Suspended from work! Don't know why

rexx

My dad was suspended from work but does not know the reason why?

olly300

Firstly your dad need to get in touch with a union if he is in one, or contact ACAS and find out his legal rights.

Secondly he should send his employer a letter by special delivery immediately asking politely what exactly he is suspended for and the specific allegations made against him. It should also state that the employer needs to reply to the issues raised in the letter within 7 days which x date. The letter needs to be sent by special delivery in case the employer decides to pretend they didn't receive it and due to the fact special delivery takes one working day to be delivered. The letter also should give the employer a deadline of 7 days with the date to reply otherwise the employer can take 3 months to answer the allegations. In addition your dad's employer might realise your dad is not a push over.

After you have done both that post back on this board. There are other people who have gone through employers using tricks like this to get rid of staff.

rexx

Thanks I am on the phone to him right now!!

hothothot_3

how long has your dad been employed there?

olly300

rexx wrote: »

Thanks I am on the phone to him right now!!

Check your PMs.

olly300

hothothot wrote: »

how long has your dad been employed there?

He's been in the position for at least 4 years so is protected against unfair dismissal.

Regardless employers are not allowed to suspend people for gross misconduct without stating why.

rexx

quick note, he did join a union independently - I know he has been in touch and they have sent him form to fill out. The only thing is he joined it about a week or so before this happened so I'm not sure how much help they can provide as he might not have been a member long enough.

Olly - thank you so very much.

gerryscot

Reading you post brought tears to my eyes, what a shame for you poor dad he must be devastated. It sounds as though his manager is a true bully. Sorry I can give you any advice apart from suggesting contacting Acas.

Cant understand what managers reasons are for stating in notes that he had met with all members of staff asking the same questions, he doesn’t appear to be very knowledgeable with regards to employment law.

The one good thing going in your dads favour just now is having you a caring daughter at his side, supporting him and doing everything possible to help him. Cant be easy for you either though, I know if someone did this to my wee dad I would be like a wild women.

Wish you both the very best and hope you get the bully sorted.

Gerry x x x :smileyhea

rexx

Thank you Gerry.

Just to keep you udated my dad called acas today and they said that he has to basically sit and wait it out to see what the next move is, however, we want to be prepared either way, so will keep plugging away.

Thanks again everyone.

cookie54

just wondering who has made the complaints and who is investigating them as they was a issue with a made in a home near us and the care standards team got involed and it seems to be case of watch your own back

terra_ferma

I may not be very popular here... but it seems to me that they have followed standard procedures (obviously they should have followed their own procedures correctly).

ACAS states:
Employers should inform employees of the basis of the problem and give them an opportunity to put their case in response before any decisions are made.
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2176

It does not state that they need to be told while the problem is being investigated (unless it's stated somewhere else I'm not aware of).

Procedures in these cases vary wildly from not suspending at all to suspending without giving any information. I am not saying it's right or wrong not to tell people why they are being investigated, I'm just giving you information that may be useful to your dad.

I can't see anything in what happened that it's not a standard procedure when serious allegations have been made.
Obviously without seeing the actual letter It's difficult to understand what the allegations actually are, but it sounds like it could be complaints under Protection of Vulnerable Adults (i.e. allegations of abuse). If they are interviewing so many people it must be serious, probably not just 'gossip'.

The actual manager of the home should be the one held responsible, if he/she was around when this happened. You don't mention them at the meeting, have they been suspended too?
The comment about your dad having it in for his manager is also extremely serious, if this is one of the allegations.

Hope it ends well.