40 days to comply with this request.
4. NEVER attend such meetings alone, in a union use there services, failing that, contact Acas - Home this site is very useful for non unionised emplyees.
5. Should you feel that you havn't had sufficent time to put your case together, attend the meeting with a letter requesting a adjournment, this can be for a period of at least 7 working days, you can adjourn more than once, but too many times will be deemed unsatifactory.
6. Have you signed for training given to the work that relates to your duties? You require copies of ALL training undertaken since joining the company.
7. Get medical support from your doctor only when deemed required, as there might be a charge, although the charges can be claimed after the hearing if found in your favour.

Do you feel mis-treated by your employer? Have you a case of Equal Opportunity failure ?

At the present time, DO-NO worry, no point in worrying about things your not aware of yet, once you get the paperwork from your employer you will have there claims to read, then you can decide what actions to take from there. Your employer has to prove gross misconduct. let them give you proof of such, then you draw up your defence to there claims.
I'll watch this thread carefully.

[cal37]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your problems but please stay focused, alls not lost.

Ok every company has to follow the The statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedure (DDP)

1. Statement of grounds for action and invitation to a meeting

The employer must send the employee a written statement setting out the reasons why they are considering dismissing or disciplining the employee, (for example the alleged misconduct; the reasons why the employer thinks an employee is not doing their job properly; or the reasons why the employer is proposing to make the employee redundant or not to renew their fixed term contract).
The employer must invite the employee to a meeting to discuss the issue.



I note from your post that you are unaware of the reason for the meeting, did you receive this?

2. The meeting

The employer must hold a meeting to discuss the reasons why they are considering disciplining or dismissing the employee
The employee has the right to be accompanied at the meeting.
The employee should have had a reasonable opportunity to consider their response to the employer’s statement before the meeting. The employer must have informed the employee of the basis of any allegations or reasons why the employer is considering disciplining or dismissing the employee. No dismissal or disciplinary action should take place before the meeting.
The meeting should be organised at a reasonable time and in a convenient location and both the employer and the employee must take all reasonable steps to attend. The employee must be given the opportunity to state their case at the meeting.
After the meeting the employer must inform the employee about the decision and of their right to appeal if they are not satisfied it.



Take someone with you, union rep if you have one or a co worker.Get them to take notes. You have the right to call an adjournment at anytime, so if you are unsure of something or wish to discuss something with your witness ask for one.

3. The appeal

If the employee chooses to appeal, they must inform the employer who must invite them to a further meeting.
The employee has the right to be accompanied and both the employer and employee must take all reasonable steps to attend this meeting.
The appeal meeting need not take place before any dismissal or sanction takes effect. Where possible, the appeal should be dealt with by a more senior manager than attended the first meeting (unless the most senior manager attended the first meeting).
After the meeting the employer must inform the employee of their final decision.
If you get to hear we will advice you more then.

In my opinion you have been badly treated by your company and you should fight this not alone but with our support.



Phil

[Ell-enn]

Hi Mazzyh, sorry for delay in replying. I hope you're feeling a bit better now.

I'm going to have to ask you quite a lot of questions in order for me to fully understand the background to all this, so please bear with me. Answering the questions will be useful to you also as it will help you focus on the details and put events into order which you will need to be confident of at the hearing.

Firstly you should know that employers are required to act reasonably and fairly and there are certain requirements that have to be met when dealing with disciplinary matters.

"Employers are responsible for setting realistic and achievable standards and making sure employees understand what is required. Standards should be capable of being measured in terms of quality, quantity, time and cost. Any shortfall in performance should be pointed out to the employee concerned, and consideration given as to whether this is due to inadequate instruction, training, supervision or some other failing.
Proper training and supervision are essential to the achievement of satisfactory performance. Regular discussion with employees about performance, either formally or informally, will help to identify any problem areas and allow remedial action to be taken promptly.
Where skills have become outmoded by new technology, employers should consider whether new skills could be achieved through training."
Acas - Advisory handbook - Discipline and grievances at work (section 1 of 2)

1. When you were first told that your performance wasn't satisfactory, were any notes taken of your discussions?

2.Were you given written notification of the first warning and the reason?

3. Were you given any written targets for improvement and dates by which the improvements needed to be met?

3. Have training records been kept for the tasks that are the subject of this action?

The last two questions are important as it would be unreasonable for an employer to discipline an employee for poor performance when that employee had not been given an opportunity to improve and also training to achieve the improvement.

It is also important that you have a copy of the company disciplinary and grievance policy. If it is not included in the documents you get in the post then you must request one is sent to you by next day delivery, otherwise you cannot be sure they have followed their own procedure.

When you receive the documents they should contain the written reason for the hearing, together with evidence to support it. When you have this please let me know so I have the full facts.

As I said before, try not to worry too much. I understand that you will be feeling isolated and vulnerable, but by staying in contact with this site and compiling all the facts you should become more positive by the time Monday comes.

Kind Regards

Ell-enn
If you feel I have been of help please feel free to tip my scales

[Oh Boy!]

Maz,

Welcome to CAG

Your in the right place for the right problem, there is lots of professional people here from all walks of life.

DO NOT BE THREATENED BY THIS ROGUE MANAGER.

There is NO DEATH at the end of all this, remember you have all sorts of courts and professionals outside of here if you have to sue, thats if you get dismissed.

Incidentally it would be nice for all of us to know if you are a Male or Female, and the age bracket you fall into (you dont have to answer).

Remember, there is something called disclosure in this country, you can't just accuse someone without any substance, even so, they have to tell you what you supposed to have done.

To prove DECEIT, is virtually impossible, how can they say that you deceived the company to who's gain...YOURS? how, it would be different if you had hand written documents and signed various sections of the document proporting to support a fee structure or something that would bring a loss to the company? it wasn't though, it was an error in sending an email, thats no big deal.

Keep us posted,

[Oh Boy!]

Nearly forgot

Listen to what ELL-ENN says, she is 100% correct on that front.

[mazzyh]

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