just been sacked for theft in retail

Flyboy152

concerned43 wrote: »

your the one that doesn't know what they are talking about! not only have I went through this personally (as an employer) with lawyers who do know what they are talking about I also work for CAB and have dealt with this for clients - whats your credentials?

Sorry, but your interpretation of the regulations surrounding unfair dismissal, suggest that you may misunderstand them.

rozmister

blue_monkey wrote: »

Yes, that might be the case but there has probably not been money go missing from those tills. Should money go missing from the till at the end of the day then they would have no proof who took the money so would not be able to dismiss these members of staff. Any of them. Nor suspend them..

In an ideal word every till would be assigned to a specific member of staff and them only but in a very busy retail environment where people don't all work full day shifts this isn't practical. If you have someone in for the morning and someone in for the evening and customers queueing and complaining there isn't enough time to start faffing about changing tills or till drawers. These kinds of issues do make identifying people dipping their fingers in the drawer harder but are unavoidable in some retail environments.

milothewestie wrote: »

so this cash office, me doing the tills was not in my job description i.e did it on good will never got paid for it,one of the managers should of done it but delegated me the job,but never paid me for the responsibility but held me responsible when something went wrong,,,,,,is that legal any ideas

It's perfectly legal. In most contracts there is some sort of clause stating (not in these words) that you will undertake any role asked of you that is reasonable and within your capability. This includes management level tasks without the pay rise managers enjoy. I work for a top 4 supermarket and despite being contracted as a checkout assistant on paper I am always a supervisor or in the customer services and have a few times run a shift alone, a role meant for a team leader who would be on, or have completed, a 6 month+ training programme. The only fallback you have is if you make a mistake that in some way could compromise the store procedures (not following security checks, not doing paperwork right) but you weren't trained in how to do it correctly. This doesn't apply here and is still at the discresion of the employer.

Padstow wrote: »

"If you are ever asked to go to the manager's office, insist the police are called first."

That's a bit of a ridiculous statement. There are many reasons you could be called into a managers office and they generally don't announce on the shop floor you're suspected of theft because of the window of opportunity it creates to cover your tracks. On the other hand if you're invited into the manager's office and before you get there you insist the police are called it could turn out you've got a certificate for your work or there's a personal issue they want to discuss with you or a hundred other things. Then how stupid would you look when the police turn up and your manager says he just wanted to award your NVQ in Retail! You can refuse to let them search your locker or bag without the police present but generally you shouldn't be told you're being searched until you reach the room so you can't hide anything that is on your person.

We have some problems with theft in the store I work in and recently a girl was dismissed despite NOT committing a theft. She was caught on CCTV deliberately hiding money but never collected and because she didn't actually take it she was only dismissed for gross misconduct rather than prosecuted. It may not be the law (I'm not a legal expert) but the large chain I work for will only prosecute if the individual is seen stealing (in person or by CCTV) or caught by a trap. My team leader when I begun stole tens of thousands of pounds and was caught, dismissed and arrested. The CPS wouldn't proceed with the case because there wasn't enough CCTV. There were so many hours of footage to go through it wasn't cost effective. This has led to a spate of till loss and the aforementioned money hiding incident so it may well be that milo's employers are panicking and trying to make an example of her but missing the true criminal in the process.

Padstow

Sorry rozmister, I should have been clearer. The advice I gave was if she was suspected of theft as a shopper. In the days when she first went shopping alone.
I knew she'd never steal anything. Hell, we even had to return to Argos once at her insistence, as I was still holding the stubby blue pen in my hand.

rozmister

Padstow wrote: »

Sorry rozmister, I should have been clearer. The advice I gave was if she was suspected of theft as a shopper. In the days when she first went shopping alone.
I knew she'd never steal anything. Hell, we even had to return to Argos once at her insistence, as I was still holding the stubby blue pen in my hand.

Lol that's so sweet! I bet the people in Argos really appreciated you bringing that pen back :P

At my work I am forever finding stubby pens on tills because people pick them up from the Argos down the road to use at work!

wantsajob

Padstow wrote: »

Decades ago, I was doing a promotion in tesco, when two of their detectives tried to frame me. I was alone in a room with them and I knew what they were intending, as they insisted on me handing my handbag to them to search.

I flatly refused unless they called the police first.
The stand off lasted for hours, but they let me go.

You could have removed items from your handbag yourself. For merely being detained for a few hours I would call the Police about that alone. Although I would guess the Police would have been as useless then as they are these days.

stu12345 wrote: »

what happens if they both decide to steal it.

Watch the film Armoured. It's a bit of a crap film, but the story is relevant to your point.

milothewestie

been for my appeal today,all was good the area manager conducting appeal basically agreed with most of my reasons for appealing my unfair dismissal my question is what will my options be if they offer my job back,do i have to take it,can i still take this to tribunal and get compensation,can i have job back and smaller compensation for the unfair dismissal is there any other options,does it affect compensation if i dont take my job back

blue_monkey_2

I am not sure Milo but well done for persuing this.

Give ACAS a call, they will tell you about your rights and what can further be done.

I think you can choose to leave because you are never going to feel trusted there again, and then go for constructive dismissal but ring ACAS to check.

I don't think I'd be wanting to work there again in all fairness, but I agree you need tofind out what your options are. I also beleive that they would have to pay you the wage between being dismissed and re-instating you as by doing this, you should not have been sackedin the first place. Again, speak to ACAS as they will give you factsand not hearsay. Let us know what they say.

milothewestie

thanks blue monkey much appreciated:beer:

dickydonkin

milothewestie wrote: »

been for my appeal today,all was good the area manager conducting appeal basically agreed with most of my reasons for appealing my unfair dismissal my question is what will my options be if they offer my job back,do i have to take it,can i still take this to tribunal and get compensation,can i have job back and smaller compensation for the unfair dismissal is there any other options,does it affect compensation if i dont take my job back

The question really is -What do you actually want?

Although if it transpires that if your appeal fails, your options may be limited.

I would be more concerned about obtaining employment in the future if your dismissal is upheld.

Hopefully, you may be given options such as a compromise agreement which would benefit both parties insomuch you could not pursue any claim for unfair dismissal/deformation and the company would be rid of a seemingly messy affair.

The constructive dismissal route as suggested earlier is a risky one - very few claimants are successful.

If I was in your shoes, I would not wish to work there any more so a C.A. with a settlement AND a favourable reference would be the best option for me. Not ideal - but at least it allows closure and draws a line under this sorry episode.

Hopefully that option may be offered to you.

milothewestie

they have discriminated against me because i am disabled im near deaf and they removed a loop system at my store when they updated the tills but never replaced it,although i requested this on numerous occasions and even arranged at no cost to my employer to have a new one fitted the request was still ignored,i wouldnt think they will uphold my dismissal and risk the tribunal route they wont want this,i would be amazed after the meeting today if they were to do that lets hope there sensible and either settle with this compramise agreement or offer me re-employment but the most important thing is my name is cleared so i can start applying for a new job:o