Sacking a member of staff for Gross Misconduct

Opinion

Aquamania wrote: »

When were the police appointed judge, jury & executioner of this land? :huh:

Or did you appoint yourself for those roles?

duchy wrote: »

Since when did charges mean someone was guilty -the police don't decide that- the courts do. If you dismiss someone for a charge they are later acquitted from you are setting yourself up for a heap of trouble. You really should check your legal cover and get some advice.

Sorry, I didn't notice these two posts earlier;

The member of staff was caught in possession of a Class A drug. They were subsequently arrested, confessed, and were given a caution. I have spoken to the police and they have confirmed this.

Does it affect their ability to perform their job? Potentially, but as it's illegal I suppose that is neither here nor their?

Did the offence take place when they were on company premises and/or company time?

Yes and yes.

Has this pleased those of you that are so quick to pounce and judge before hearing the full story? I would have thought you'd have understood that for obvious reasons I wanted to be as brief as I could regarding the situation in hand.

pelirocco

We as a business use a third party to advise of us employment law and health and safety , and would suggest other businesses to do the same . Its not that straightforeward to get rid of anyone , no matter how long their employment , you still have to be seen to be following proceedures

polgara

Just to add - when the police issue a caution its a formal warning given by the police to an adult who has admitted that they are guilty of an offence - its an alternative to going to court etc.

It forms a part of a person's criminal record - which I personally don't think people really understand (I know of a HR professional that accepted a caution and was shocked when it turned up on their Enhanced CRB at the time....and was extremely embarrassed).

Vectis

Aquamania wrote: »

When were the police appointed judge, jury & executioner of this land? :huh:

Or did you appoint yourself for those roles?

Accepting a caution from the police means you are guilty, and you have accepted that you are guilty. Surely this is well known?

Vectis

duchy wrote: »

Since when did charges mean someone was guilty -the police don't decide that- the courts do. If you dismiss someone for a charge they are later acquitted from you are setting yourself up for a heap of trouble. You really should check your legal cover and get some advice.

The OP has said that the employee has accepted a police caution, meaning that they are guilty and have accepted that fact.

Vectis

As one or two others have said, you can dismiss within the first two years of employment without giving a reason so long as you are not discriminatory i.e. it is not racial, sex, pregnancy etc related.

You don't even need to mention gross misconduct or anything else, just that they are surplus to requirements.

Oh, and get your contracts etc sorted out but, from what you've said here, you don't need to worry about getting rid of the employee.

Opinion

Thank you for the last couple of posters whom have explained about cautions.

The situation was resolved yesterday; again, thanks to those of you that had something constructive to add to the thread.

Vectis, already in the process of sorting contracts out. Thank you

Savvy_Sue

Vectis wrote: »

Accepting a caution from the police means you are guilty, and you have accepted that you are guilty. Surely this is well known?

Actually, it's not well known, and moreoever it's not always presented this way by the police. Sometimes the way it is presented is more along the lines of "it's late, you're tired, we all want to go home, why don't you agree to accept a caution and then that will be the end of it."

The person concerned may NOT accept that they are guilty, they may not BE guilty, and it is not the end of it.

And in some cases, the caution is suggested when everyone knows the person IS guilty, but the police know they'd struggle to make it stand up in court.

ohreally

The employee has conceded to the accusation put to him, is it necessary to compound his situation by sacking him as well or are you looking for a reason to terminate his employment.

If he's good at his job isn't he worth another chance.

AbbieCadabra

Opinion wrote: »

The member of staff was caught in possession of a Class A drug. They were subsequently arrested, confessed, and were given a caution. I have spoken to the police and they have confirmed this.

Does it affect their ability to perform their job? Potentially, but as it's illegal I suppose that is neither here nor their?

Did the offence take place when they were on company premises and/or company time?

Yes and yes.

ohreally wrote: »

The employee has conceded to the accusation put to him, is it necessary to compound his situation by sacking him as well or are you looking for a reason to terminate his employment.

If he's good at his job isn't he worth another chance.

as per the info from the OP above (especially the part i've highlighted), he'd have to be some exceptional employee to be given a 2nd chance in those circumstances.