Suspended pending investigation

[Ricky100]

Hi, can someone help me please.

 

I work as a frozen meal delivery driver, and have been employed since August 2010.

 

A letter landed on my doorstep today telling me that since my performance review (last week, all seemed well) I have been suspended from work pending investigation for the following reasons:

1) 2 boxes of meals have gone missing. I told my employer as soon as I noticed they were not on my van, but apparently the packer is saying they were definately there and all the office staff/other drivers know that the freezer was empty, so no boxex were left behind. Seriously, I have no idea where these boxes are, as when I loaded my van on the morning in question, I noticed they weren't there and I informed the office as soon as I could

2) A customer has phoned the office and complained about a conversation that I had with them. Basically, the customer is saying that I said I didn't like my job and that it was making me depressed. They are also saying that I mentioned I did not get paid enough. My explaination for this is that I was literally passing the time of day, saying that my wage was low, however I never said anything about being depressed nor did I say I hated my job (in fact, I quite like my job!)

3) THIS IS THE MAIN ISSUE I NEED HELP WITH

I have been told by the director of the company (the person who signed my contract) that I am not allowed to take the work van home overnight. There was one occasion that I was asked by my manager (not the director) to do an emergency delivery first thing in the morning, and I was allowed the van home for that reason. On another occasion, a similar thing happened, but I had several extra deliveries to do on the day, which made me run very late, and again, my manager said I could take the van home overnight. I was spoken to about this, and told that insurance did not cover me to take the van home.

Here is where I have made a big boo-boo so to speak...... Last Thursday, I took the van home overnight again (yes, yes, stupid I know), but here is my reason. My 1yr old daughter had had an MRI and other tests which needed a general aneasthetic on the Tuesday and was still quite poorly on the Thursday (she has heart disease). My wife phoned me at work and asked if I could collect the older children from school as she was taking my youngest to the docs to get checked. Without thinking, I said I would, but I ran really late and I thought I would "get away" with taking the van home for this reason.

 

God help me

 

I now don't know if I have a job to go back to or not. I am supposed to be on holiday for the week but how can me and the family enjoy it with this hanging over us? All down to my stupidity.

 

I have spoken to the director and explained that (1) I do not know anything about where these 2 boxes of meals are, (2) I really did not say I hated my job, and that he is more than welcome to phone around any of my other customers to get other opinions etc, as I know 99.5% of my customers are happy with the service they recieve from me and (3) I am really sorry for going against company rules by taking the van home, but I really did have a lot on my mind that day.

 

Any ideas as to which way this will go??

 

Thanks

[rebel11]

Hi Ricky

 

I wouldn't panic, they are investigating these matters. I wouldn't have said anything verbally to the Director. I would have sent a letter Recorded with the points you wish to make. I think you should do that. Address the missing boxes, what the customer said and about the van, you should mention that on previous occasions your manager has asked you to make late deliveries.

To my mind the only problem you really have is the van at your house overnight, but you might be able to mitigate the circumstances with collecting the kids etc.

[greendollar]

Hi Ricky ,

 

1.Do/did you sign anything that states the number of boxes iin the van before you left ?

 

2.Why would a customer bother to phone and complain about a conversation you've had , just seems odd ?

 

3.Personally I'd go down stress road to try and mitigate the taking the van overnight (1yr old daughter /heart disease/MRI scan) . Its not like you'd be lying is it ? Plus the fact that its overnight use has been sanctioned by management previously .

 

4.You're suspended not on holiday . If/when you do return to work that holiday will still be owed to you .

 

Good Luck

[Ricky100]

Thanks to both of you for your reply. I will be sending a letter off on Monday morning.

 

 

Hi Ricky ,

 

1.Do/did you sign anything that states the number of boxes iin the van before you left ?

No, there is no system for this. I arrive at work at least 2 hours before the office staff to load my van and get to my first delivery by 6am. Basically there is a cage for each driver and they get loaded into the van by me, with the paperwork. When I had checked the paperwork, I noticed that the 2 boxes were missing, but I couldn't contact anyone until 8am when the office staff arrived. when I phoned to let them know, plus I wrote it on my paperwork too.

 

2.Why would a customer bother to phone and complain about a conversation you've had , just seems odd ?

This seems odd to me too. I always talk to my customers in general, but it's always just a 5 minute polite chat, I cannot stay any longer than that as I normally have about 40 deliveries to do each day. I do not even know which customer this could be either, but apparently the director has the name and address and is going to have a talk with them.

 

3.Personally I'd go down stress road to try and mitigate the taking the van overnight (1yr old daughter /heart disease/MRI scan) . Its not like you'd be lying is it ? Plus the fact that its overnight use has been sanctioned by management previously .

I really am not lying, although I have been told by him previously that the van is not insured if I take it home (that's what worries me) My daughter was really quite ill after her MRI & tests and my wife didn't want to take her up the school, she wanted to get her checked at the docs. I was running late due to the traffic and things just got the better of me, so I took the van to get home quicker.

 

4.You're suspended not on holiday . If/when you do return to work that holiday will still be owed to you .

I had booked next week off as holiday ages ago - does this now mean that I will be owed a weeks holiday IF I still have my job?

 

Good Luck

 

Thank you so much for your reply, I really hope I haven't screwed up my job!

[greendollar]

Try not to worry to much Ricky ,

 

Hopefully someone abit more clued up will be along soon . Any advice I give will only be from personal experience as I was dismissed from my workplace and have been through the whole suspension/dismissal/tribunal malarky .

 

As I see it .

 

1. You have done all you can regarding the missing stock . Reported it as soon as you became aware .

 

2. Why they have bought up this conversation with this customer is beyond me , we all have a little moan about our jobs from time to time . Maybe they're just trying to add more ammo to their case . In my opinion its irrelevant , I'd just say that you can't recall exactly what was said and leave it at that . Remember try to keep any answers to questions at an absolute minimum , the more you say the more they will try to twist it and use against you.

 

3. As for taking the van home I would say the extremely stressful situation regarding your daughter clouded your judgement on that day and that although management has sanctioned you to do this before you realise you were wrong and apologise profusely .

Are your employers aware of the situation regarding your daughters condition , if so they should be doing all they can to help , not put pressure on you and up your stress levels.

 

4. Yes , you should now be suspended on full pay and any holiday thats been taken during the suspension is due back to you on your return .

 

Look up employment law regarding suspensions/disciplinarys and make sure they're doing things by the book .

Edited October 23, 2011 by greendollar

[Ricky100]

Thanks for your replies, however, I would really appreciate some more help......

 

I phoned the director today (who suspended me) to find out what was going on, and whether I am able to go back to work or not and he now informs me that I have stolen £47 from the company, and this is not the first time this has happened. I can say now, that I have NEVER stolen anything. Why would I want to steal money from them anyway, when I get about £50 in tips each week?!

 

Apparently, on Friday 21st (the last day of my work before my holiday) a customer paid her bill of £47, but the company never recieved this money. I remember paying in on that Friday, and everything was there. I also never had a phone call or anything in the afternoon (after I had finished work, and the office staff should've checked all the money to pay it in to the bank) to say there was any money missing.

So, I ask the director for proof that I had stolen (his words) this, and previous money and he said he has got my roundsheet that I have signed to say that the customers have paid (this is usual). So I said to him that of course I signed to say they had paid, because they had! However, it does not prove that I stole any money, as when I handed my roundsheet in, all the money was there. He just kept repeating that he has got my roundsheet from Friday 21st and I have signed to say all the customers have paid.

So I questioned him about other times I am supposed to have stolen money and he informed me that my wages have been docked on previous occasions. I have had a quick look at my bank account (as I cannot find my wage slips at present) and I can look back at the last 7 months to find that all my cheque credits from work have been exactly the same! Before April, I had tax issues and my wages were fluctuating.

I have also never been spoken to about any missing money at any time since I started work there.

 

He is also maintaining that I have been given 2 previous warnings about "conduct". I have never been in a formal meeting with him, only company perfomance meetings with other members of staff. I have never been asked if I wanted to have someone accompany me into any meetings and I have never signed to say I have been given a warning and that I agree to it. If I have ever been given a warning, I have never been given the chance to appeal against it, I have no idea what he is talking about.

 

Also, (and this is unofficial at the moment), on my suspension letter, it states that ALL members of staff have been interviewed about the missing boxes of food (see my first post) and ALL members of staff have been interviewed about the missing money. I have actually (unofficially) spoked to an office member (who is my friend outside of work) and he has never been asked about any of this, and he is willing to give a statement to say this.

 

Someone please help....... It looks like I'm facing instant dismissal for lots of things I haven't done and I don't know where I stand

 

Thanks again

 

Ricky

[daggersedge]

It sounds as if, for some reason, the company you work for wants to get rid of you. Are there any problems for the business that would, perhaps, lead to it making someone redundant? If that is the case, the company may be trying to evade paying you redundancy by making it appear that it is dismissing you for supposed repeatedly bad conduct. There is no evidence of this, so the company is cooking it up. That's how it appears to me.

 

You need to take legal advice tout de suite. You also need to find out which witnesses are willing to help you. You need to request any paperwork the company has on what it purports to be your 'conduct problems'. If you had been formally warned, you would have had to sign something, for example. Get together your bank statements to prove that no money has ever been deducted for shortfalls in payment collection. Find out everything you can, everything you need and get it together.

 

Basically, you have to assume that you are going to have to fight an unlawful dismissal case. Prepare yourself for it now.

[papasmurf1cx]

Hi Ricky

 

I know this may sound a bit drastic but may actually put your boss on the spot and either put up or shut up.

 

Report the allegation of theft to the Police..... state that the company have suspended you from work as they are considering sacking you for theft, which you strenuously deny.

 

The Police will then have to approach the company and ask if the wish to substantiate the allegation, which they will either do and have to assist in your prosecution or fail to substantiate the allegation and make a statement detailing they do not want to.

 

If they fail to substantiate the allegation and proceed to dismiss you because of theft but fail to prove it to you then I suggest that you take them to court for unfair dismissal and anything else that is appropriate.

[ravinwayne]

Just a pointer don't know how useful it will be.... did i read correctly you say you boss was deducting shortages from your wages was this with or with out prior written agreement?

 

speaking from previous experience ( i had a boss that deducted money at will usually for parking tickets!) the boss took £50 out my wages one month When asked what he would do if i walked in the office and help myself to £50 out of his wallet he proudly announced he'd have me arrested for theft!.... i told him it was exactly the same as deducting from my wages without written permission i also told him that he wasn't allowed to take money with out telling me why and what for and then giving me the opportunity to repay first!...and In a short sentence he was stealing my money and breaking the law!... He never did it again....

 

I'd check wether he was deducting your money without your permission (and please correct me some one if i'm wrong) and it needs to be a written agreement if this is the case i would talk to someone in the know about that for a starters!

 

By the sounds of it the company don't want you in their employment i would find it very hard to work for a company like this if i was allowed to return i'm guessing there is a constructive dismissal case brewing here...

[Ricky100]

Right, so sorry for how long this is turning out to be, but I have just seen something that I cannot believe........

 

My job is being advertised on the direct.gov website (jobcentreplus). It was advertised on the 24th October 2011. So, my employer has decided to dismiss me before I have even had a chance to put my side of the story across!!!??? I'm almost 1001% sure this is my job, as there are only 3 drivers in the company, and there are no extra customers/rounds or anything, and also it was only last month that us drivers were told that our sales weren't going up and we had to work harder to bring in the customers.

 

I just wish this would all aort itself out, I really haven't done anything wrong except take the van home once without permission.

 

Any ideas anyone???

[daggersedge]

Get legal advice. Now.

 

Also, get a printout of the job advertisement. You can use it in your case against the company. You are going to have to fight an unfair dismissal case. Prepare yourself for it because it is going to get very dirty, I'm afraid. I know you are hoping it is going to work itself out, but it's not going to do so. As I said before, gather your documents, your witnesses, and anything else that can help your case.

[ravinwayne]

Stop speaking to the company and speak to a legal advisor or the CAB ( do it asap) make a complaint about the company before you get the boot - they can't kick you out while there is an ongoing case!...

[greendollar]

How's it going Ricky ?

 

Best thing you can do is keep a very detailed log of everything thats happening , times/dates and any paperwork .

Sounds as if they're cutting a few corners and your best chance at a Tribunal is proving that they haven't followed statutory procedures .

Any news of a disciplinary pending ?