Advice regarding employee negligence

wifeanddaughter

I work for a small consultancy company and one of my good friends has just been suspended on full pay pending an investigation for gross negligence. He has worked for the company 8 years and until now has not had any disciplinary action against him.

I am his "employee colleague" which is fine by me as I have known him for 16 years and as well as working together we are good friends. He says he is worried about involving me as he doesn't want any come-back on me or any of the other workers. However, I discussed this with the CEO and he is happy for me to be the employee's support.

In terms of the issue - it is all a bit technical to be honest, about whether he should have spotted changes in documents before signing them off (the firm is saying that changes were introduced which have lead the company to losing about half a million in lost business and product). He has the unenviable position of acting as an expert which although employed by the company means that he has to make decisions on the grounds of safety which may not be in the commercial interests of the company. He thinks it is a conflict between these two roles which has lead to the issues. He is also adamant there isn't a case to answer.

Just a few questions:

1. I am happy to be his employee support and don't believe that there is any "come back" the company could have on me for acting in this role - but is there any experience out there which suggests otherwise or things I should be aware of?

2. If there is a case for gross negligence what can the company do to him? Obviously they can dismiss but his wife, as you can imagine, is terrified that potentially they could sue him and they could lose their home. I am 100% sure that if there has been negligence it was neither wilful, nor malicious.

3. Going to a procedure like this, is there any advice that you can give? It is a horrible situation for him to be in and I want to support to the best of my abilities.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

BitterAndTwisted

If it is proven that he's been grossly negligent he will be fired, and if there is any comeback for the client's financial losses I think it will be the employer who is responsible for them and not the employee.

Emmzi

As his support, you do not speak for him. Ever. You can query the process at any stage. if you think he is going awry you can ask for a brief recess and then discuss things with him that he may want to raise. but do not defend him against the boss. That is his job.

globalds

Emmzi wrote: »

As his support, you do not speak for him. Ever. You can query the process at any stage. if you think he is going awry you can ask for a brief recess and then discuss things with him that he may want to raise. but do not defend him against the boss. That is his job.

Not sure about that ?

What can your companion do at the hearing?

Again, the law is clear on this. The companion may make an opening address on your behalf at the beginning of the hearing. After that they cannot address the hearing again unless your employer agrees. However you may confer at any time, and they can take detailed notes of the hearing which will be very useful if your case ever goes to appeal or ends up in an Employment Tribunal or other court.
But this is a legal minimum. Where unions have negotiated a procedure it is likely that your companion will be free to effectively represent you and be able to speak on your behalf at any time and ask questions of any witnesses.
Before a hearing you should try and find out what your companion will be allowed to do and say. You should certainly take sufficient time to really go through your case and work out what you and your companion will say.
If your companion is not free at the time when the meeting is organised, you can ask for a postponement of up to 5 working days and ask for a different time within those 5 days when your companion is free. The alternative time must be a reasonable one.

http://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/rights_alone.cfm

Emmzi

which would all be great if he were acting under the protection of the union. But OP has to make sure he doesn't cause ill will and stuff up his own job also. Therefore, he supports, he asks for breaks, he lets the person under investigation do his own talking.

globalds

Emmzi wrote: »

which would all be great if he were acting under the protection of the union. But OP has to make sure he doesn't cause ill will and stuff up his own job also. Therefore, he supports, he asks for breaks, he lets the person under investigation do his own talking.

That may be from a union site ...But the law is the law regardless of whether the person is a union rep or a colleague.

If he is afraid of doing the task then maybe his friend should ask someone else.

It seems rather foolish to advise someone to tie his own hands when the law does not ask for this.
Any repercussions should be dealt with if they start to happen.

tomjonesrules

Emmzi wrote: »

which would all be great if he were acting under the protection of the union. But OP has to make sure he doesn't cause ill will and stuff up his own job also. Therefore, he supports, he asks for breaks, he lets the person under investigation do his own talking.

Excellent advice, reflecting the reality of situations such as this. The strict letter of the law will be of no help to the OP if they find themselves managed out of a job because they overstepped the mark whilst supporting their friend.

Uncertain

globalds wrote: »

That may be from a union site ...But the law is the law regardless of whether the person is a union rep or a colleague.

If he is afraid of doing the task then maybe his friend should ask someone else.

It seems rather foolish to advise someone to tie his own hands when the law does not ask for this.
Any repercussions should be dealt with if they start to happen.

In an ideal world yes - but sadly we don't live in one.

Presumably the OP's colleague isn't a member of a trade union?

It is worth noting that ANY accredited trade union rep could attend providing they are willing. The employee doesn't have to be a member of that union nor does the union have to be recognised by the employer. All that matters is that they are accredited and willing.

We had a case on here a while back where it so happened that the employee's father was a union rep in a completely different field. Neither she nor he knew he had an absolute legal right to accompany her. The firm didn't like it and took legal advice only to be told they couldn't refuse.

It is also possible to hire a union rep for these purposes via some of the specialist employment solicitors. They are using this same loophole. However, it doesn't come cheap.

wifeanddaughter

Thank you for all this advice.

He is not a member of the Union and we have no unions within the company, but it is a very interesting point that he could either hire a rep or if he has a friend who is one get them to support him. I will pass this on.

Hopefully we will all be a bit clearer on the situation tomorrow.