Possible sacking facing gross misconduct

Tiddlywinks

Perhaps the headmaster asked the office manager to monitor the times declared and then amend accordingly to ensure the record reflected actual attendance. Who's to say that they won't have copies of the original entry before the amendments.

Incorrect declarations of attendance times can be considered 'theft of time'... seeing this deception may then have led the headmaster to look more closely at your wife's attendance records; hence the review of the uni leave.

I can see his point.

elsien

Gavin78 wrote: »

I could of understood it if she had been pulled into the office by the head and stated that she was putting the incorrect times in "as supposedly witnessed by another office member" but when she was given the management instruction it never stated that this was such a case and only mentioned her lateness..........

........ they won't give OH copies of the last 12 months sign in sheets so she can confirm them with them they just took dates into the meeting but not recorded times.

.

I think that's fair comment - a bit of an earlier warning shot across the bows may have been fairer. Unless with all the other aspects they were waiting for her to land herself in it.

OP if it goes to a formal disciplinary she should be entitled to copies of the records which are being used against her beforehand.

Gavin78

Thing is it's like a nurse writing notes on a patient in their file then signing it afterwards. For someone to come along and scribble over their writing after they've signed it off because something might have been written wrong.

You would make a recored else where or write underneath the notes signing it yourself etc.

What you wouldn't do is write over a number making a 4 into a 9 or scribble out the last 2 digits and write your own time in and never inform the person who originally signed it as correct and it has been happening a while and the head new about it.

What you would do is make a note of the date and correct time you saw them sign in against there sign in sheet as a record.

OH has never been pulled into the office about it or questions raised even in the management instruction it was never mentioned until a month later when he's decided to just Inc it in the disciplinary

He already has dished out the punishment for it which is what the gripe was with the union saying that you can't just add something into a disciplinary they've already been punished for.

Call it a technicality but if it saves my wife's job long enough to find somewhere else then so be it because like some have said I think she's burnt her bridges with the head now he'll be in her back all the time she is there

FBaby

OH has never been pulled into the office about it or questions raised even in the management instruction it was never mentioned until a month later when he's decided to just Inc it in the disciplinary

But he doesn't have to discuss it with her before deciding to discipline her for it. How has she already been punished for it?

Going on about the wrong doing of the other employee is not going to save your wife's job in anyway as she is being disciplined for her failings, not someone else.

I can understand your anxieties with the whole situation, but your attitude to it (assuming it is the same than your wife) will only make her more likely to be sacked. The facts seem clear. She was given the privilege of being paid for hours taken to do a course, and she failed to take the initiative to check that this included the times she didn't need to be on the course, instead assumed that it was ok. Pointing out that they could have picked up on it themselves and therefore challenged her is irrelevant, she still failed to check herself.

Similarly with the lateness. She is accused of writing the wrong times of arrival in the signing book, and considering how often she was late indeed, which she doesn't deny, wouldn't come as a surprise. It is her word against that of the office manager. If the office manager has only altered her times and no-one else, then it puts even more credibility to her words than your wife.

Frankly, the best chance she has of keeping her job is firstly if they are very satisfied with the work she does and therefore would consider her departure a loss for the school AND if she gravels enough, apologise, acknowledge that her behaviour was unacceptable and she has now realised it and will absolutely ensure that she follows all the rules and in doubt check with superiors, then maybe, they might decide to give her another chance.

Gavin78

Just a small update really nothing to report specifically on the meeting as that isn't till the 18th april.

The head has now installed a new digital sign in pad a bit like you get at GP's. It has come to my OH attention that the Admin officer has also been changing other members of staff times in the sign in book.

The head told my OH but it was between them 2 so whether he admits to that later should it go that far we'll have to see.

jobbingmusician

Good news, as your OH has until 18th April to demonstrate really exemplary timekeeping on the new system........

sangie595

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Good news, as your OH has until 18th April to demonstrate really exemplary timekeeping on the new system........

Almost all of which will be school holidays, so one hopes it will be rather hard to be late!

Gavin78

Just updating this page now....

HR are taking it to a disciplinary meeting Tuesday. For the lates and her failure to inform school she had gone as an external student and going to Uni on school time out of semester time.

The Union says they will probably scrap the lates because they have made a mess of the time keeping, saying the clock was wrong then it wasn't wrong, then it was synced by satellite then went and said it was corrected to the right time.

They couldn't even say if she signed in with her daughter or not when entering the doors but then back tracked and said she could see if she was late.

There was also a load of other errors but overall after speaking to HR it doesn't look like they will follow through with the late charges.

As for her Uni the Tutor has said that wife failed her first year only managing to finish 2 of her 5 assignments. they gave her a 12 month extension and suggested she go external but added in that she could still have tutor support despite no fees needing to be paid. during this time she has only needed to attend 1 tutor meeting as already had the paper work needed to continue her work.

It was suggested that she perhaps used the Thursdays out to help finish the assignments. there has been enough medical evidence submitted to the UNI that is why is has gone the way it did giving her potentially 3 years to do the course instead of 2.

However the Head stated she failed to inform him that she had gone external and never suggested that she could take paid time off out of semester time and he had no proof or the UNI couldn't prove that she was still going to study during the time she went external.

He's lost trust in her and feels that she has been unprofessional in keeping the school informed.

The union has managed to do a deal instead of going to a disciplinary she has managed to do a 3 way convo with the HT and HR. Wife hands her notice in by tomorrow and she finishes at the end of July getting paid till the end of August before the new school term starts.

The head said he has happy to do references and it will not inc anything to do with lates on them it will also state that there was a disciplinary pending.

Her union suggested this is the best outcome for being able to continue her career working in schools as if she had lost the fight it would have probably stopped her getting employment in schools again.

geoffken

So despite quite a few /many "cheats" of the system she is allowed to be able to continue "working" elsewhere in the system with a good reference.
My how the other half "public service " live.
In any normal job she would have been sacked months ago.
Incompetence by school in record keeping did not help.
!!!! up brewery come to mind

[Deleted User]

geoffken wrote: »

So despite quite a few /many "cheats" of the system she is allowed to be able to continue "working" elsewhere in the system with a good reference.
My how the other half "public service " live.
In any normal job she would have been sacked months ago.
Incompetence by school in record keeping did not help.
!!!! up brewery come to mind

Is there really any need for you to continually act like such a nasty person on this forum? Everyone is wrong apart from you it seems.

Yes maybe the OP didn't do any favours the way he described things but none of us knew the full story. For you to then dive in with your nastiness and make assumptions is just plain wrong. And as for your consideration that because it was a public service that special treatment was given.

As an employer, I, personally, would go nowhere near someone as caustic, mean-spirited, and downright spiteful and nasty as you!!!! Sorry.