Should i hand my notice in before a disciplinary meeting??

[Tubba30]

Good Afternoon all, I have landed myself in a very bad situation, 3 weeks ago i was asked by a Line Manager if i would like to make a few quid for Xmas by taking something from our premises in my company van, he assured me that it was low risk and he would make sure the CCTV cameras were off, unfortunately we were so nieve as the MD has a seperate server to his house, safe to say we are both now under suspension on suspiction of Theft, I had my investigation meeting on Tues just gone and i am now waiting for a letter regarding my Disciplinary meeting, since the investigation meeting my partner and my 2 x kids have now moved out and moved in with her parents some 300 miles away, i am at the end of my tether and have never done anything like this before, my partner has said that she cannot risk being kicked out of our house when i getted sacked and we cannot pay the bills, therefore i must pack up my house and move down to be with her and my kids to try and rebuild her trust in me, therefore i will need to leave my employment anyway, so should i write a letter explaining my situation and also my utter remorse for my actions, and ask that they judge me on my employment history and work ethic up to this moment of madness and to give me a reference that will assist me in rebuilding my career, i have not had any disciplinary issues in the 4 years i have worked for the company and i was in a position where i had access to company credit cards and fuel cards, but i NEVER abused that trust. The bottom line is that i have been an idiot and greed has caused me to break up my family, I must move to be with them as my youngest is 10 months old and this is his first Xmas, Any advise on this will be appreciated. Thanks

[altobelli]

Do you mean the line manager arranged to steal something and you helped him with your company van?

 

I would advise you not to resign, but to go to the disciplinary and apologise there. The outcome of the meeting will likely be dismissal, and I don't think you can have any complaints about that, but by attending the meeting you will at least have a chance to express your remorse in person and may be able to bring up the subject of references. You can mention the problems adverse references will cause you and your family circumstances, but to be fair to the employer its a fairly straightforward case and there isn't a valid excuse, so it may be they decide to mention what happened in a reference. Were the goods removed from the company recovered? If not, you could offer to pay for what was taken. Don't put anything in writing to the employer at the moment. But at the meeting, I think your emphasis has to be on how genuinely sorry you are, that you expect to be dismissed, and that you regret abusing the employer's trust.

 

I wouldn't resign right now, they may then put something like 'resigned pending disciplinary for theft' on a reference. Its better to go to the meeting and apologise, and hope that they take this on board. It may be that the company gives standard references as a matter of course, in which case it will just list dates employed and job title, maybe salary.

 

I'm really sorry to hear about your family situation, and hope that works out. But please, even if you do get a reference from the employer, don't do anything like this again. A lot of employers would bring in the police over this type of thing, and its just not worth the risk of getting caught.

[rambo]

I recently resigned rather than attend a disciplinary, I did this because there was a very good chance I was going to be sacked.

Even if the OP goes to the meeting, he could still be sacked, and that would be on his reference as well. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.

Hard one to call.

[altobelli]

They probably will sack the OP if he goes to the meeting, or at least 'ask' him to resign, but at least he'll have the chance to ask about a reference. It doesn't necessarily follow that if he's sacked it'll be on the reference, they may decide to provide a standard reference, just mentioning dates of employment.

[steampowered]

I think it really depends on your view of the situation. You need to think about the criminal aspect and the employment aspect.

 

Personally I think it is worth going to the disciplinary meeting. You should apologise, explain that you have been under stress, mention your excellent employment record and explain that the line manager put you up to it. The MD might give you a second chance. If he does fire you he might agree to give a neutral reference to future employers which doesn't mention the theft. I think it is at least worth trying, if the MD is impressed with your attitude then he might have mercy.

 

Do be a little careful in what you say as there is also a criminal aspect to it, the MD might report this to the police.

[Tubba30]

Thank you all for the replies, this situation has gone from bad to worse over the last 2 days, I was arrested & charged with Theft, I must now go to court and take my punishment, I am definately leaning towards the resignation letter and a letter of apology as our MD is based in Essex and the meeting is in Yorkshire, I might as well save him the bother, what do you think?

[altobelli]

I'd definitely recommend taking legal advice on this before doing anything else. Don't send a letter of resignation until you've checked with a lawyer whether this is an appropriate course of action.

[stu007]

Hi

 

You say that you were arrested and charged with theft but has the Line Manager also had the same treatment?

[steampowered]

I wouldn't send a resignation letter as this could be used as evidence in court. You should get a publicly funded lawyer so check with them. On the other hand, if you are gracious the MD might agree not to press charges.

[LaughingGirl]

Yes, I definitely think that in these circumstances you need proper legal advice. Since the OP has been officially charged with an offence, I don't think it would be prudent to hope that the MD will agree not to press charges.

 

Did you speak to a solicitor when you were charged, Tubba?