Suspended after problems at work

[Emmzzi]

hoping to talk to rep tomorrow, my head battered, confused, upset by way company treating me, no point to loyalty these days

thanks anyway, i will come back to you soon

 

I and others I am sure will be happy to help if you tell the whole story in well laid out detail from A to Z via all the points in between. It will probably help for you to write these out anyway as it is very muddied at the moment.

 

I just know that we are seeing half a story at the monent; and we cannot give good advice without all of the story.

[altobelli]

Hi Amanda, in answer to post #47, consistency is one of the foundations of fairness in the treatment of employees. However, employers can take different disciplinary measures against different employees for a number of reasons, e.g. length of service, previous disciplinary record, previous performance record, mitigating circumstances, etc. So an employer is only obliged to treat employees the same in terms of punishment if the circumstances are virtually identical. I've seen cases where two or more employees have been found guilty of misconduct and the action taken differs which makes sense in the circumstances, and I have seen cases where the inconsistency seems unfair. It is important to mount a robust defense of yourself as there is scope for employers to act unsrcupulously in circumstances like this if they choose to do so. I wouldn't think it is right to suspend some people and not others though, and of course if the outcome of the disciplinary has been decided in advance then this would be illegal.

[amanda69]

Hi Amanda, in answer to post #47, consistency is one of the foundations of fairness in the treatment of employees. However, employers can take different disciplinary measures against different employees for a number of reasons, e.g. length of service, previous disciplinary record, previous performance record, mitigating circumstances, etc. So an employer is only obliged to treat employees the same in terms of punishment if the circumstances are virtually identical. I've seen cases where two or more employees have been found guilty of misconduct and the action taken differs which makes sense in the circumstances, and I have seen cases where the inconsistency seems unfair. It is important to mount a robust defense of yourself as there is scope for employers to act unsrcupulously in circumstances like this if they choose to do so. I wouldn't think it is right to suspend some people and not others though, and of course if the outcome of the disciplinary has been decided in advance then this would be illegal.

 

i have been employed by company for 15yrs with a clean record until this,

2 people who work under me. 1 never got suspended been with company nearly 3 yrs already has final written warning for previous

1 was suspended but is back at work with a final written warning hasn't worked for the company a year.

myself and my partner still suspended but we both know we're being sacked as the manager told the union rep last week, already pre determined before our disciplinary,. my partner has worked for company for 4 yrs and never had a warning,

I still maintain manager not happy because of informal grievance he got telling off for way he handled it all. have all emails etc

[amanda69]

I have all emails i sent to manager and h.r. all correspondence i received also.

 

The manager is looking to get me out because he got told off. so this is how i see it.

 

JUNE 2012 complained to manager about supervisor....................... said he would deal with it

 

JUNE 2012 i went on sick with stress

 

JULY 2012 manager still not dealt with issues with supervisor

 

AUG 2012 i contacted h'r for advise, it was then i was told to send email to h.r and they would look into it, emails going backwards and forwards but still nothing resolved.

 

SEPT 2012 informal grievance meeting with myself union rep manager and h.r by conference call. only thing that was sorted was mediation for me and supervisor.

 

SEPT 2012 returned to work. had back to work interview which was a sham, i thought back to work interviews were to see how they can get yo back to work with no stress, not mine i was in right state after my interview, end of sept had mediation in the room was myself, union rep, supervisor and manager by conference call was h.r

 

Oct 2012 suspended pending investigations

 

NOV 2012 union stopped disciplinary hearing as it's already pre determined and they hadn't supplied paperwork i asked for. next disciplinary is wed this week

Edited November 12, 2012 by amanda69
sent before finished

[altobelli]

All else being equal, they can take different actions against different people following a disciplinary if they can show it to be reasonable, so they could take different action against you and argue that your length of service and seniority means you should have known the procedures better. Suspension should be applied or not applied across the board, I don't think its right to suspend some people and not others.

 

However, the underlying circumstances are very important in your case. If the action taken against you is disproportionate because of the complaint you made about your supervisor, you need to highlight this strongly in any defense. If there are other staff being treated more leniently than you, you should push to find out why. If it is because they are less senior or because they haven't been at the company as long, then you need to ask why no action is being taken against your supervisor. You should put these concerns in writing and make sure you get a detailed response. If the practice was widespread and known about, it is very valid to bring this up in your defense and you should do so. It can't be right that some people are investigated, disciplined and possibly sacked and some people are not even investigated.

 

It is important to be very proactive about this, if the disciplinary process is a setup, you can't just sit back and let the process run its course. You need to raise any concerns you have in writing and don't be afraid to go over HR's heads to senior management if necessary. Say that it is your understanding that the outcome of the disciplinary process has been decided and see what sort of response you get.

 

If you're right, and this is a corrupt process, you have nothing to lose by doing this, and if you do end up having to go to a tribunal, it is important that you have raised all your concerns and mitigating factors before you leave, otherwise the employer may try and say they were not aware of your concerns, even if this is not true.

[mariefab]

If I've understood you correctly, your employer is saying that you've claimed overtime payments for hours that you have not worked.

The example you give is that you claim 5 hours and they say you only worked 1.5 hours.

 

I believe that if you have a tunnel pass then when you use the tunnel it's electronically read each time and the toll is deducted.

Your employer appears to have access to the Tyne tunnel records?

 

For example, you claimed that you worked overtime from 12.00-5.00 but the tunnel pass records show that on that day you used the tunnel at 1.30.

So, your employer is saying that you couldn't have been doing overtime during the hours you claimed.

 

I suggest that the first thing to do is to get the union rep to give you a written statement saying that he was told by (name) on (date) that you were going to be dismissed.

Then get in touch with both your employer (in writing) and the union rep requesting that you are provided with all the evidence that is going to be used against you in good time before the disciplinary hearing takes place, so that you can compare it with the records that you have of your working hours.

[altobelli]

Hi amanda, I would second the advice of mariefab in her last post and would do exactly as she advises.

[deano_uk]

hello, youve had some excellent advice from altobeli and mariefab

earlier in the thread, i suggested that your employers could be found guilty of 'constructive dismissal'

 

If you believe that your employers behavior means that there is no way of you continuing to work in your job, then you can voluntarily quit your job and attempt to claim for constructive dismissal.

 

You have worked with this employer for 15 years. An example of a 40 year old being made redundant after 15 years service in a company is 17 weeks. This figure changes, depending on your age. Are there any other work colleagues who are being victimised by your employer? If there are, then could it be that your employer just wants an excuse to give people the sack instead of paying them redundancy pay? As Altobeli says, find out why. Keep records.

 

You also say there is an issue with overtime and that you are not paid overtime since the tunnel pass proves you did not work.

I guess your employer pays the bill for the tunnel pass, therefore they have records? Under the data protection act, you are entitled to these records. Just google 'subject access request'. Your employer must give you these records. They must give you all the information they hold about you. You can then use this information to show them that you did do the overtime you claimed for since the records for the tunnel passes match what you say in this thread, that you did do overtime!

 

If you can prove all of this, then once you have more evidence, you can maybe contact a no win no fee type employment solicitor and hopefully make a claim against the company for your unpaid overtime hours, your pay from now up until the time you would have been made redundant, (constructive dismissal) plus your redundancy pay....

 

the above is just my thoughts.... my advice to you would be to take legal advice, or maybe look at this site: http://www.acas.org.uk/

 

good luck!