fearing the worst

hucknallglynnbob

im in a bit of a predicament at work,i started on a temporary contract with a national company in october. my (contract) as such ran out in march and since then they have told me to just keep turning up doing the job etc.

i have mentioned this numerous times to both my line manager and the big boss, at which point they have just said well we havent even got contracts weve been here 20years plus.

now the long and short of it is i have been suspended on full pay etc due to an incident at work which i feel im probably 60-70% to blame and have apologised etc. today i have received a letter stating this and to expect to be called in for interview within next 48hrs.

now to be honest whilst ive been there i have received no training on the job only to find out how to do things when i have done them wrong!! im not even aware there was a trade union in place until they told me yesterday when they suspended me!!

the incident is classed as "gross misconduct" and i am told it's pretty bad the line manager was regretful of suspending me and the manager was willing to accept my apology but obviously they have procedure to follow.

i think my chances of being dismissed are fairly high but i just came on here being a newbie for advice really also would i be due for benefits??
never claimed a penny in my life im 36 live with partner and have no savings, minimal debt, only problem is my partner earns 50k a year.

all constructive advice very much appreciated thanks.

ohreally

Whats the question?

hucknallglynnbob

ohreally wrote: »

Whats the question?

er, HELP! ADVICE NEEDED(PLEASE):)

ohreally

Go and have a word with the union guys. They are on the shop floor at the business end and will be better placed to advise on local issues and procedures. Talk nicely and they may accept you as a member and provide representation if its required.

Seriously, they are your first port of call.

hucknallglynnbob

anyone know where i stand as regards claiming benefits if worst does come to the worst?

Emmzi

if you are dismissed for GMC it is usually classed as having made yourself voluntarily unemployed therefore your JSA would be sanctioned for up to 26 weeks.

Were you inducted, does company intranet or common sense state you shouldn't do what you did, etc?

scheming_gypsy

the 'procedure' might just be the suspending and a disciplinary especially if they were willing to accept your apology. There's chance you can turn up for a lot of blah blah blah and a slap on the wrists.

no idea on the benefits though

hucknallglynnbob

Emmzi wrote: »

if you are dismissed for GMC it is usually classed as having made yourself voluntarily unemployed therefore your JSA would be sanctioned for up to 26 weeks.

Were you inducted, does company intranet or common sense state you shouldn't do what you did, etc?

no there was no induction whatsoever, the funny thing is on my first 3month temp contract it stated the start date of which will be an in house training day which didnt happen!!

and yes common sense does say i shouldn't have done what i did,however i dont think imo it's all my fault and like i said i have apologised for my actions to the senior manager.

fairydiamond

What did you do? Sorry I'm really nosey.

If your partner earns 50k a year you will not receive income benefit, but you may be able to claim contribution based jobseeker's allowance for 6 months if you've paid enough national insurance.

CountryGuy

fairydiamond wrote: »

What did you do? Sorry I'm really nosey.

If your partner earns 50k a year you will not receive income benefit, but you may be able to claim contribution based jobseeker's allowance for 6 months if you've paid enough national insurance.

LOL I wanted to ask the same - seems you are nosier than me lol

SarEl

hucknallglynnbob wrote: »

no there was no induction whatsoever, the funny thing is on my first 3month temp contract it stated the start date of which will be an in house training day which didnt happen!!

and yes common sense does say i shouldn't have done what i did,however i dont think imo it's all my fault and like i said i have apologised for my actions to the senior manager.

I am afraid that in my experience - and I openly admit, I do not deal with benefits on a regular basis because I'm a lawyer! - the benefits agency generally suspend JSA if you have been dismissed. They do not mediate why you were dismissed - that is something for the employer to decide, so they don't care much that you may have done something to get dismissed for that wasn't entirely your fault. The only exceptions I know to this are where someone is making a tribunal claim, and my union colleagues tell me (although I am not certain about how true this is) that they are now being finicky about those too, and if people don't have a lawyer or union (or both - as they often go together) they are now suspending many claims even if a tribunal claim has been lodged, and that even on appeal only a few of the best cases (the ones where the employer has obviously done something wrong) are getting through. As I said, this latter bit is hearsay, but union officials usually have a good grasp of what is happening.