Suspended

Bexster1

Hi

I am looking for some advice. I work in a GP surgery for a branch surgery and I sent the whole teams CV's on their request via my work email account to other practices in the area asking if they had any job opportunities going. I sent the email during annual leave and did not put a reason why we are all looking for something new.

However a practice manager from another surgery had called the practice manager for the group practice and asked what was going on at the surgery.

I was called into a meeting on my return from annual leave and was told I was suspended on full pay pending investigation.

The reason they give is misuse of work email (although at the time of them writing the letter for suspension they thought I had been in work at the time of sending the email).
The other reason they gave is bringing the company into disrepute.

I have worked at this practice for 12 years and the group practice took over us 1 1/2 years ago. I have never in all my time been in trouble and work exceptionally hard.

All my colleagues are being interviewed today but are backing up my story that they had agreed for their cv to be sent in the group email.

I essentially run the practice and there are a lot of jobs that only I can do there.

I am in a state of panic, I don't particularly want to work for these people any more but cannot afford to be looking for work with no income coming in the mean time.

Any help/advice will be great

Becky x

vax2002

start looking for a new JOB , yesterday !
You do not suspend someone you WANT to work for you.
Look to your left my friend, thats the fat lady warming her self up on this job.
Take the suspension with pay as an Holiday, be sick if you have to extend it a bit, cough cough and find another Job.

kazwookie

Why are you emailing out your co workers CV's are they not able to do it themselves if they want a new job, strikes me as a bit odd.

I would write out the facts from your side and wait to be called to a meeting, taking with you a 'witness' to the meeting if you want.

Bexster1

We decided as a group to send them out, some members of the team do not really use email.

The employers have recently offered a dodgy redundancy package to our practice manager - esssentially she gets a redundancy package or she has to go up for the job against only one of the three practice managers they have. They have not offered this same package to the other practice manager and our practice manager has very little chance of getting the job as she does not kiss enough !!!!. She is the more experience of the two of them as she has done the job for 25 years, however the other lady has only been doing it for 2 years, yet she has more on paper qualifications. We think the long term plan is to merge our branch with another branch they took over this year that is in the same building. We sent out the email as we unsure whether we will have a job after the "restructuring"

They will be hard pressed to find someone that can do the jobs that I do there. I am an all rounder in terms of what I do at the practice and with only two days away they are struggling to do certain tasks as none of the other members know how to do it.

whitewing

It is an absolute mistake to even think that they won't get rid of you because you are the only one to be able to do certain tasks.

All you can be is be sorry, work hard and keep your mouth shut, and be extremely professional.

Bexster1

I understand what you are saying whitewing. The minute I can get out there I will be off! Just hope its on my terms.

Horace

I can see why they have suspended you, what you did was bizarre and yes, you have brought your employer into disrepute. Why send a group email in the first place, why didn't staff send their own emails looking for work, I feel sure that there is a data protection issue here as well?

Regardless of whether or not you are the only person able to do a particular task it is likely that you will either be sacked for gross misconduct or they may decide to go straight to the final written warning stage.

Instead of thinking about self for a moment think of it from the employer's perspective - here they are running a successful GP practice and one person takes it upon herself to send out a global group email to other practices in the area containing the CVs of all the admin staff at their practice so that they can find alternative employment. Thankfully an ethical practice manager at one of the other practices has had the sense to contact your employer directly. I should imagine your employer feels utterly betrayed.

Try and think, how you can best mitigate the circumstances and start looking for another job (don't apply to other practices in the area because they are now forewarned) in case your employer decides to take the gross misconduct route.

I will tell you this much - jobs don't grow on trees anymore and it is extremely tough out there with hundreds competing for one job.

Sambucus_Nigra

Bexster1 wrote: »

Hi

I am looking for some advice. I work in a GP surgery for a branch surgery and I sent the whole teams CV's on their request via my work email account to other practices in the area asking if they had any job opportunities going. I sent the email during annual leave and did not put a reason why we are all looking for something new.

I find this most bizarre - do all these people manage you in some way?

Why would you think this was in any way a good idea?

Bexster1

In the NHS area I work is can be common place for people to send CV's of those looking for work via email or sending emails of jobs that are available.

I appreciate what I have done is not the best move I have ever made. My colleagues have all been interviewed this morning and where simply asked if they knew about the email and why they wanted it sending.

Do you think if I write a letter of apology it would help?

Can you be suspended and on sick?

Sambucus_Nigra

Did they all back you up?

Bexster1

They did back me up.