Suspension

wheezy57

Thats a relief then!. Havent heard anything from the investigator. Hope I sleep better tonight.

Oli.s

You say you did what they accused you off?

What did you do, is it a gross misconduct incident?

wheezy57

I dont want to go into details as it involves an awful lot of people from the top to the bottom as it where and as the investigation in now cranked up a gear I feel that I shouldnt divulge anything other than what I have already divulged. I am not being secretive at all - just being cautious really.

Thanks for your interest though.

wheezy57

I have had two calls today from the investigator - the first one saying that I am to attend a meeting on Monday morning at 9.15am. The second call was to inform me that I shall be received a very formal letter by registered post tomorrow telling me that they have come to a conclusion of my case. I asked him if I should be afraid or worried and he said he had to discuss this face to face with me on Monday.

I now know I shall have another sleepless weekend. I get the feeling that I am to be dismissed and its such a horrible feeling. He was driving at the time and wouldnt give me any clue at all as to the outcome.

Is this part of suspension procedure? Does anyone know?

wheezy57

Does anyone know if one is allowed to still have a grievance against a member of staff if one is dismissed. Or does the whole issue die as it where there and then.

This is what I fear may happen in my case. Someone is being protected at all costs and someone or people are lying in order that that protection is carried out to the letter under the umbrella of procedure and policy.

zzzLazyDaisy

wheezy57 wrote: »

I have had two calls today from the investigator - the first one saying that I am to attend a meeting on Monday morning at 9.15am. The second call was to inform me that I shall be received a very formal letter by registered post tomorrow telling me that they have come to a conclusion of my case. I asked him if I should be afraid or worried and he said he had to discuss this face to face with me on Monday.


Is this part of suspension procedure? Does anyone know?

The first call informing you that you are required to attend a meeting could well form part of the suspension procedure. It would (should) be followed up by a letter advising you of your right to be accompanied at the meeting, details of the allegations against you and copies of any documents they intend to refer to at the meeting. It may be that he meant that they had come to a conclusion as to whether or not to hold a disciplinary hearing.


However, the whole point of a disciplinary meeting is to give you an opportunity to state your case BEFORE any decision is made. If they are properly advised and know what they are doing, they would not write to you to inform you that a conclusion had been reached in this case, meaning they have already decided to dismiss you, before a disciplinary hearing has taken place, as that would amount to unfair dismissal on procedural grounds.

I think all you can do is try and forget about it till tomorrow (easier said than done, I know, but you can't do anything about this till you get the letter).

Come back here when you know what the letter says.

Dx

wheezy57

I await the letter this morning. The lady who accompanied me on the suspension interview cant support me anymore. She has got a job on another department and feels it would be bad show to go off again to attend this meeting on Monday. I shall miss her support very much and there is noone else I can take in with me so I shall be flying solo Im afraid.

I will let you know though the content of the 'formal' letter.

wheezy57

The letter landed and it is a formal request to attend another meeting with the investigator and 1 other from HR. It hints heavily on the fact that the decision is going to go forward on the formal hearing lines.

It was short and to the point. They have completed their investigations (including I suppose that they have interviewed one or two people whom it was found that they were lying in their statements) and come to their conclusions. It would appear that they cant make up their minds so handing the whole thing over to the formal hearing people.- whoever they are.

I get the feeling in my bones that I am to be sacked. And its then that I shall be under so much stress (if not already) and that includes my family as well.

My line manager has not been suspended for her involvement in the same 'crimes' as myself. I havent heard from HR as to what they are going to do with her - investigate or not. I fear that they wont and she will be protected to the enth degree. Sorry to continuously repeat myself.

Takeaway_Addict

wheezy57 wrote: »

The letter landed and it is a formal request to attend another meeting with the investigator and 1 other from HR. It hints heavily on the fact that the decision is going to go forward on the formal hearing lines.

It was short and to the point. They have completed their investigations (including I suppose that they have interviewed one or two people whom it was found that they were lying in their statements) and come to their conclusions. It would appear that they cant make up their minds so handing the whole thing over to the formal hearing people.- whoever they are.

I get the feeling in my bones that I am to be sacked. And its then that I shall be under so much stress (if not already) and that includes my family as well.

My line manager has not been suspended for her involvement in the same 'crimes' as myself. I havent heard from HR as to what they are going to do with her - investigate or not. I fear that they wont and she will be protected to the enth degree. Sorry to continuously repeat myself.

Personally I see that as a thing in your favour, if they could nail you for something they would have but now they are sending it to someone else to see if there is any potential for warnings/dismissal.

Interesting to see what others think?

Deb_S_2

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Personally I see that as a thing in your favour, if they could nail you for something they would have but now they are sending it to someone else to see if there is any potential for warnings/dismissal.

Interesting to see what others think?

The investigator should investigate and then hand over the results of the investigation to the person that will be holding the formal hearing. This is standard practice.

The disciplinary hearing is then deemed to be heard by someone not directly involved in the investigation - a fresh pair of eyes.

Having skimmed over the thread I have pulled out the following points:
You can raise a grievance if you have good grounds for saying the person carrying out the hearing is biased - this should force a suspension of the hearing and a replacement person put in place to hear your case, spurious claims won't do you any favours though, be sure of your accusation

You can raise a grievance if other people have done the same as you without being suspended and/or disciplined, but this would not force a delay in your hearing as they would be dealt with seperately.

If there is no-one in the company that can sit in with you (accompany you) at a formal hearing, then you can request a family member or friend attend. The company can refuse, but they would be silly to do so as it would not look good at a future tribunal.

Other people doing the same thing wrong as you does not make you innocent, don't try to rely on this as a defense at your hearing.

A solicitor does not have to be an employment specialist to be able to help you. A lot of the law surrounding discipline, suspension, investigation and hearings is basic stuff.

You have the right to address witnesses during your hearing and you can ask them questions - always useful if someone has been less than truthful

If a witness refuses to attend the hearing, you can still submit written questions to them and the disciplinary hearing should be postponed to allow for time for a response.


I hope this is of some help