Help please. Husband suspended from work. **Updated**

Googlewhacker

shikoku wrote: »

It's good that he has worked there for over a year, this means he has a great deal more in the way of employment rights.

For a first offence sacking would be a disproportionate response. His employers know this. Let's see what happens, then consider the options, it might just blow over with a warning.

You are kidding right? Being sacked for theft is not disproportionate!

lyndsay1986

If he is an HGV driver ..the surely the bag of crisps would have been in a sealed box ? on a pallet and more than likely shrink wrapped?

dmg24

GEEGEE8 wrote: »

Why didn't the bloke who saw him say something there and then? Surely he would know that it would be deemed theft, and for 40p or whatever did he really think it was fair to possibly mean the guy losing his job?

I know theft is theft, but for a bag of crisps!?

I hope they see it for what it is, and that is a sneaky snack grab from his employers and not as a viscious act of doing them out of money.

Where do you draw the line? If you allow stealing a bag of crisps to go unpunished (or with a light sanction), do you do the same for a bottle of pop ... a packet of cigarettes?

stelly

lyndsay1986 wrote: »

If he is an HGV driver ..the surely the bag of crisps would have been in a sealed box ? on a pallet and more than likely shrink wrapped?

Have just asked OH about this ( I never thought of this) as I dont want this to end up being a thread about he must of been lying or he's hiding something etc.

The crisps aren't packaged in the same way Walkers etc are packaged. So not in an enclosed box.

They are in an opened top box with only half sides. They are then stacked on top of each other on the pallet then wrapped. One had fallen out and he took them.

I understand what others are saying about this being theft believe me i am not making excuses for him.

Myself and OH totally agree that it will be seen as such and Im more worried about how this will affect him getting another job because of it.

DVardysShadow

Stealing is wrong. But let's have a sense of proportion here. Probably more than one of the people in the office where this is being dealt with will have a works pen or pencil at home.

The value of the item is trivial. That does not make it less wrong. But I am surprised at the number of people who seem to think it should be the end of the OP's OH's job.

In biblical law terms, it is arguable as to whether this is theft if he consumed them on the spot.

SarEl

Another thought that has come to me is that this actually may be a deal more serious if the complainant is a client of your husbands company. In that case this is not strictly just a copany internal matter - they could loose business if they areseen to condone theft from clients. It may be worth suggesting an abject letter of apology too if this is the case. If there is a client they may be a little mollified by it.

dmg24

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Stealing is wrong. But let's have a sense of proportion here. Probably more than one of the people in the office where this is being dealt with will have a works pen or pencil at home.

The value of the item is trivial. That does not make it less wrong. But I am surprised at the number of people who seem to think it should be the end of the OP's OH's job.

In biblical law terms, it is arguable as to whether this is theft if he consumed them on the spot.

He took the item with the intention to permanently deprive. What is arguable?

DebtHater

Firstly, I would recommend that he contact his union official and get representation at any future meetings regarding this issue. If he isnt apart of a union, then he is a fool. All professional drivers, regardless of who they work for, should be a member of the TGU. So that would be the first step.

Secondly, he should be aware that this will most likely be seen as gross misconduct. I would imagine they would dismiss him, because that would set an example to the other members of staff. I should know - as a bus driver, they would sack us if we took 40p out of the change float. So I would imagine the same would apply here.

Thirdly, he would have no redress via a tribunal because this would all be stated in the terms and conditions of his employment. The HGV company have a duty to ensure they provide a high standard of work to their clients, and this includes making sure the items get delivered in full. I'm sorry, but its his own fault for taking the bag of crisps. I know its a small theft, but as said by a poster above, theft is theft, regardless of the item.

I would say it wouldnt matter regarding using them as a reference. They cant provide a bad reference, but they can refuse. A refused reference would look quite bad, so my personal advice would be to not tell any new employers that he had worked there, and remove it from his CV etc.

And, if worse comes to the worse, as an HGV driver he will be able to find work elsewhere. Locally here, they are crying out for class 1 & 2 drivers.

SarEl

DVardysShadow wrote: »

In biblical law terms, it is arguable as to whether this is theft if he consumed them on the spot.

It is therefore a crying shame that biblical law isn't applied in the UK

bendix

If he's an HGV driver, is it safe to assume that he took the crisps from a box that was destined to go to a customer? In that case, he's not just stealing a packet of crisps from his workplace - he's stealing it from a customer too and, more importantly, exposing his employer to issues around short-supplying on an order.

There are significant issues here that go beyong a 40p bag of crisps.