help. Xmas do... suspected of doing DRUGS!!!!!!

moggylover

poet123 wrote: »

I hate to re iterate this, but it seems as if your working relationships are not too good and this is coming home to roost now. You do need to see a solicitor.

I don't like to disagree - but I have worked somewhere where a particular boss wanted rid of a member of staff whom he just did not like (mostly because he couldn't bully him effectively:D) and the rest of us were more or less told that if we didn't tow the Company line then our jobs were on the line! Of course, the way it was put was a bit more subtle - but that was the implicit threat therein.

You would be surprised just how many of your "close friends" will say whatever they are told to say when put in that sort of situation and once you have been suspended and they do not have to face you at all it all gets VERY much easier for them;).

It does sound very much to me as if this could have started because the op may have a rather quirky sense of humour (although it could equally be said that some of his co-workers appear to have a sense of humour by-pass in place) and I find it sad that the workplace has become such a rigidly conformist place to be if a joke taken the wrong way has started all this!

To the OP, I really do think you have to get pro-active on this now and the advice to get a letter from a solicitor to the manager responsible for the slur is a good place to start. Just because YOU know you don't have the wherewithall to take him on all the way doesn't mean he will fully understand this.

Personally, I think that if the Company has no concrete proof (i.e. the op getting caught with his rolled up note up his nose and the sherbet still on the cutting block) then were they to act with any kind of integrity then they would be ignoring the complaints of the Manager and putting this down to a drunken misunderstanding on his part. They could always then keep an eye on the Op if they still had suspicisions but only a drugs test would prove one way or another at the moment and it may well be a bit late for that.

Management are just that: not Gods who cannot be mistaken (especially when drunk which I actually would not approve of in any manager at a works function anyway:D).

euronorris

Hi OP!

Just wanted to add my support and wish you luck.

I've noticed from some of your recent posts, that this is all becoming a bit much for you right now. Perhaps it would be a good idea to take a break from it and the forum too - at least for a few hours. I know everyone has lots of good suggestions, but sometimes, you need to take a step back before you can see the way forward.

Maybe go for a walk, or to the shops if you need bread/milk etc, or even visit a friend or family member, do some housework. Just something to distract your thoughts from this and give yourself a little break (mentally). And then, you can come back to this with a much clearer, and hopefully more settled, head.

All the best x

Chinkle

Interesting approach the OP's company have taken. Pursuing the rather surprious drug claims and not the aggressive behaviour one. I do think someone wants him gone, but they are going about it in a very clumsy fashion.

OP should definately have put in his own grievance before now and which may have had some bearing on the way HR have moved on this.

If he chooses to take this all the way I reckon he's in with a good shot as none of his colleagues (or indeed HR) have acted very professionally (and in all likelihood ignored company procedures) for dealing with suspected drug misuse.

It will be a long journey though, if OP has the will to follow it through.

robredz

Chinkle makes a good point, as I consider the particular manager involved to be, one of those who wants him gone, and in the murky game of office politics, that some consider more important than company business saw this as the chance to move. OP needs to relax a little, look at all the evidence again, review his responses to it, in view of his own grievance; and make sure the manager can be discredited out of hand.

rach29

Hello again Matt. I'm so sorry to see how things have played out so far. There's been some good advice on here & I'm pleased to see you have finally put your grievance in.

Just a thought, but do you have Home Insurance? Some policies include Legal Cover, it's worth checking out if you are going to need a solicitor. You said something about ACAS offering Legal Aid?? What does this entail? can you explain?

Please be good to yourself, the evidence "against" you still looks pretty shaky to me. When you've given yourself a break, try going through each statement & writing down each "accusation" and your answer to it. This will give you a chance to have your answers ready when you go to your meeting.

If it helps feel free to PM me & I'll look at the statements for you from an outsiders POV.

Take care of yourself

poet123

moggylover wrote: »

I don't like to disagree - but I have worked somewhere where a particular boss wanted rid of a member of staff whom he just did not like (mostly because he couldn't bully him effectively:D) and the rest of us were more or less told that if we didn't tow the Company line then our jobs were on the line! Of course, the way it was put was a bit more subtle - but that was the implicit threat therein.

You would be surprised just how many of your "close friends" will say whatever they are told to say when put in that sort of situation and once you have been suspended and they do not have to face you at all it all gets VERY much easier for them;).

It does sound very much to me as if this could have started because the op may have a rather quirky sense of humour (although it could equally be said that some of his co-workers appear to have a sense of humour by-pass in place) and I find it sad that the workplace has become such a rigidly conformist place to be if a joke taken the wrong way has started all this!

To the OP, I really do think you have to get pro-active on this now and the advice to get a letter from a solicitor to the manager responsible for the slur is a good place to start. Just because YOU know you don't have the wherewithall to take him on all the way doesn't mean he will fully understand this.

Personally, I think that if the Company has no concrete proof (i.e. the op getting caught with his rolled up note up his nose and the sherbet still on the cutting block) then were they to act with any kind of integrity then they would be ignoring the complaints of the Manager and putting this down to a drunken misunderstanding on his part. They could always then keep an eye on the Op if they still had suspicisions but only a drugs test would prove one way or another at the moment and it may well be a bit late for that.

Management are just that: not Gods who cannot be mistaken (especially when drunk which I actually would not approve of in any manager at a works function anyway:D).

My point re relationships stems from a *feeling* I picked up from the way the OP refers to his colleagues, and from how he spoke about how he sometimes chose not to acknowledge various people, or did so grudgingly.

I don't doubt that situations such as you describe do occur, but equally some people just do not care how others perceive them, or how they treat people they think of as subordinate, or not useful to them, believing that they are untouchable. I am not saying that his is necessarily the case with the OP, but it is a possibility.

Mips

That's so funny

You should have offered him a line and told him to chill out !

aj2703

Dippychick wrote: »

That's so funny

You should have offered him a line and told him to chill out !

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: :D

Ivrytwr3

Had a quick read of your email, i can't see anywhere in it where you state that you weren't actually taking drugs.

I appreciate that come a hearing/interview you will be able to explain you weren't and what you were actually doing in the cubicle. But for the record i would have added to the initial email that i stongly denied the accusation and that you are not a drug user.

moggylover

Dippychick wrote: »

That's so funny

You should have offered him a line and told him to chill out !

That would have been my sort of response I am afraid - but it seems that that would have been very naughty of me:o:o:o