Facing dismissal because of a mistake

wiogs

According to what you said in the first post you didn't offer to give him any money up front rather pay him on his return therefore you expected him to use company money, which you would reimburse.

This is against company policy as I understand it.

scheming_gypsy

wiogs wrote: »

According to what you said in the first post you didn't offer to give him any money up front rather pay him on his return therefore you expected him to use company money, which you would reimburse.

This is against company policy as I understand it.

The first post didn't say that, which is why I asked her to clarify whether she asked if he could pay out of petty cash or if he could send it and she'll pay him when he got back.



edit.... it's not the best defence obviously and there's nothing to say they'll accept it, but if the ask the deputy what happened and he clarifies that she just said 'can you post it and i'll pay you when you get back', they might agree that she didn't ask for it to go from company funds.

whitewing

Look at it also from the deputy's point of view. He was asked to post a parcel for his boss but not given any money & then you didn't pay it back. You put him in a very uncomfortable situation.

wiogs

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

The first post didn't say that, which is why I asked her to clarify whether she asked if he could pay out of petty cash or if he could send it and she'll pay him when he got back.



edit.... it's not the best defence obviously and there's nothing to say they'll accept it, but if the ask the deputy what happened and he clarifies that she just said 'can you post it and i'll pay you when you get back', they might agree that she didn't ask for it to go from company funds.

I agree it didn't say that, which is why clarification would help, but this bit "He had money from petty cash and I said when you get back ill sort out how much mine costs." makes it sound, to me, if there was an expectation that the company money would be used then reimbursed.

Did the OP think the deputy was going to use their own money?

Did/does the deputy have a similar lack of knowledge of company policy on petty cash?

monty-doggy

I know I did. But at the time it didn't play out that way. I'm not a nasty or vindictive person. I'd never put my deputy in that position intentionally and believe me he isn't the type to not speak up if he is wronged, he actually scares me at times!

I am not trying to say. I didn't do it, I guess I'm just trying to rationalise my thoughts. As I said its not like me and if i wasn't so tired or working such long hours I could have taken it myself.

I feel like the worlds biggest fool.

monty-doggy

wiogs wrote: »

I agree it didn't say that, which is why clarification would help, but this bit "He had money from petty cash and I said when you get back ill sort out how much mine costs." makes it sound, to me, if there was an expectation that the company money would be used then reimbursed.

In essence yes. Although at the time I didn't see it as using company money for my own parcel because I thought I had cash in my purse. I suppose TECHNICAlLY it was company money, but I just assumed as long as it was paid before the petty cash was put back in the till, it had no bearing on wether the physical note was the one from the till or the one from my purse if you understand.

Did the OP think the deputy was going to use their own money?

No I didn't. I'm not going to lie.

Did/does the deputy have a similar lack of knowledge of company policy on petty cash?

No. He knows the policy inside and out. He said he helped write all the procedures as he has a loss prevention background. In that respect he is far more knowledgable and experienced than me.

wiogs

Technically and actually it was company money, so that appears to be incorrect use of company funds and against company policy. It really matters not what you intended to do (from the company perspective)

However the deputy, according to you, knows the company policy on this and so by doing what he did was complicit in breaking the company rules. He should not have used company money for a personal chore.

However what is done is done.

Can you demonstrate that you were given no staff handbook, or told where to access it and had no training on company policy regarding petty cash?

Missme

OP, how many days between the post office trip and the Friday?

If the petty cash came from a till, how would the till be balanced at the end of the day?

Did it not occur to you in 13 months that you should look at the procedures for the tasks where you were missing knowledge? How do new staff get trained?

I actually believe you when you say that you are over-worked, tired and in pain and made a mistake in not paying the money back. You seem to have made no attempt to conceal that some of the post was personal (would this be obvious anyway?) so would have to be either very arrogant or foolish to believe you could 'get away with' a few quid of free postage. You can only offer mitigation here, really.

What you'll have a huge problem with is having used petty cash for personal stuff in the first place.

scheming_gypsy

My suspicious side sounds like he doesn't like the idea of just being a deputy.

Although in your disciplinary I wouldn't use the 'didn't know the company policy' approach as that pretty much says "I wasn't aware that we are not allowed to use company money for our own benefit" and probably won't go down to well.
As I said earlier, I personally would repeat the conversation you had with him specifying that you asked HIM to send the parcel for you and didn't ask him to send it using money from petty cash. When he returned and you realised you didn't have your purse, you told HIM that you'd have to pay HIM back tomorrow - and forgot. I'd also mention that he said 'not to bother'.

I keep putting personally in bold, as I'm not advising you what to say but what I'd say if it was me in that position.

pineapple123

Looks like your deputy is just saving his own skin, the fact that you dont have long breaks is up to you as manager so it is no good trying to defend yourself against the company, being busy is no excuse. Sorry to be blunt but being overworked and understaffed, tired and stressed always doing extra unpaid hours does not cut it at all in my job no margin for error and no excuse.

Very few employers really care about there employees, they are probably annoyed that you have inconvienced them by being off sick and your time away has given your deputy the chance to become temporary manager and they kinda like that.

Tricky situation you did wrong used company money for own gain as they see it maybe in hindsight put in an IOU, mentioned to other staff members or not done it in the first place whatever its too late now.
Is your deputy really not able to say what really happened as this may hold the key that it wasnt theft but genuine oversight.
I would not resign makes you look guilty, stick to your guns, admit you were wrong dont get angry stay calm and plead your case.