Time off work with depression

INCOMING

Hi i work in a large supermarket and i have been for the last 18 months.

Over the last couple of weeks, life has been really depressing for me. My best friend had died right in front of me and i have been stressed at work because the management seem to be picking at every little thing I do. Giving me red observations when serving customers, saying i don't interact with them, when i do, which is a load of crap.

Now I've got a disciplinary hearing because when I was on the till, i didn't flight the cash through the shooter and left the money with the cash inside the plod, on the side, which was out of customer's view, and wasn't left attended, I got taken off for a break and at no point, was the cash in the pod left unattended. The person who took me off the till told management.

Anyway, for this hearing, i'm going to call my union, (thank god I joined)

Do people think i will get the sack for this? They really seem to want to get rid of me.

Regarding time off work, can I consult in my GP about discussing options? My head is all over the place at the moment and I need time to get myself back together.

bluenoseam

Why didn't you send the cash lift to the cash office at the time?

If there was a valid reason for not doing it immediately, why did you not do it when relieved at the till?

From where I sit, if you don't have a solid & valid answer to the first question & the second question, it's a clear cut case of gross misconduct all day & every day. Fair enough in your eyes it wasn't left unattended, but ultimately you left it sitting there while someone else covered, if that pod then turns out to be short, you're equally in the firing line.

Once again I find myself pointing something out, management are not there to be friendly, they're not there to hold anyone's hand, they're there to ensure people are doing their job. Their opinion is that you haven't been interacting with customers properly and unfortunately for you, that's the opinion that counts.

Another harsh truth is that you have 18 months service record, that's 6 months short of any employment protection over & above those set out in various anti-discrimination laws. I've already pointed out the fact it could be argued there's a case for gross misconduct, technically that's a whole lot more than they need to sack you.

Best of luck in the disciplinary proceedings though - methinks you might well need it.

INCOMING

bluenoseam wrote: »

Why didn't you send the cash lift to the cash office at the time?

If there was a valid reason for not doing it immediately, why did you not do it when relieved at the till?

From where I sit, if you don't have a solid & valid answer to the first question & the second question, it's a clear cut case of gross misconduct all day & every day. Fair enough in your eyes it wasn't left unattended, but ultimately you left it sitting there while someone else covered, if that pod then turns out to be short, you're equally in the firing line.

Once again I find myself pointing something out, management are not there to be friendly, they're not there to hold anyone's hand, they're there to ensure people are doing their job. Their opinion is that you haven't been interacting with customers properly and unfortunately for you, that's the opinion that counts.

Another harsh truth is that you have 18 months service record, that's 6 months short of any employment protection over & above those set out in various anti-discrimination laws. I've already pointed out the fact it could be argued there's a case for gross misconduct, technically that's a whole lot more than they need to sack you.

Best of luck in the disciplinary proceedings though - methinks you might well need it.

I didn't send straight away down the shoot, because it was locked, due to someone else using it, i was waiting for awhile and had a lot of customers at the till, so left the pod on the side out of customer's view and continuing serving. I completely forgot about the sending the flight.

If they were to sack me for misconduct, what could be my actions? take legal action?

jacques_chirac

What date did you start work there? If on or after 6th April 2012 you have few rights until you have been there for two years. Any legal action is likely to be fruitless.

molerat

They could sack you for wearing purple underwear if they wished and with less than 2 years service there would be no comeback I am afraid.

INCOMING

jacques_chirac wrote: »

What date did you start work there? If on or after 6th April 2012 you have few rights until you have been there for two years. Any legal action is likely to be fruitless.

after, was in august.

jacques_chirac

INCOMING wrote: »

after, was in august.

In that case the only case you would have against them would be if you were dismissed for discriminatory reasons.

Jaybee_16

Have the supermarket taken you off till work since this issue?
The severity of any potential disciplinary hearing could depend on it as it would tend to show the seriousness of the allegations.


If management think you don't interact enough with customers, then you need to improve to a level they deem adequate.


If your life is stressed and you are suffering depression, then this should be considered as mitigation in the hearing.

bluenoseam

INCOMING wrote: »

I didn't send straight away down the shoot, because it was locked, due to someone else using it, i was waiting for awhile and had a lot of customers at the till, so left the pod on the side out of customer's view and continuing serving. I completely forgot about the sending the flight.

If they were to sack me for misconduct, what could be my actions? take legal action?

If they sack you, your actions are to go to the Job Centre & sign on then pray they don't sanction you for being dismissed. The answer you've given is half good ("it was locked") and half P45 worthy ("I completely forgot"). I'm afraid looking at it from the outside it's a case of your actions could potentially have lost the company money, which is a pretty serious issue. In this case they didn't lose anything, but there's a significant risk factor there which the disciplinary must consider.