Help with disciplinary procedure.

vet8

Well, the next installment of this saga. :rolleyes:

My OH's firm agreed to put the hearing back and he spoke to his union rep, even though the guy is still on holiday he has agreed to be there at the hearing - good for him.

My OH finally got the paper work today and it makes very interesting reading. Basically his boss is calling him a f*****g liar.:mad: :mad: :mad: He seems to dispute the entire episode and says he does not believe why my OH was absent and that he made no effort to contact the store.

It is now clear that he wants my OH out. He has moved him from the department he was originally hired to work for and where he has worked for 5 years without any complaints to a really BORING job which is driving him mad. His boss wants him to go, I am sure of it and that is the entire reason behind this charade about the hearing.

Things are not good at home at the moment. :eek:

Zazen999

Hi Vet

Does the letter actually say your OH is a f*****g liar; I am guessing not - so what does the letter actually say?

vet8

The letter is his copy of the report he wrote when he spoke to my OH when he went back to work.

It is a very biased piece of writing. He uses phrases like "in Fred's version of events" and he implies very strongly that he does not believe my OH's account of events at all. He disputes that I ever phoned the store, saying that he was on duty and no one told him about the calls. He does not seem to have investigated at all or asked who did receive the call and why they did not pass it on.

My OH has refused to say what his GP has diagnosed as he says that is his own personal health information and really no business of the firm, he is capable of doing the job he was employed for, he is not unwell and they have no need to ask repeatedly what the ailment is. Because of that the boss says he does not believe there is anything wrong with him and he was not taken to hospital.

He also disputes that my OH reported to the HR dept. when he went back to work, which he did as soon as he got in the next day. The boss says he was in the HR office and my OH did not go in there. My OH spoke to 2 people in the office so it will be very easy to prove that the boss is lying. Similarly I have the phone bill, which records the time of the calls I made.

His report implies throughout that he does not believe my OH at all, so I have told him to turn the tables and say in the meeing that he does not believe the bosses story and he wants to question him about it. Otherwise I think they will just accept the bosses version of events and ignore the truth.

floss2

Has your OH been told whether this is an investiagtion or a disciplinary meeting? Has he been sent / given a copy of the disciplinary procedure?

Write EVERYTHING down, no matter how trivial you think it may be.....

Also make copies of all your documents - phone bill, note from hospital confirming his attendance at A & E (ask them for one), emails etc, so he can give a "bundle" to each person at the meeting.

floss2

vet8 wrote: »

....My OH has refused to say what his GP has diagnosed as he says that is his own personal health information and really no business of the firm, he is capable of doing the job he was employed for, he is not unwell and they have no need to ask repeatedly what the ailment is. Because of that the boss says he does not believe there is anything wrong with him and he was not taken to hospital....

He may have to to keep his job - however, if I were your OH, I would be asking for a referral to the company's Occupation Health department, for them to follow up with his GP & hospital consultant.

Tiddlywinks

Has your OH seen the Occupational Health dept yet? They can liaise with GP if necessary but do not have to pass specifics of the illness onto the line manager; they would just confirm that your OH has a medical condition and give details of any support or reasonable adjustments (if any) required to support your him in carrying out his duties. This is also another way of demonstrating to the company that it was a genuine and unexpected illness.

How did your OH complete his self certificate for his absence? Surely his line manager knows details of his illness from this form?

Has he seen the union rep yet?

You mention your OH's job has been changed recently - was that before or after the day he went sick? If the change was made after, and it is to his disadvantage, then he should also discuss this with the union as well as it could be considered bullying.

Please don't take this the wrong way but the boss does seem to have a bee in his bonnet - are you sure there were no existing issues with your OH before he went sick?

jazzyman01

It does look like your OH is not actually helping himself if he refuses to say why he was at the hospital. If he does not want his manager to know, why not agree to tell occ health or HR, in confidence?

vet8

Thanks everyone. I will get him to talk to the occ. health people. I do not know if he has any at his store, but there must be some somewhere in the firm.

His union rep. will be at the meeting to support him, he has said that the firm does not have a leg to stand on.

My OH was moved into his new boring job this week with no notice, after his sick day. I agree his boss does have a bee in his bonnet, they obviously do not get on and I freely admit my OH can be stubborn (he's a Scot !! and they can be renown for their stubbornness!)

The letter says it is a disciplinary meeting and only the Commercial Manager and a note taker will be there, so unless he insists, his boss will not be there and I assume they will take his report as the truth.

jazzyman01

If his manager has made a report regarding his version of events, your OH should be entitled to see that report. If they rely on evidence from the manager he must be able to challenge it - even in person if necessary.
Your evidence clearly shows you contacted the Company - in your state (and your OH) you did what was reasonable. How are you to know about the normal company procedures??
Again - evidence of hospital, GP visits etc and he can agree that they can contact his GP (but only occ health and/or HR).
When he is given the verdict - which should be dismissal of the charge - he should be given the decision in writing stating same. I would suggest he then asks for his original role back.
Is there scope for him to be moved within his job description?

Floss

vet8 wrote: »

....The letter says it is a disciplinary meeting and only the Commercial Manager and a note taker will be there, so unless he insists, his boss will not be there and I assume they will take his report as the truth.

Has he been given a copy of the company's disciplinary policy/procedure?

What does the policy say about being accompanied to the meeting?