gross misconduct

[alexmcc1]

accused off gross misconduct wife added dates to sick line without my knowledge now accused off fraud by employer

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I've moved your thread to the main employment forum and hope the forum advisers will be along later. It would be helpful for us if you would tell us a bit more about your story please.

 

HB

[Emmzzi]

when your wife added dates - did you then stay off for longer than you were signed off for? I am not understanding the problem.

[alexmcc1]

off a week wife thought sick line was for further week when i went down to doctor to get back dated fit note this came to light employers had wrote to doctors.must add wife from another country didnt know how our lines worked

[alexmcc1]

she phoned doctors explained the situation and they understood and in my case getting a doctors re appointment is very hard and i usual have to get back dated sick notes to cover me

[honeybee13]

Thank you for the extra information.

 

Please could you tell us why your employer has accused you of fraud?

 

HB

[alexmcc1]

fraud ! trying to claim sick pay off them ,best is im still off with sick lines in place and the doctor wrote to employer saying i was still suffering from same illness

[Emmzzi]

Alex,

 

It is a little confusing when you tell us bits and pieces. What would really help is if you tell us the whole story in date order.

So

 

1. was too ill to go to work wih the flu 1st Feb. Caled work, and GP. Could not get GP appt for 10 days.

2. 11th Feb. Finally saw GP. They signed me off from 11 Feb - 18 Feb

3. Wife took sick note in - I didn't know she had changed 1 Feb to 1 Feb on the form

4. 14 Feb boss called to ask why my form had amended dates in different ink

5. Recieved invitation to investigatory interview on 15 Feb by post; interview is 15 March

and so on.

[alexmcc1]

sorry off 12 feb sent in doctors line for the following 7 days plus an internal sick line works from off self cert gave boh to wife she thought the line was for the following week and added the dates from the 18th to 25th i phoned doctor again a wasnt able to get appointment till the 24th thinking i could get backdated line not knowing wife had added dates to sick line and that my employers had wrote back to doctor now charged with gross misconduct wife had added dates with different pen from my pen and doctors manager even mentioned this to union rep

[Emmzzi]

ok. and what is happening now?

 

hae you been asked to a meeting,and if so, what kind?

[alexmcc1]

aksed to meeting explained situation now charged with gross misconduct know i may be sacked for such a silly mistake and my wife is really upset blames herself over the mistake ,must add my wife suffers from depression and im really worried about her

[alexmcc1]

went to meeting charged straight away with gross misconduct , my wife is very upset suffers from bio polar depression she was on the phone to doctors straight away and explained the situation and the doctor was very understanding wrote to my exployer providing punitive evidence that i was still sick and issued new sick line from the 25 off this month and further sick notes

[Emmzzi]

And what does your rep say?

 

I can only really tell you if I were your employer, you have done what you can to show you were genuinely ill, and I'd give you a warning... because you weren't really trying to commit fraud.

 

If I had to sack everyone whose spouse was occasionally daft no work would ever get done.

[alexmcc1]

my rep says to wait and see what happens im really worried about my wife she wants to phone my manager or send in a letter , my doctor has already said i was sick and would be sick for another few weeks ive acute bronchitis and am still getting treatment ive filled in alot off fit lines over the years with my employer and they have them they even mentioned to my rep the hand writing was completely different from mine

[Emmzzi]

Honestly I think your wife has "helped" enough already. Your explanation seems really plausible. (and if you read my threads I am not easily convinced...)

 

Getting your wife back to the GP for treatment for her would seem to be a useful thing to do, though. Does she have any other family or friends she can talk to?

 

You could also knock up your CV just in case. Probably won't need it.

[alexmcc1]

m y wife is from mexico so all her family is there she does use skype and phone calls and to be honest our doctor is a pill pusher and support is hard to find or a long wait im really worried about her mental health

[Emmzzi]

I'm afraid health is a little outside my expertise...

[ScarletPimpernel]

I'm afraid health is a little outside my expertise...

 

 

 

 

I recommend Mental Health First Aid training. I teach it, so may be biased, but we get universally good feedback.

 

 

Stress can be a triggering factor for manic episodes in bipolar disorder.

 

OP, if you are concerned about your wife's mental health, you should be able to contact her psychiatrist or CPN directly without having to go through the GP.

 

Alternatively, and if you think the situation warrants it, there will be a MH crisis team in your area who will be able to advise you.

 

There's also help and support at bipolaruk.org.uk

[alexmcc1]

can a doctor post date a fit note for 10 months in advance ?i was issued with a fit note dated the 12/12/15 instead off 12/02/15 and am under investigation by work

[Emmzzi]

if it was due to something permanent, yes.. if it was a cold or a stomach ache.. you need to use common sense here!

[king12345]

Do you mean that the doctor signed you off until 12/12/15 or the date of the fit note is wrongly marked 12/12/15?

[alexmcc1]

wrongly dated the 12/12/15 should have been 12/02/15 im wondering what information a doctor can release about fit notes

[king12345]

wrongly dated the 12/12/15 should have been 12/02/15 im wondering what information a doctor can release about fit notes

 

Well, in this case it's just a mistake.

Surely nobody can look that far into the future and predict that you'll be sick next December.

I can't see this going any further than an initial investigation.

[Emmzzi]

unless you abused the note and really did take 2 months off with a minor ailment... in which case, breakdown of trust and a dismissal might be on the cards.

[Emmzzi]

Hold on,.. just made the link... you are also the person whose wife edited his fit note?

 

You do need to tell us the whole story, or we won't be able to give proper advice. Did the doctor make an error also, or what?

 

Can this not be easily fixed by boss talking to GP, or is something else going on?