I got sacked from my job today for gross misconduct can i claim jobseekers allowance

unclekevin

I got dismissed today for gross misconduct-dishonesty (not related to theft) basically i went away on a 1 day holiday for my long life friends stag do after i rang in sick, i tried every legit way to go but couldn't either change my day off or get the time off , i had worked for the business for nearly 12 years and in that time i only had 2 days off sick, i had an excellent rapport with my line manger and was very well liked, i came up with a story to say why i was of sick but in the end i am not a good liar and i came clean (honesty is the best policy) and told the truth, i have appealed against the decision but i'm not holding my breath that i will get my job back. So will i be able to claim Job Seekers Allowance? and if i can claim long do i have to wait?

ceridwen

So - what sort of "dishonesty" is this?

unclekevin

Because i lied in the first place to why i was off sick, i said that i hurt my back when i didn't and i didn't realize that you had to fill an accident report form within 24 hours, so when work tried to contact me they couldn't as my phone was switched off and then they found out that i wasn't in the country. Looking back it was a very stupid thing to do but i panicked with the back story, what is ironic is that if i had phoned in work telling them that i had been sick or got the runs i wouldn't been in the predicament i find myself in, to rub insult to injury my line manger who fired me has been off sick more times than i can remember

Anihilator

You can be sanctioned from claiming JSA from anything upto 26 weeks in cases of dismissal for misconduct.

This only counts for misconduct. What was the official reason for dismissal?

In your case I would expect it to be counted as a misconduct and a pretty strong sanction to be given.

You need to arrange an interview with the Job centre and see what happens. It may not be a full 26 weeks but I woulndt be expecting to see any JSA for the best part of it.

unclekevin

Dishonesty! On the letter i received today it said.......that following your formal conduct interview to answer charges of Gross Misconduct - Dishonesty (not related to theft) in that you reported sick claiming an accident on duty and traveled on a prearranged holiday i (my boss) have come to a decision. And on the letter were a number of reasons why he came to the decision of dismissing me.

midnight_ninja

unfortunately this will block you from being able to claim jobseekers for a while but you can still apply for other jobs ,hope this helps

terra_ferma

unclekevin wrote: »

i came up with a story to say why i was of sick but in the end i am not a good liar and i came clean (honesty is the best policy) and told the truth,

You didn't come clean, they found out. There is a BIG difference, and can't see any honesty in that.
I'm afraid I would do the same without thinking twice, and dismiss someone trying to pull a fast one in this way!

unclekevin

midnight_ninja wrote: »

unfortunately this will block you from being able to claim jobseekers for a while but you can still apply for other jobs ,hope this helps

How long (roughly) would i have to wait?

Anihilator

Entirely upto an advisor. I would guess not far off the full 26 weeks given the fact its pretty much your fault entirely.

unclekevin

Anihilator wrote: »

Entirely upto an advisor. I would guess not far off the full 26 weeks given the fact its pretty much your fault entirely.

Thanks for the info, i sort of knew i would be getting dismissed so it wasn't a big shock when it happened, i'm hoping i can somehow win my appeal. In a weird way it might be a good thing as i was thinking of changing jobs, but as my friend pointed out it's always better to look for a job when you've got one.

Roobarb73

My understanding is that if you resign or are dismissed for misconduct you cannot claim JSA for 26 weeks.

However there is no duty AFAIK on your employer to tell the benefits agency why you left employment so if they don't tell them you may be lucky.