Facing possible dismissal.

SMD+AD

In am facing possible dismissal and am my wits end. The basics are that some money went missing at my place of work and there are four people that could have taken the money, one being me. The others actually had a greater chance of stealing it because they handled it as part of their job, I didn't. There is no evidence of me taking the money, its all suspicion.

If I am sacked I will be going for unfair dismissal at an Industrial Tribunal, however this can take anything up to six months. In that time I will have no income and there is a family to keep including a mortgage to pay.

My questions are:
1> having been sacked for gross misconduct will I be able to claim job seekers allowance?
2> does being sacked in that way constitute voluntary unemployment?

The reasons for these questions is I have a loss of income insurance that pays my major bills if I become involuntarily unemployed and claim jsa.

Any help/advise would be welcome.

p.s. I have worked for the company for 14 years in two terms, the first for 6 years then I left for 6 weeks and have been back for 8 years, worked hard and done everything asked of me including handling money.

There is no evidence against me because I didn't steal the money.

nikki1520

I would check your policy carefully - you may find that being dismissed for gross misconduct is excluded, as it is because of something you "did", as opposed to the company going out of business.

You would be able to claim JSA though, depending on the circumstances of your familiy (eg another adult in employment etc)

marybelle01

If you are dismissed for misconduct of any kind Jsa may be sanctioned.

And the employer doesn't need evidence, only reasonable belief. If they can show that only four people could have stolen the money and it could have been any one of those four, it is actually fair if they sack all of them. Perverse I know, but that's how it is.

LittleVoice

SMD+AD wrote: »

In am facing possible dismissal and am my wits end. The basics are that some money went missing at my place of work and there are four people that could have taken the money, one being me. The others actually had a greater chance of stealing it because they handled it as part of their job, I didn't. There is no evidence of me taking the money, its all suspicion.

If I am sacked I will be going for unfair dismissal at an Industrial Tribunal, however this can take anything up to six months. In that time I will have no income and there is a family to keep including a mortgage to pay.

My questions are:
1> having been sacked for gross misconduct will I be able to claim job seekers allowance?
2> does being sacked in that way constitute voluntary unemployment?

The reasons for these questions is I have a loss of income insurance that pays my major bills if I become involuntarily unemployed and claim jsa.

Any help/advise would be welcome.

p.s. I have worked for the company for 14 years in two terms, the first for 6 years then I left for 6 weeks and have been back for 8 years, worked hard and done everything asked of me including handling money.

There is no evidence against me because I didn't steal the money.

1 - You would be able to claim contribution based JSA. Initially it would be paid but an investigation by DWP of your dismissal circumstances would then establish the reasons and they would decide whether you were in fact eligible. If they decided against you, there would be a withdrawal of JSA for up to six months. Even if JSA were not paid you could still sign on as unemployed and get NI credits.

2 - Dismissal for gross misconduct should not count as "voluntary". Voluntary would be if you volunteered, that is resigned or just walked away.

WoodyMax

It like saying.. there are four people who could have murdered this person, we are not sure which one did, so we'll jail all of them!!!

It's ludicrously unfair in my opinion and although I cannot offer you any help I wish you well and sincerely hope you do not loose your job.

marybelle01

WoodyMax wrote: »

It like saying.. there are four people who could have murdered this person, we are not sure which one did, so we'll jail all of them!!!

Yes it is. But unfortunately employment law and criminal law operate totally differently - or perhaps fortunately if you are suspected of murder.

Uncertain

WoodyMax wrote: »

It like saying.. there are four people who could have murdered this person, we are not sure which one did, so we'll jail all of them!!!

In the days of capital punishment there were several examples where all of the people involved in a crime hanged even though only one of them pulled the trigger.

Not that it is directly relevant!

What does matter, in your case, is that an employer only needs a reasonable belief. Dismissals have ben held to be fair in law even when the person is later proved to be completely innocent.

dandelionclock30

Yes they can, they can sack all 4.

sniggings

marybelle01 wrote: »

If you are dismissed for misconduct of any kind Jsa may be sanctioned.

And the employer doesn't need evidence, only reasonable belief. If they can show that only four people could have stolen the money and it could have been any one of those four, it is actually fair if they sack all of them. Perverse I know, but that's how it is.

wrong, you can't have a reasonable belief that someone stole something and at the same time sack 3 others for the same thing.

sniggings

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Yes they can, they can sack all 4.

the rule is a belief that that person did it, not that 1 of the 4 did it.

pickpocketlocket

sniggings wrote: »

wrong, you can't have a reasonable belief that someone stole something and at the same time sack 3 others for the same thing.

Precedent would disagree with you, and that is what matters here - marybelle01 is correct.