Disciplinary, witnesses lying, grievances etc.

[Daverman]

Hi everyone, first post so be gentle!

 

Im posting on behalf of my partner, who is potentially facing dismissal. he works as a nurse at a large private nursing home (and has worked there for 10years). Several weeks ago he was suspended from work pending an investigation as serious allegations of abuse had been made at him. At this point no further details were given. he told me that he had no idea what it was about, and as I was aware that situations such as this were fairly common at this home due to misunderstandings, misinterpretation etc.(and they were usually resolved after a couple of weeks) I told him not to worry. However I did advise him to keep a detailed diary and do all correspondence by email where possible etc. He went to an investigation interview, but it was quite vague. Anyway, shortly afterwards the company got in touch to say he needed to attend a disciplinary hearing for alleged gross misconduct (and that the care authority had been informed of the allegations against him).

 

After receiving the evidence against him, we realised that some of my partners colleagues had ganged up to try and force him out. it also became obvious that the company had made a complete hash of the investigation (2 witnesses were making the allegations, but their statements contradicted one another in several places and contain some very odd statements, people not interviewed properly, evidence ignored, anything that backed what my partner had said was suppressed from the head manager of the disciplinary hearing etc.). We also realised that several witness statements were missing and once we received them they completely backed my what my partner had said. Unfotunately the elderley resident that this resolves around is unable to communicate.

 

We began preparing a statement for the disciplinary hearing, and as it seemed pretty clear what outcome the company had hoped for, we had a meeting with a solicitor who advised us to tell the company everything that was wrong in what had happened, as it all seemed very dodgy. I was sure that the company would carry out a further investigation after my partner had forwarded them his statement, as it was so strong and backed by alot of evidence. I was surprised when the company told him that they basically wouldn't investigate anything my partner had informed them of any further.

 

I suggested that he should raise a grievance before the disciplinary reached a decision. An interview was held with a senior manager, who seemed to take what my partner said very seriously. we have now received a response, and basically the company has said that his grievance has no substance (this is despite it being supported by a lot of evidence). I've looked at the response in detail, and it is very vague in places, and I wonder if the company has hired a solicitor to write it (as this company has done in the past when caught in a tricky situation) my partner has appealed this decision, but im fully expecting them to uphold the original decision. my partner has maintained from the beginning that the allegations against him have been made up.

 

So basically i'm after advice on what we should do next? is there anymore we can do? The entire disciplinary is relying on the evidence from these two witnesses, and the company is refusing to acknowledge what they have said happened doesn't make any sense (despite it being written in black and white), and is refusing to question them further on this. It seems like the two of them are just going to get away with doing this, which seems really unfair considering the hell weve been through. If my partner is dismissed he won't be allowed to work in the nursing industry again, and it's all hes qualified for, so this has all been rather stressful...

 

The solicitor advised us to get back in touch with her as soon as the disciplinary panel reached a decision, as she felt that if dismissed, my partner had an extremely strong case of unfair dismissal, so we are just waiting for a decision at the minute from the company.. I have recently heard a rumour (from more than one source) that one of the accusers has done something similar to this in a past job, but got rumbled so quit before being pushed. Is there anything we could do with this information, or is it just best to keep it to ourselves?

sorry for the long post, its just been such a nightmare, any advice appreciated