Is this right

[Parsonjack]

Hi all, im a nebie, with a big problem..................
I ahve been suspended from work on gross misconduct charges, i wont go into the gory details, but I am being offered for sacrifice by my department who are under pressure to make massive savings, so they digged the dirt.
Anyway,
On the morning of my suspension I didn't know what was coming, a delegation from the office arrived and ushered me into a different office where i was handed the "paper work" detailing my suspension. At the time this was happening, my "Private "diary, my own, I own it and sue it for everything, including some work stuff, was copied, or entries where copied. This i did not know until the other day at my second investigatory hearing when they produced copies of my diary entries............ is this allowed ? Is it law ful to copy someones diary without prior permission or consent ?
Also i am a member of several forums and they had searched through all my posts on one of the forums i belong to. Again is this lawful ?

I resign tomorrow, as i have been told by the union I am going to get fired come what may, they just want me out. So I am taking resignation rather than the boot, they have also sid I can expect a reference that says I left whilst under investigation..........al l this for ten years impeccable service, thats local authorities for you............

[wino]

Hi there parsonjack and welcome to cag.
Sorry to hear of your problems. You say your under suspension for gross misconduct. is this justified? I don't think you are disputing it are you?

When you say they have looked through your forum entries and diary was this on the companies computer? If it was then I believe they have a right to do so.

I am sure someone who knows more about this type of thing will be along soon to advise

[paulgmb]

If you leave you will have no rights of redress.
Obviously we don't know all the details of the case they are making against you but you should consider carefully before resigning. if you feel you have no chance you should ask your Union to try and broker a deal and at the absolute minimum try and get an agreed reference and your notice pay.
If you were accessing the web in working time then they may have a case. Have you read the authorities internet access policy?
As for your personal diary, how did they get hold of this?
In my opinion they had no right to copy it unless there was an allegation of fraud or other possible criminal activity against them then they would have a right to use any evidence they had come across unless they broke into your desk?
Regards,
Paul.

[c_allen]

Originally Posted by Parsonjack

I resign tomorrow, as i have been told by the union I am going to get fired come what may, they just want me out. So I am taking resignation rather than the boot, they have also sid I can expect a reference that says I left whilst under investigation..........al l this for ten years impeccable service, thats local authorities for you............

whats the point resigning? you lose a lot of your rights doing this, and is dismissal any worse than the reference you can expect,,,,,, if you've gor 10 years impeccable service then you've got a lot in your favour, unless you have been doing something really wrong?
don't make it easy for them, have a read of the other post in this section, (before you rush into something you may regret) and you'll see what i mean

[Parsonjack]

Hi people,
Thanks for the comments so far...........
I have been suspended for a gross misconduct charge of "Doing payed private work in council time using council resources" and in the second installment......"A serious breach of the councils IT policy".
Basically i do some consultansy work on the side, I book time off from holidays and lieu (off which i have 120 hours to take), my mistake was not getting my holiday card signed by my line manager, something that has happened many times. I am also accused of using the company vehicle, and tools to carry out the work. I have used the vehicle for private use, but then we all have, and same with the tools, we all have. Including my line manager. So..........the investigation goes on.............they then say that I ordered materials to sell on the internet, a pair of boots. The boots belong to me, always have done, had them for at least 5 years. But they say I ordered them and attempted to sell them on, which is incorrect.
They then say that they have found material on the laptop.........downloaded music.................and yes you guessed it "Porn".
The music, or some of it came from me, I uploaded it from CD and MP3 to go on my phone and ipod. Some has been uploaded from my duaghter. As I allowed my kids to use it at home, girl 14 boy 19. The Porn, after a weekend of arguing and interogation....my son owned up to some of it. Other members of staff also used the lap top and took it home regularly. Only I had it when they suspended me.
They have looked through my posts on various forums I belong to, and copied entries from my personal diary, this they did on the morning of my suspension when I was ushered into another room. My diary was on my desk, so they must have copied it on the scanner. The diary is my "own" and i use it for everything.
This just happens to coincide with a major finance cut that is going on within the council due to the Job Evaluation process going very very wrong, they said it would be a nil cost operation when they started it, it,s over budget by around £800,000 and 6 months late. So i believe I have been sacrificed as i am sort of middle management level, niether a worker nor management.
So there you go folks thats my story,
Went for an interview this morning, and told them about my plight. They seemed ok about it, said I was brave for being honest.......ok.

Mark

[gadgetgirl79]

Originally Posted by Parsonjack

Hi people,
Thanks for the comments so far...........
I have been suspended for a gross misconduct charge of "Doing payed private work in council time using council resources" and in the second installment......"A serious breach of the councils IT policy".
Basically i do some consultansy work on the side, I book time off from holidays and lieu (off which i have 120 hours to take), my mistake was not getting my holiday card signed by my line manager, something that has happened many times. I am also accused of using the company vehicle, and tools to carry out the work. I have used the vehicle for private use, but then we all have, and same with the tools, we all have. Including my line manager. So..........the investigation goes on.............they then say that I ordered materials to sell on the internet, a pair of boots. The boots belong to me, always have done, had them for at least 5 years. But they say I ordered them and attempted to sell them on, which is incorrect.
They then say that they have found material on the laptop.........downloaded music.................and yes you guessed it "Porn".
The music, or some of it came from me, I uploaded it from CD and MP3 to go on my phone and ipod. Some has been uploaded from my duaghter. As I allowed my kids to use it at home, girl 14 boy 19. The Porn, after a weekend of arguing and interogation....my son owned up to some of it. Other members of staff also used the lap top and took it home regularly.

I know it doesn't seem fair that others have done the exact same thing and haven't been suspended, but the idea of contracts is that when you choose to break something in your contract, you do it at your own risk, and it's nothing to do what others do. You need to forget what others have done, and concentrate on your own rule breaking.

From what you've posted above, you've obviously broken quite a lot of rules in the contract, so depending on what your contracts says, this would often be enough for dismissal. In both companies I've worked for, if I got caught for any of the above, I would have been dismissed!

As for the diary, I'm not sure where you stand on this, as you stated that it was left out on your desk. Had it been in your bag or something, then I guess that would have been a different matter. By the sounds of it, they have enough evidence of gross misconduct for dismissal without even needing to use any evidence (if they actually found any) in your diary.

If you've been there for 10 years, maybe it's time for a change? Could you not negotiate a good reference from them if you resign, in exchange for taking no further action on the theft of your diary or something?

[poppynurse]

Is there not some ruling that says employers must treat people equally and fairly, ie they cannot punish an individual for something that is common practice?
I think they've got you on the IT side though.