Shock Suspension and Disciplinary Hearing Ahead - Please Help

DVardysShadow

Anihilator wrote: »

Employment law is on the probabilities. If the employer has statements - note plural - stating they drunk then it is going to be treated as fact in any legal action (other than criminal)

My problem with your input is that you accept that the allegation is fact. If you start from this position, you cannot help the OP. Although I can see that multiple statements mean that the allegation may be treated as fact, even if it is treated as fact, it may not in fact be fact.

Why is this important? Because I would give the OP different advice depending on whether he had drunk from the bottle or had merely pretended to drink from it. In general, I tend to believe OP's descriptions of their circumstances, because if they tell porkies, they are responsible for getting themselves the wrong advice. Only in a few cases where something does not look right, will I challenge the OP. I think with the advice you are giving, you should either be up front enough to tell the OP that you don't believe him or you should say that you do believe him, but believe your advice is making the best of a bad job. The tenor of your posts is to imply that you think he is a liar, without actually coming out and saying so. This is the worst of both worlds.

Anihilator wrote: »

What are you on about?

If employees present are asked to describe what they saw what part of this is hearsay?

If the employer doesnt have any more than one person saying it fair enough but if they have multiple employees stating he drunk the spirits then what part of it do you think will possibly be successful.

You said "Sorry but they dont need to convince staff to go on record." If they don't have anything on record, they cannot proceed. I think it is defeatism on your part to suggest that they can proceed with nothing on record.

hothothot_3

I would put in a claim to the employment tribunal for the wages they have not paid. (providing it doesnt say in the contract they are permitted to withold them during suspension period)

theres a reason it is taking over 2 months to find if someone has taken a drink from a bottle - because they have diddly squat evidence.

Which is why they are scrambling, in a mendacious manner, to get someone else to give a false statement.

If you have nobody to go to interview with, I recommend a silent interview (one where you make no reply to any questions). The burden of proof is for them to prove the allegations against you, not that you have to prove innocence.

misssarahleigh

From what i can see you have a good case if you wanted to take it to an employment tribunal. I'm not a specialist, although spent a lot of time on this topic when i was unfairly dismissed.

Don't worry about statements from co-workers. In the beginning my boss listed 7/8 whitness statements (and provided 3 early for some reason) although when it came to formally handing over the statements she only had hers. Although she did get a co-worker to write one (this person hated my and got my job after i had gone) which was rubbish. I could clearly pick 4/5 lies and contridictions within her statment which could clearly be seen from other information my employer had sent.

Needless to say she gave up (nice payout 2 days before the hearing)

You have nothing to lose but everything to gain, get your mad head on and make sure they pay every penny you are owed!

sgtpepper_2

hothothot wrote: »

I would put in a claim to the employment tribunal for the wages they have not paid. (providing it doesnt say in the contract they are permitted to withold them during suspension period)

theres a reason it is taking over 2 months to find if someone has taken a drink from a bottle - because they have diddly squat evidence.

Which is why they are scrambling, in a mendacious manner, to get someone else to give a false statement.

If you have nobody to go to interview with, I recommend a silent interview (one where you make no reply to any questions). The burden of proof is for them to prove the allegations against you, not that you have to prove innocence.

I've written them a letter pointing out that i haven't been paid, i don't have a copy of my contract but if they say its in the contract, i will ask for a copy. As far as i know it's unlawful to not be paid on suspension.

I'll wait to see what the result is then take it to a tribunal if it's not cleared up.

I'm not sure i could manage a silent interview, it might go against me as being uncooperative and as my letter from them states, a failure to attend will result in a decision made in your absence.

I'll just be very plain and straight to the point that i have not committed any allegation.

Rockporkchop

I don't think it is about the alcohol at all. Are you sure they don't just want to reduce staff costs and stupidly think that forcing you out in this ridiculous way will be cheaper than making you redundant.

Stand your ground OP, don't listen to any of the defeatist and unhelpful posts. You can and will get through this and I hope you take them for every penny.

RichyRich

I'm sorry to hear that you have been put in this position OP.

If you are precautionarily suspended pending investigations you should be paid for this, as no case to answer has yet been identified.

I would recommend that you do bring a witness to any disciplinary interview to which you are invited, even if it is the Polish person who speaks little English. It will, if nothing else, mean that there's someone there on your side. You should also note that there is nothing to stop you making your own notes of the interview. These can help you if at any stage you disagree with the contents of the official notes. They do not have to be verbatim but just the sentient points spoken about.

You should also be given a copy of your Company's Disciplinary Procedure. If they don't have one they should really follow the ACAS Minimum Standards. If procedure has not been followed, any decision irrespective of the allegations will be deemed to be automatically unfair by the tribunal panel. In particular, you should ensure that:

1. you receive an invitation to the disciplinary hearing detailing the date, time, and place of the hearing along with the allegations you will be asked to answer, the evidence on which they propose to rely, and, if they are considering dismissal, the fact that the outcome of the hearing could be dismissal
2. the hearing is adjourned before any decision is made, and that the outcome of the hearing is communicated to you in writing within a reasonable period following the hearing
3. that you are informed of a right of appeal against any decision (other than a decision to take no action) to take action against you

fengirl_2

Putting aside the matter of whether or not you have done anything wrong, the employer is grossly at fault:
1. For stopping your wages - as previous poster has said this is unlawful deduction from wages, which is an ET matter apart from anything else.
2. The employer is not dealing with the matter without undue delay as required by the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinaries (which replaced the 3 step process in April). This again is an ET matter - whether or not you stole anything the employer can be fined for not sticking to the Code.
I agree you need someone at the meeting and if there are not suitable staff, you should contact the appropriate union (even though you are not a member) and ask for support. If the employer will allow it, then ask a clued up friend to accompany instead.

jazzyman01

Two months suspended? What does it state in your Disciplinary process? They are clearly hoping that you have gone away - not paying you so no impact on them.

Have you contacted them regarding the date of the hearing?

If you have not had a response from your manager then go up the chain and quickly.

As stated earlier, get your case together. Write down notes, who you spoke to and when.

Prior to the hearing you should be sent copies of all the evidence that the Company has gathered in regard to the allegations. You should go through this and prepare your response/questions. If necessary, ask for the witnesses to be present so that you can question them.

As mentioned before, you have the right to have someone with you and you have the right to adjourn as many times as you want to regroup, prepare any further questions or just to calm down!

sgtpepper_2

Hi, I have an update.

After hounding them with letters and emails asking why I haven't been paid and to confirm the dates, I finally got a letter from them saying;

Further to your letter you sent to us on 13th October, we have been writing to you, but by the address at the top we still had your old address.

Just to confirm that you will be getting paid on Friday 23rd October for the weeks that are owed to you.

I would like to invite you to a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday 28th October at 5pm at ****** with myself and assistant general manager; Helen Timms were we will discuss our investigation of alleged theft of company stock with yourself.

You should feel free to bring a witness to the hearing although this person must be either a work colleague or a member of ACAS. If you are bringing a witness then please let us know 24 hours before the hearing.

Apart from the terrible grammar, the letter says they've been sending letters to an address they've known that I haven't lived in for over three years. One of the managers has actually been in my current home only recently.

I checked my bank account and I've been paid but only for a months work and not the two I've been suspended, so I hope there's more to come.

The hearing date has changed by one day and the people conducting it has completely changed.

They've also not sent me any evidence against me ( as there isn't) and i think it's a bit late to request anything now. I'm going to write a statement and bring it with me.

dizzyg_2

Hi, you have left a name in your last post. You might want to edit.