Facing disciplinary action for being innocent

[thewakers7]

yea a tv lol

[outofsync24]

Don't get me wrong, he isn't a complete angel. Any patent who says that their kids are angels are lying. But the one thing we've done is tell him to always be honest and tell the truth, no matter what the consequences, even if it means he's gonna get in trouble for it. I've got to give him his due, he's always done that, which is why I would move heaven and earth for him. And as for it getting better, it depends whether you've got boys or girls, coz they switch as they get older lol. Boys start off bad and get better, girls are the opposite

[thewakers7]

HB maybe head office HR is the way forward then, im just thinking all the allegations etc maybe police intervention there not gonna make the lads employment lovely are they, possibly op could go along the lines of formal apology, staff retraining etc

[outofsync24]

All we want is his name cleared of everything, but the way I see it is, if they're gonna play dirty, then we've got to have every defence we can. My sons words to the boss when he was asked were "why would I risk losing my job by stealing money".

 

My sons the only one out of his group of friends (there are about 10 of them in the group) that has a job because they're really hard to come across where I live. He also goes to a YMCA training course three days a week to better himself and gets help with that too, so it's not like he even needs the money

Edited March 31, 2010 by outofsync24
Typo

[Whodini666]

Is it a large business?

[outofsync24]

2nd largest restaurant chain in the country

[thewakers7]

oos lol whose kids arnt angels, if kids/teens arnt up to no good i dont think its natural, me i got 1 teen girl 1 teen boy and 3 boys under 10, all mine know as well lying is a no no, and taking without asking is my biggest no no, i can see at least one of my kids going into a shop one day adn saying please mr shopkeeper can i have this lol, but getting back business, my OH is a union rep iv learnt sum tricks and facts along the way, and ive got many people ther jobs back at his place of work through inconsistencies and irregularites, that ive come across his company is a nightmare and would sack u if u were lying in a bed dying, we have our own fight going on at the moment with his employment etc so we know what ur going thru

[Whodini666]

So they have a fair amount to lose with bad publicity?

[outofsync24]

It's awful. At least we've got a week now to try and sort something out

[outofsync24]

Maybe Who, but all we really want is his name cleared. The dirty stuff cones later if it's needed. I'm just trying to get as much info as I can to support his case ;-)

[Whodini666]

Still think this goes beyond dealing with the low life at the branch level. Would suggest as a bare minimum speaking to Group HR Director, relay the events and tell them you are going to the police. See what response you get, believe me you will have a lot of interested legal companies to take up this. It is really commendable for your son to still want to work there despite this, but they have an awful lot more to lose than you. Or am I just living in a silly little cocoon in my life?

[thewakers7]

oos youve done everything u can, write everything that was said today b4 the zzzzz's start to slip in convienently there photocopier was "broke" (lame excise if ever i heard one) like u said u want to clear his name, you might find come next week theyl ramble on about allsorts and retract the disaplinary through lack of evidence but u dont want some feeble excuse u want at least a formal written apology, thinking about what u said that this compnay is the 2nd largest restaurant chain in uk, could this particular restaurant be a francise?

[outofsync24]

It has one main trading name, but operates a lot of restaurants under different names. I thnk I'm going to phone the head office again tomorrow and speak to them. I've already written everything down and have typed them up and printed off enough copies to write a novel, which is more than his workplace has done ;-)

[mariefab]

Is your son aware that he has a statutory right to be accompanied at the disciplinary hearing by a work colleague or union rep?

 

It's a puzzler that, although she knows that your son was searched repeatedly on the day the money went missing and nothing was found, the person who'll make the decision after the hearing still seems to have the attitude that he's guilty.

 

If the only basis for this belief is the fact that he went to the loo a few times the employer is on pretty shaky ground. Especially if they are aware that his disability makes frequent loo visits necessary.

It's very important that, at the disciplinary hearing, your son should state that his disability is the reason for his frequent loo visits and make sure that this is written into the minutes.

Your son is very lucky to have you in his corner gathering all this information to assist him.

But, you might want to consider being a little cautious at this time.

He should receive copies of all the information/witness statements before the disciplinary hearing.

You'll have a much better idea of what you're dealing with then.

Such meetings can be very stressful so people don't always remember everything that they wished to say.

You could help your son to prepare everything in writing so that he can hand in a copy at the disciplinary and say that he wants it entered into the minutes.

(Or, as would be the case if it was my son,

Son: Mu-u-m, you know you love me?

to which the proper response is..

Me: What do you want?

wraps Mum in hug and rests chin on head..

Son: You'll do it for me won't ya Mum? )

 

If they were to dismiss him, the main difficulty is that he has less than a year's employment and therefore couldn't make an ordinary unfair dismissal claim which would require his employer not to prove his guilt but to show that they felt that they had grounds to hold a 'reasonable belief' in his guilt.

 

The only way that he could bring a claim with less than a year's service is if he can show that his dismissal was on grounds connected with his disability.

 

 

Also, because he has less than a year's service, they can terminate his employment at any time by just giving him a weeks notice (unless he has a contractual right to a longer notice period) and they don't have to give any reason at all.

The reason that I suggest caution is that if you or your son go ahead with all guns blazing with the HR department they'll see the danger signs and instruct the person dealing with the disciplinary to cancel that process and simply terminate him.

It would probably be best to save your ammunition for the disciplinary

　

[elpulpo]

I go away for 5 minutes and all this happens......

[honeybee13]

Yes, you missed all the 'fun'. I've never seen a thread build up this fast in 24 hours or so, not since I joined CAG anyway. OOS, I hope your son knows how much support he has and how outraged everyone here is.

 

HB x

[outofsync24]

We both appreciate all of the help and advice you've all given to us. Let's just hope that things work out for the best. I didn't call the HT dept, just going to keep my cards close to my chest, so to speak

[Bigredbus]

117 posts... As 'honeybee13' said... I have not seen such a case build up in so little time...

 

Despite the fact that your son has less than a year employment, you still should write a letter to the HR Director, detailing the incidents which have occured at the branch.

 

They are, obviously, in breach of a few policies, rules and regulations... I believe an intensely worded letter should trigger an investigation, to say the least...

[thewakers7]

big red bus i agree, show them that ur serious i think if u leave it till discaplinary youve lost a bit of the upper hand in respect, wheras a HD office investigation might put halt to everything but saying that u would need all the paperwork they have, to highlight what they have done to him

[outofsync24]

They said they were going to post it to him, so I told them that they would have to send it by, at the very least, recorded delivery so it can be tracked, to which she agreed. I also explained that we are away for a long weekend, so I would get it redelivered to me at my work, so it would be at least Wednesday, because of the bank holidays, until I received it. Once we've got the statements, we'll be able to see more what they're basing their findings on.

[honeybee13]

Well, I hope you all have a great long weekend and come back feeling refreshed. Don't count on the letter being there when you get back though. A fair number of people on the forum haven't received paperwork when they should have done. But if the employer does that, they just make themselves look worse, which may help you.

 

Go away and forget about them.

 

HB x

[outofsync24]

That's why I requested at least recorded delivery. I work at the post office, so there's no way I don't know the rules on post going missing and such lol. We plan to relax for the weekend and thx for the best wishes. I will keep you all up to date when I get back, as unfortunately, there's no Internet or 3G where we're staying. Thankyou everyone x

[honeybee13]

Sometimes it's better not to be in touch all the time. Go away and relax, I hope the sun shines. HB x

[outofsync24]

We're back!!! We had a nice break and we've just had a phonecall from my sons manager inviting him back to work, because after further investigations, they've found that they have no basis for their accusations so the disciplinary had been cancelled. Woohoo!!! Thankyou all so much for all of your help and advice xx

[mariefab]

Well done!

 

I'd warn him to watch his back for a while to be on the safe side.