unfairly dismissed from work

[inocent employee]

im a ladie and a single mum, who wants to show a good example to my children by working and doing the right thing by them paying my mortgage etc. who has worked at a large supermarket for a short time not 6 months, i enjoyed my job and got on well with everyone, never had time off or any question or grievences.

 

But 4 weeks ago i was pulled into the office and told i have been seen on camera with my purse on the shop floor and at the time a tried to explain i ad lost my locker key,and also at the time lots of members of staff had items on them and rules were lacked and everyone was following other peoples leads .

 

This has escalated to me being dismissed for apparently fraud of receiving points on a bonus card,this is there main reason for the dismissal gross misconduct, these points equated to £5.

And if anyone had looked at the situation why would you jepurdize your job for £5, well i wouldnt

 

well anyway firstly i was shocked because it wasnt me who put these points on my card and i did not ask to put these points on either, it was another member of staff on there till number and when they were on shift.

 

Anyway an investigation proceeded with me and this other member of staff, they throw allsorts of alligations at me that at the time i tried to explain as best as i could remember as this was back in december the incident was ment to have happened.

 

I myself was eager to please my bosses and sometimes put under pressure and yes bent company policy rules but so had many others but not to the extent that they were trying to say, it would have equated to a warning written or verbal which i have never had either and have a good record never been off sick etc and even had members of the public say to my bosses how pleasant i was to them.

 

This was a new store that had just opened and everyone had came in as new staff members some from other stores and some just new recruits. Anyway i had the union which had just been newly trained and had very little experience at investigation or how to defend an employee didnt know the rules and what was right an wrong evidence statements etc, these investigations ran on for a total of 3 weeks and the stress and people gossiping in store and confidentuality rules broken anyway it came to a disaplinary meeting and it took an hour an half for me to be further questioned and felt to be a criminal and intimedated i was distressed and upset even now writing this, im upset by the fact i have been dismissed and the person who put these points on the bonus card has kept there job .

 

Also i would like to add that the day i was dismissed the duty manager in question asked me how long i had been there and it was my pay day the pay slips are sent in by the post from out of our area and take a few days to be printed but why if i was dismissed the same day of my pay could all my holidays and money in lou be on my payslip ????

 

this would say to me even before the meeting of disipline they had already decided to dismiss me which is unfair as the duty manager went through the motions and said could i wait outside for his decision, also how can i be held responsible for the actions of another employee that put these points on said card and also they have kept there job, it wasnt me who ask for these points to be added as i tried to explain and how comes im being branded a fraud, why arnt they be branded the same???

and they have kept there job, a just dont know what to do to get them to listen and the union rep when i rang them told me they wernt interested and had a lots on there plate and didnt have time to speak to me .

 

my questions are these why did a pay into a union that did not defend or represent me properly. why and how has the other person kept there job??when a thought we would be treated fairly. and now i have put an appeal in which at present im so under the illusion by what has already happened to me wont be treated impartially or without mallice in that said store by the main manager,

 

i really dont want to work alongside people who obviously have treated me unfairly and have lost all confidence in there code of conduct procedures and the other staff member who has kept there job has posted on a social networking site how happy they were at there good news of keeping there job this said person i have found out that the other member of staff, was under survaliance at there other job and was due to be sacked for issue so left and started at the said store.

 

What am i to do can someone please help with advice, at this moment in time im not bothered about the job to be honest due to the loss of confidence with the investigation and the way i was treated just want the truth and justice to be done .

Edited March 2, 2013 by honeybee13

[stevo7790]

Employee,

 

I think from what your saying, you broke/bent some rules and were punished. You have only been there around 6 months, (were you still in a probationary period?) so a tribunal is not going to happen.

 

It doesn't really matter what happened to the other employees, it is about what happened to you.

 

I work in retail and fraud/theft etc are the most scrutinized security areas of the business. Also with regards to personal possessions we have the same sort of policy, everything goes in your locker if your on the shop floor.

 

You haven't said you didnt get these points on the card, but it does sound like they have targeted you on these specific things and ultimately faced the consequences of doing so.

 

One other thing if you don't mind, could you please add in a few paragraphs, I struggled to read that. I dont mean any offense by that.

[inocent employee]

i was totally unaware of the points being added and how can a be capable of fraud when i didnt ask know or put these points there in the first place

[inocent employee]

and probation was 12 weeks

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I'll move your thread to the employment forum where I think the guys will be able to help you. I'll leave a short term redirect here.

 

If you'd like to help the people trying to advise, you could edit some paragraphs into your post to make it easier to read for them. You can use the Edit Post command at the bottom of your post to do this if you want to.

 

My best, HB

[Emmzzi]

hello. how did the other member of staff get your card?

[inocent employee]

At the end of my shift i had purchased a couple of items and i also tried to show them that aswell by taking all my purchases since the store open via my bank statements they never looked at them

[Emmzzi]

No, I still don't understand how you got all the extra points on your card from "a couple of items."

 

Anyway. bottom line is, they can let you go for pretty much any reason with your short length of service.

 

If you didn't follow procedure, then the union aren't going to fight tooth and nail for you - they keep their forces for cases of genuine injustice.

 

I am not quite sure what you are looking for. You did something wrong, you got the punishment - justice *has* been done? It is unfortunate that you are the one who got caught but that is the risk yoou took?

[inocent employee]

at the end of the day the job isnt the issue im not being blamed for something a didnt do and have never had my character questioned in a way before in my life . and want them to be answerable to making the decission without listening throughly and equally listening to both sides and taking the decission to dismiss me in advance of the meeting how canm that be fair or right i always thought in england u were innocent till proven guilty regards whether its in a workplace or court they must have a rule where everyone should be treated fairly

[inocent employee]

this is what i have tried to explain a didnt know they had been added and didnt think of looking at the receipt or what they were doing the other side of the counter i suppose the main thing on my mind would have been get home feet up

[inocent employee]

and at the time it was months before this purse incident was ever raised and i can barely at the best of times remember what a did yesterday let alone three four months ago im a single mum and run around after 3 children remembering my name and what am doing is a bonus at the best of time if you go get a pack of chewing gum can yopu say what they are typing into the till on the other side and would you be really paying that much attention and when you work people finishing ther shift saying see you tomorrow and distracted you how would you be able to see them and watch everything else

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

So what do you think we could do to help you please? I'm not an employment expert, but I'm not sure whether this investigation can be reopened. If it can't, I don't see where you can go.

 

I believe the answer to your innocent until proved guilty comment is that it applies to court proceedings. In employment law, they only need to have reasonable belief that something happened.

 

What would be your ideal outcome, would you say?

 

HB

[Emmzzi]

I don't think that is how loyalty cards work - you have to buy stuff to get points added on, so you would know as long as the card was in your possession at all times all was ok?

 

You said earlier there were times you did not follow procedure. I am finding it difficult to understand what you have been dismissed for, and what point you are disagreeing with? Can you do that in very simple small words for me please as I am an older lady and easily confused

 

Remember too this is not a murder trial. The employer needs "reasonable believe", not "beyond a shadow of a doubt."

[inocent employee]

not really i didnt get all the information available to me at the time from the other members of staff and as i have been advised there was indescepancies throughout and it is going to appeal everyone should be tret equally and there is no equality as far as im concerned when the other person has kept there job and i was dismissed

 

i should not be responsible for others actions and there is a ruling on that in the triburinal procedures and a breach of company policy has different actions you can take and yes a would have excepted them fully but i have not conducted gross misconduct and refuse to except the decision made. and being punished and sacking is two different things i have never had a warning or verbal telling off

Edited March 2, 2013 by honeybee13
Spacing again.

[Emmzzi]

I still have no idea what you were *actually* let go for.

 

I really can't help unless you calm down and give me specifics in *very small words.*

 

You do know the likely outcome here is that you just get someone else sacked too, yes?

[inocent employee]

for them to treat me the same as the other staff member they were under investigation aswel and it was there till number used and there fingers that pressed the buttons so clearly if i which a didnt commit a fraud they had to be involved in some way surely they were aware of what they were doing and the points whether right or wrong what they were puttin into the till so why is there involvment been treated as ok i dont understand that at all .

[inocent employee]

i was dismissed on namely gross misconduct for fraudulant point activity which i didnt commit and did the other person give me a second thought when i was being sack i doubt it .and why would i all of a sudden decide oh i will get an other team member to put a large amount of points on my card why didnt a do that when a started in store ? i have to think of what is right my family and me being able to get another job with that on my record a dont want. an in an ideal world, which obviously we dont live in had no warning and was not given a chance to look at statements fully and my wage altered before i had even found out i had been dismissed these are things that are not right its the principle of fraud on which i have a issue

[Emmzzi]

Is it even *physically possible* to put points on your card with no purchase? I don't think it is. Most people who commit loyalty card fraud use their card to put points on when a customer has forgotten theirs.

[stu007]

HI

 

I have to agree with Emmzzi is it even *physically possible* to put points on your card with no purchase? I don't think it is.

 

Could you clarify whether it is possible for a staff member to add points to the card without a purchase?

[becky2585]

Hi OP

 

Have you looked at the benefits forum for assistance whilst you're out of work?

 

Hopefully it will assist you until you find another job. It's unfair, but they can let you go for any reason in the first two years of employment. Probationary periods don't mean much and they don't need to give you any prior disciplinary warnings.

[assisted blonde]

how did the fraudulent points come to light? and you said that you bent the rules how?

[renegadeimp]

I've read through this thread 2 or 3 times now, and im seriously thinking that we don't have the full story here. I'm not going to go into why, but reading over it, some things just dont add up or some parts are missing.

[assisted blonde]

You could well be right

[inocent employee]

yes it is possible if you have forgotten your card on a previous time u can go to the service desk with the receipt of purchase and the cashier puts it in manually or if you had a customer with vouchers or the like they have a supervisor code to manually put information in regarding anything so it is possible to add stuff on cards withoput purchasing anything thats why they say keep your receipt and points can be added later

[Emmzzi]

but presumabley you need the transaction code from the receipt so peole can't claim for a purchase more than once.?