Just been suspended from work

OFTBC

Advice needed. Over the weekend I did something I shouldn't have done but they made a error so couldn't touch me for it.

I went into work tonight and it was teh first time I saw the manager that tried getting me done since the weekend. Tonight he put me on a job he knows I hate doing, I said to him you have put me on this job as payback because you messed up the other day and couldn't get rid of me. He said all these excuses and I was like whatever I know the real reason and you do to so I ain't doing it.

He then said as I am refusing a reasonable request he is suspending me on full pay and I will be notified of a hearing in due course by post.

Now I'm starting to prepare my case I have came up with a few things, First off on Tuesday someone refused to do a job so they swapped me over with them, Why didn't the suspend him also? Secondly the task they were asking me to do I have never received training for it and there isn't a training module for it I think and even if there is I have not been signed off to do it so how can I be disciplined for refusing to do a job I have not been trained to do?

Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to give me.

Zazen999

How long have you worked there?

pimento

You don't sound very contrite about whatever it was you did wrong at the weekend.
I'd be inclined to apologise for whatever it was and say it won't happen again and hope they don't fire you.

But that's just me.

liney

What kind of work is it?

How long have you worked there?

What is your disciplinary record like.... i'm assuming whatever you did at the weekend you are so pleased about would have been Gross Misconduct. Why exactly can they not get rid of you?

mandragora_2

Sounds like you might need to look for another job anyway - why would you be spending your life day after day getting up and going to a place that makes you feel and behave like this? Work isn't supposed to be a war zone, and, with luck, it brings more than just money into your life.

OFTBC

OK I work in a warehouse distribution Centre, I have worked there bang on 3 years now since it opened. The only thing I have on my file is a file not for once forgetting to load something on a lorry. I have never had any discipline procedures before, No warnings no nothing.

At the weekend I was at the pub with a few friends from work, I wasn't due to be in work that night. After the pub closed we decided to go up to work which is just around the corner from the pub to get a coffee. Many people also go on to the premises when there not due in work so we didn't think it would be a problem. When we got there the manager that suspended me tonight was laughing at joking with us, We then asked if we could talk to his Girlfriend, As soon as we said that he flipped and said your drunk etc etc get off of site your a danger to everyone here.

I returned to work on the Tues and my ops manager called me aside and said basically due to a clerical error I had got away with it. I have since found out this clerical error was because they let my friend return to work without following company procedure which is suspend, Investigate and then take any necessary action.

So I felt tonight that he was bitter that he couldn't pin anything on me so put me on a job I dislike doing as punishment. Of courseproving that is going to be difficult.

I have been reading the ACAS website and it looks liek once again he may have not followed procedure so will have to look into that a little bit more.

Thanks for your replies

liney

Of you could not turn up to your place of work pished, irritate your boss and refrain from making any comments about his girlfriend.

Do you have a skilled job within the distribution centre, or are you an unskilled manual worker? If the job you were asked to do is unskilled, and usually done by unskilled persons, surely the argument would be that someone could have shown you what to do, and you are there to perform duties as reasonably requested by your superior.

What are you looking at on ACAS regarding not following proceedure?

OFTBC

liney wrote: »

Of you could not turn up to your place of work pished, irritate your boss and refrain from making any comments about his girlfriend.

Do you have a skilled job within the distribution centre, or are you an unskilled manual worker? If the job you were asked to do is unskilled, and usually done by unskilled persons, surely the argument would be that someone could have shown you what to do, and you are there to perform duties as reasonably requested by your superior.

What are you looking at on ACAS regarding not following proceedure?

He said I was !!!!ed on teh basis we smelt of alcohol, yet me long term girlfriend who knows me better than anyone said to me I was sober. A little merry maybe but definitely not !!!!ed. I was prepared to fight that all the way if they would have taken it any further due to them allowing a alcoholic on site whilst !!!!ed and not doing anything about him actually drinking on site.

Without doubt this is personal and I somehow need to prove that.

It is unskilled I would imagine but each different job within teh warehouse requires training by a Training work instructor. Which then has to be signed off by a work instructor and the employee before teh employee can do that job on his own. With this job and how complex it is they have sort of forgotten to writeup a training module for it.

I just pulledthis frm the ACAS website

8. In cases where a period of suspension with pay is considered necessary, this period should be as brief as possible, should be kept under review and it should be made clear that this suspension is not considered a disciplinary action.

It wasn't made clear at all, What was made clear was the absolute opposite which is this is going to lead to disciplinary action.

Sausage_Roll

Refusal to follow a reasonable request from a manager : Gross misconduct in any occupation.

You turned up to your workplace intoxicated and got away with it - you should have been thanking your lucky stars for that, not giggling about your boss's girlfriend.

To be blunt, it sickens me that there are people in employment acting like this, when there are plenty of decent people desperately looking for work (and no I'm not on a vendetta I am employed).

You deserve to be sacked, whether you will be or not depends on your begging skills I reckon.

Sausage_Roll

OFTBC wrote: »

Tonight he put me on a job he knows I hate doing

Secondly the task they were asking me to do I have never received training for it and there isn't a training module for it I think and even if there is I have not been signed off to do it so how can I be disciplined for refusing to do a job I have not been trained to do?

Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to give me.

Not all jobs need training, and evidently you've done the job before. I mean come on, even in this H&S culture of "training" for petty things like using a ladder, there are still jobs out there that don't require training.

OFTBC

Sausage_Roll wrote: »

Refusal to follow a reasonable request from a manager : Gross misconduct in any occupation.

You turned up to your workplace intoxicated and got away with it - you should have been thanking your lucky stars for that, not giggling about your boss's girlfriend.

To be blunt, it sickens me that there are people in employment acting like this, when there are plenty of decent people desperately looking for work (and no I'm not on a vendetta I am employed).

You deserve to be sacked, whether you will be or not depends on your begging skills I reckon.

Think your missing the point slightly, I wasn't !!!!ed, I had one or two drinks, It was 3 am in the morning and we wanted a coffee, Others have done it whilst being far more !!!!ed. We wasn't joking about his girlfriend. We are friends with her so asked if we could see her, Instead of saying no she is working he got on his high horse.

I don't joke about my job, I take it very seriously but when things are being done because it is personal then that sickens me and I wont take it.