My employer is accusing me of fraud as he is retaliating me of raising whistleblowing

Welshwoofs

Terrified wrote: »

My manager's lawyer has written to me accusing me on this. He has asked me to attend a disciplinary meeting.

Hang on - this is totally confusing. I thought you didn't get the letters inviting you to a disciplinary meeting because they went to the wrong address?

Any

And since when does anyone use LAWYERS to write basic HR letter about disciplinary meetings?

Seriously, something very strange is going on here.
Op, was it really a lawyer??????

marybelle01

Terrified wrote: »

I was told to be the investigator for the grievance cases and the whistleblowing cases which I did. I concluded that there were facts and proof to show that the grievance cases and the whistleblowing cases were all genuine. When I told my manager, he told me to change the outcome. When I challenged him, he became angry and so I changed the outcome. But right after that, he found excuses to terminate those who raised the grievance cases and whistleblowing cases. I was saddened to see that. Then there were another 2 grievance cases and 1 whistleblowing cases, again the same thing happened. This time, I told my manager that he was not right in doing so because what we should be doing is to fix the problem and not sweep it under the carpet. He was upset because also his boss was looking at my manager's business results which has been terrible. So how best for the manager to solve this is to restructure the business and guess what, whoever raised the grievance and whistleblowing cases were made redundant. My manager also told me he did it on purpose. So, when I challenged him, he said I am the next one to go if I .

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

I think that you have handled this badly and didn't read the signs and keep schtum.

This ^^^^

I am still not clear what your role is and it probably doesn't matter. But you are being incredibly naive if you think that all employers care about the truth, being fair, or honesty. There wouldn't be any employment tribunals if they did. Your manager told you what the expected outcome was - that the employer didn't do anything wrong. Now you may not have been able to live with that - if so you were and still are in the wrong job. You knew what was expected of you, and you didn't challenge it once - you did it twice! That was incredibly foolish - did it not occur to you that after the first time it was best to keep your head down, do as you were told, and look for another job if you couldn't live with it?

TBH I don't think that the outcome of the disciplinary is really at issue here - even if they don't dismiss, and without better evidence than you say they have, they probably won't - can you now go back, knowing that your boss will be waiting for you to put a foot wrong? You don't sound like the kind of person who could. I don't think you are tough enough. I'm sorry but I seriously don't see a win for you here. They don't need to dismiss. There's nothing wrong with holding an investigation into something. Nothing wrong with holding a disciplinary either. And if you are found not guilty of it, well all that does is show that the system worked and you can go back to work vindicated... Or can you? Because then you resign and the boss has got exactly what he wanted anyway.

Terrified

Yes, it was the company lawyer. I received it yesterday afternoon. In it, the lawyer states that I have not responded to their earlier letters (but they were sent to another employee's address). They said I keep failing to respond so which means I am at fault.

My manager is very senior in the company. His boss is actually the board of directors.

If I were to believe what my manager had said to be before that the board of directors were aware of all the grievance and whistlblowing cases and decided to agree with what my manager had to say as they don't want to be involved, then I now assume they won't be bothered with what I have to say.

HR is very scared of this manager as they know that all past grievance and whistlblowing cases were monitored by my manager and that he made his decision and terminate those who raised grievances and the whistleblowers. So, HR lady is very scared. She has been in the company for years and with her junior knowledge, she knows she cant find another decent paying job outside. So, she laughs when my manager laughs even if my manager's joke is not funny at all. She laughs louder than my manager in his jokes which are not funny at all. That is her style.

Firefox1975

ACAS

Ring them - they will advise you

KiKi

Do not ring ACAS if you want a legal answer. Post on the forum mentioned before: https://www.redundancyforum.co.uk and post a message for SarEl who's an employment barrister.

ACAS have some good people, but not legal people in the call centre, and they're often reading from a script with no practical experience of it. As this is now at disciplinary you need some legally practical advice - go to the forum and get it.

KiKi

Acc72

Terrified wrote: »

In it, the lawyer states that I have not responded to their earlier letters (but they were sent to another employee's address). They said I keep failing to respond so which means I am at fault.


If I were to believe what my manager had said to be before that the board of directors were aware of all the grievance and whistlblowing cases

I now assume they won't be bothered with what I have to say.

Come on OP, there are many people on this site who are trying to help you - you need to help yourself.

Firstly, if you do not have a copy of your increment letter, then get a copy today.

Secondly, if the solicitor provides copies of letters simply point out that you do not live at the adress they were posted to ! (what is the problem ? - how can you be at fault ?).

Ps - stop panicking about a "solicitor". If there is any investigation or disciplinary, the solicitor will in no way be involved in this process (I get the impression that you think you will be cross-examined by a legal expert like something off TV).


Why on earth would you believe what your boss says after all that has gone on ?

Why on earth are you making assumptions about what the board of directors know / want to know.

Any

Acc72 wrote: »

Come on OP, there are many people on this site who are trying to help you - you need to help yourself.

Firstly, if you do not have a copy of your increment letter, then get a copy today.

Secondly, if the solicitor provides copies of letters simply point out that you do not live at the adress they were posted to ! (what is the problem ? - how can you be at fault ?).

Ps - stop panicking about a "solicitor". If there is any investigation or disciplinary, the solicitor will in no way be involved in this process (I get the impression that you think you will be cross-examined by a legal expert like something off TV).


Why on earth would you believe what your boss says after all that has gone on ?

Why on earth are you making assumptions about what the board of directors know / want to know.

EXACTLY this.

Op it seems to me that you are so panicked that you cannot think straight.

As ACC72 says - you KNOW it went to wrong address, they cannot proove you got it, how can you be at fault???

The manager told you that the board of directors agree with him - yes, they only have what HE says to them, with your false report behind it, why wouldn't they??? HAVE YOU EVER TOLD THEM? Or anyone else apart from your manager, who you know is bully?? Or why do you think it was ordered to be investigated? I have the feeling so they can make their own idea about what is going on!!

Seriously, did it not cross your mind that after all he has done is not best idea to complain to him????? You go to someone else to complain about repeated wrongs committed by a person, not to the bloody person who does it and threatens you!! You go to his boss!! All these people raised grievances and he dismissed them, but you think that just because you disagree with it he will fall on his knees, puts it all right and hails to your great wisdom??

You are really not helping yourself. Everyone here is advising you, but you go on and on about something that doesn't make any sense what so ever, keep telling everyone he is the GOD and even the board of directors hail to his wisdom and words... even though he is under investigation for performance...

Doesn't quite add up, does it?

Evilm

Any wrote: »

The manager told you that the board of directors agree with him - yes, they only have what HE says to them, with your false report behind it, why wouldn't they??? HAVE YOU EVER TOLD THEM? Or anyone else apart from your manager, who you know is bully?? Or why do you think it was ordered to be investigated? I have the feeling so they can make their own idea about what is going on!!

This! You need to actually Speak to the board or a higher level manger. What your manager is telling you they are saying could be made upand he could be feeding a load of bull to them - he is probably the one dealing with the "solicitor" (if it even is one - way too OTT a procedure for a disciplinary meeting you are "avoiding". He should have just sat you down, handed you a letter and said "your meeting is X". If you are in the office they shouldn't need to post it to you at all).

Otherwise keep your head down and start looking for something new and go to the meeting.

As for the meeting and your payrise:
-He thinks you signed it, he signed it
-He then hands it to you to hand to payroll/HR
-He then asserts you amended it to still look official and to have a higher % raise then handed it to payroll
-No one checks payroll and confirms the payrises are correct.
-Payroll start paying you and only 6 months down the line does he note the "discrepancy"?

Its not impossible but its certainly implausible.

FYI - DO not sign anything at the meeting without totally reading it and agreeing with it! No matter how much he threatens you.

And beware: If you leave and he makes stuff up and rules "against" you you could be required to pay the difference back - so you need to see this through regarding the disciplinary whether you leave or not.

And you need to raise this to a higher level to ask them to get involved since HE is the one that you have a problem with and shouldn't be involved in this disciplinary at all. Personally he seems to be trying to isolate you and push you to leave so he gets to rule at that level all on his own and the Board doesn't get to hear of his potential falsehoods (on both this and the prior 'whistle-blower' sackings).

Terrified

Thank you all for your help. I agree I am in a shocked mode and thus panicking for no reasons. I hope the weekend will help me to be back to normal soon. Of course, what panicked me is when the company solicitor accused me of not responding to the letters to attend the disciplinary (which the company mailed to the wrong address) and then they jumped to conclusions that whether I was delaying everything because I was hiding something. Of course, I was not hiding anything and I was not even aware of their letters sent was supposed to me but which went to the wrong address. Then in the solicitor's letter, he mentioned this is so serious as it could be a police case and this totally panicked me.