Suspended from work for alleged email misuse. Help!!

[Rooster48]

Hello,

 

I was suspended from work last week pending investigation for allegedly sending grossly offensive and racist emails about customers to colleagues and also for allegedly accessing unauthorised customer records.

 

I don't yet know what the allegations are relating to, I have requested the information but the request was refused. I am assuming it is a few joke emails sent between friends and if any customer records were accessed it would have just to be to look at a funny name or something harmless like that but with no intention to offend anyone.

 

There have since been a number of other colleagues suspended. I am in a union, they can't give me any help until they see the details of what the allegations are relating to. Can someone please give some advice. I will pass this on the some of my colleagues as a number of them are not in the union.

 

Thanks.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Rooster48

[Sidewinder]

First of all, does your employer have an 'acceptable use' internet and email policy? If so, what does it say?

 

How did the 'offence' come to light? Was a complaint made or was it through monitoring of the email system?

 

At the investigation stage, there is no right to see any evidence. This will though have to be presented at any disciplinary hearing, and you would have to be given more details in advance in order to be able to answer the allegation. It is difficult to say more (and no doubt this is also the Union's position) without knowing more, and how what you are alleged to have done contravenes any particular policy or code of conduct.

[Rooster48]

Thanks for replying. My employer has an acceptable use policy and to be honest I have no idea what it says as it has been so long since I have read it if I have at all. I know you don't have much more advice unless details are given, the only thing I can say is that it may have been joke emails between colleagues not intending any harm or offence to anyone. Could something like this be deemed as gross misconduct?

[honeybee13]

Hi there and welcome to the forum. As Sidewinder says, it's hard to advise you before we know what you're up against.

 

Can you get hold of a copy of your employee handbook or the computer use policy?

 

There are a couple of recent threads on this sort of thing. Goldie66 has an ongoing one which has become quite complicated. That could make useful reading for you.

 

Later on, when you have the details, the IT forum may be able to help, if it's something we don't know and they would.

 

HB

[cardiffboy500]

It is a tough one here, one persons harmless joke is another persons bullying or discrimination. You need the companies Email and Computer access policies to understand where you have perhaps crossed the line, and how best to defend what ever action you took.

[Sidewinder]

Thanks for replying. My employer has an acceptable use policy and to be honest I have no idea what it says as it has been so long since I have read it if I have at all. I know you don't have much more advice unless details are given, the only thing I can say is that it may have been joke emails between colleagues not intending any harm or offence to anyone. Could something like this be deemed as gross misconduct?

 

I think that you do need to read it, for it may well say that it will be considered an act of Gross Misconduct for staff to use the facility to send obscene, offensive, or inappropriate emails.

 

The problem there is who decides what is acceptable and what is not? There mere fact that you have used a facility provided for business use to send non-business related communication, could be taken as a breach. If those emails also contained derogatory references to customers, then that could make matters worse - it all depends what you can and can't do in line with any policy issued.

 

I don't know about your company, but many of ours have a default disclaimer at the bottom which may relate to confidentiality and the company sending the email. If one of yours was to be considered so funny by a workmate that he thought that a mate outside the business would enjoy it, then control over who sees that, and the company name attributed to it, is lost. That is why many employers come down quite harshly on what originally started as a joke email. Not saying whether it is right or wrong in your particular case, and your employer does have to have a robust policy, just an example of why some employers treat this quite seriously.

[Rooster48]

Thanks for your replies. I was contacted by management yesterday, they came to my house to deliver a letter to say that I have a meeting this Friday to see all the documents involved although it states I will not be allowed a copy of the documents. The letter also states that i will have an interview the Wednesday after. After Friday that gives me two working days to prepare for the interview. Are they giving me sufficient time to prepare without any documents and should I legally be allowed a copy of the documents?

 

Thanks.

[Sidewinder]

Thanks for your replies. I was contacted by management yesterday, they came to my house to deliver a letter to say that I have a meeting this Friday to see all the documents involved although it states I will not be allowed a copy of the documents. The letter also states that i will have an interview the Wednesday after. After Friday that gives me two working days to prepare for the interview. Are they giving me sufficient time to prepare without any documents and should I legally be allowed a copy of the documents?

 

Thanks.

 

The documents are their property, so you are not entitled to a copy, although you should make as many notes as possible so that you know exactly what the content is. You could try for copies under the DPA, but unless they were filed as part of your personnel file and do not relate to others they would probably fall outside of the Act (and the timescale is too tight for a SAR in this case).

 

If you don't feel that 2 days is sufficient after seeing the documents, you can ask for an adjournment -it would be reasonable to grant at least one if the date is unsuitable.

[Josie8]

take a mobile phone in with camera

[Sidewinder]

take a mobile phone in with camera

 

Good idea.

[Rooster48]

I have since been informed that these meetings have been cancelled until further notice, I am not sure if this a good or bad thing. Any ideas?

[mariefab]

It could be any number of things.

The manager dealing with the matter could be sick, on holiday, going on a course, leaving the Company etc, thus causing a delay in the proceedings.

Or they could be reconsidering how serious they feel the breaches are.

 

Something similar to your scenario happened at my son's workplace a few months ago. They have a fairly robust email use policy and a disciplinary process was initiated against a couple of guys for some (less just says very tasteless) joke emails. The union rep. phoned the manager dealing with the process and asked if he felt that it was appropriate that he was dealing with this matter bearing in mind the contents of the joke emails that this manager habitually sends to his friend the union rep. The manager agreed that it wsn't appropriate and said that he would hand the task over to someone else. The union rep. then asked him to prepare a statement that could be used in his members defense to demonstrate that, regardless of the Company policy, it was customarily deemed acceptable by this manager to send these type of emails. Instead the disciplinary was cancelled.

[Rooster48]

Thanks for your replies, I have again had my suspension extended, I don't know why but I am getting to see the evidence against me next week so I should know more then.

[Rooster48]

Thanks.

 

Since then i have had the meeting cancelled yet again. I received a letter last week to say I had to go to get a letter regarding the suspension, I was not informed of anything else. I went along to this to find two senior management along with this letter and it ends up this letter was instant dismissal. I did not bring a union rep with me as I only thought this was to pick up a letter. I still have no idea of the allegations against me are. Please help!

[honeybee13]

Poor you, what a shock. Does the letter give any clues about how they reached this decision?

 

HB

[mariefab]

How long had you worked there?

[Rooster48]

I had worked for my employer for just under 4 years, I have never had any issues previously. I am still unclear how they came to this decision as I was instantly dismissed. I am meeting up with the union during the week to discuss this.

[mariefab]

You appear to have been unfairly dismissed.

 

OK, apologies in advance for the interrogation, the answers to the questions below will help us to advise you and provide useful information for your union rep. when you see him/her.

 

1. What happened around the date when you were suspended?

 

a) Was there any type of meeting?

If so, were you informed that it was an investigatory meeting, a suspension meeting or a disciplinary meeting?

 

b) Were notes taken at this meeting?

If so, have you been provided with a copy?

 

c) Were you given a letter at that time explaining the reasons for your suspension?

If so, what did it say?

 

d) You were suspended for 5-6 weeks, was this on full pay?

　

 

2. I see that you received a letter on 19th July stating that a meeting had been arranged for Friday 23rd July in order for you to see the documents involved and that you would have an interview on Wednesday 28th July.

 

a) Was this 'interview' on the 28th described as an investigation or a disciplinary meeting?

 

b) Did the letter inform you of your right to be accompanied by a work colleague or union rep. at the 'interview'?

 

c) Was there any reference to the Company's disciplinary procedures and or Internet use policies?

 

d) Did the letter contain any information relating to the charges/ allegations/ reasons for your suspension?

 

e) Was Gross misconduct, misconduct or dismissal mentioned?

　

 

3. On the three occasions that your suspension was extended/ meetings cancelled:

 

a) How were you informed of this; phone/email/ letter?

 

b) Were you given any further information on either of these occasions? If so, what?

　

 

4. About the letter you received last week:

Just to be clear, can you confirm that it contained no other information whatsoever except when to collect the 'letter regarding the suspension'?

 

5. I went along to this to find two senior management along with this letter and it ends up this letter was instant dismissal.

a) Was the dismissal letter typed and ready when you first arrived?

 

b) What does this letter say about the reasons for your dismissal?

 

c) Does the letter mention an appeal?

 

d) Did a meeting take place between you and the two senior management?

i) If so, were you informed that it was a disciplinary meeting?

ii) Were you informed of your right to be accompanied by a work colleague or union rep.?

iii) What was said?

iv) Were notes taken? If so, were you given a copy?

 

6. Do you know what, if anything, has happened to the other employees who were suspended?

　

　

　

[Surfer01]

I doubt if it can be instant dismissal without a meeting or hearing first. They have not followed procedure and you can raise the issue with an ET.

[Sidewinder]

I doubt if it can be instant dismissal without a meeting or hearing first. They have not followed procedure and you can raise the issue with an ET.

 

Whilst I have the utmost sympathy for the way in which the OP has been treated (with a flagrant disregard for procedure IMO), let's be careful before throwing phrases such as Unfair Dismissal around.

 

What this case hinges on is exactly what the OP sent by way of 'joke' emails and how extensive and for what purpose customer records were accessed without authority. Only the OP and the employer know the content of the emails, but they were described by the employer as 'offensive' and 'racist', and on that basis would almost certainly constitute Gross Misconduct, notwithstanding that they would also have breached the company's internet and email policy. By the OP's admission, such a policy exists, but has not been read, and there is no denial that the OP was party to sending certain emails between friends.

 

A single act of Gross Misconduct can certainly be sufficient to warrant dismissal without notice, and whilst following a disciplinary procedure is desirable (and in certain circumstances may prevent an allegation of Unfair Dismissal), it is no longer essential. Only if a Tribunal were to agree that the dismissal was unfair, would the matter of procedure be relevant. All the employer would have to prove is that any investigation carried out determined that the OP was guilty of the midemeanours in question, the offences were serious enough so as to breach the fundamental trust between employer and employee, that the sanction imposed was justified in the circumstances, and whether any alternative sanction was considered. Now there may be an argument as to whether the material was 'racist' or 'offensive' in content - they are subjective matters and we haven't been given sight of the emails in question, but the employer has, and they have opted to dismiss based on what they have seen.

 

Agreed wholeheartedly that the OP must exercise his right to appeal, claiming that the procedure was flawed in not allowing a formal disciplinary hearing, was unfair in not allowing sight of the evidence against him, and maybe even that the misdemeanour did not warrant dismissal, but this is not by a long stretch an automatic case for a Tribunal on the grounds of Unfair Dismissal and it would be unfair to advise that there is a case based on procedural flaws alone.