disciplinary dismissal and redundancy

sangie595

Ps. I forgot an important strategy. Only play this when the union rep isn't there. It isn't fair otherwise. Blame the union! They pushed you into it. They told you to do it. You didn't understand what was happening so you just did what they said. Every employer knows that "the union" is the enemy. It is evil personified. It is a hot bed of militants waiting to ensnare the unaware. So they will know exactly what you mean. Unfortunately, most unions today have very little power. Our strength is the members, but the members have forgot that and think that all officials went to Hogworts and got a magic wand. But employers generally don't realise that, and they see us as the enemy. If it works for you, use it. You have only six months to survive. So do whatever it takes to survive it.

And don't stop looking for other jobs. Putting off job hunting for a small redundancy pay off is short term vision. Unless you have no intention of working in 2017, get a job first, and if you get redundancy take that as a bonus. But never bypass a job for the redundancy money. The job won't come again.

annmark61

Firstly, I would just like to say your clear and constructive advice together with a very evident understanding of the disciplinary position I am in, have inspired me!
I am in a much more positive mindset and now I have a clearer understanding of the disciplinary process I am facing, I feel confident, using the strategies you have provided (plus tissues!) I can handle the next few days.
I was feeling at a complete loss and obviously a bit worried about advice given. I am so relieved I found this forum asked for help before I made things worse.
I will of course keep you updated and thank you again for your help.

annmark61

Well that was an interesting day! Asked the manager first thing this morning for a meeting to clarify the capability issue she confirmed it relates to sickness absence only. I then followed the extremely sound advice given by sangie595 and told her I was so sorry about the grievance letter I had been extremely upset and confused and thought the disciplinary was questioning my performance and following poor advice I raised the grievance which I now wished to withdraw. Manager seemed very understanding...... Step one in the "great grievance back peddle" complete.
Step two.....requested a meeting with senior manager on my own explained to him my confusion and distress and that I misunderstood the meaning of "capability" in the context of the disciplinary meeting and was given advice that I should have questioned. I got a bit upset and told him I wanted to withdraw grievance. He said he was glad that I consulted him before any further action and grievance would go no further .....step two complete.
Next .....stage one meeting on Thursday. I will let you know the outcome. Thanks again

annmark61

I spoke to my union rep about all this before speaking to anyone. else of course.

sangie595

That sounds very positive. It isn't an easy thing to back-peddle, and many people would just attempt to tough it out. Hopefully, your managers will give you some credit for acting on this quickly and sorting it out.

So now you have the reconvened meeting. It should result in your being set some targets, and you may still get referred to OH. Make sure that you take your copies of the policy with you. If there is any other outcome, you need to query it in relation to the stated policy. Don't be afraid to push back on this one - if they wish to do anything outside their policy, you must immediately challenge it and ask to see the policy that supports this. Keep your focus on the policy and its implementation - don't let it wonder into getting distressed again. And try to remember that these policies are there to protect you as much as to "punish" you for high sickness rates - they lay out a fair system of warnings that provide you with a clear framework of understanding. But they are also "the law" - the manager doesn't have much leeway to deviate from them (for good reason) and that means that managers must implement them whether they like them or not. It's not personal. And it isn't about whether you are genuine or not. It simply is what it is. You need to focus on this simply being "business".

Hopefully you will be coming out with no more than a set of targets, so good luck.

annmark61

Just a quick update......... Stage 1 disciplinary for sickness absence meeting arranged for today was cancelled............both manager and union rep are off sick ...............Ironic really, you couldn't make it up!!!
Section manager is rearranging meeting for sometime next week. I'll let you know the outcome. Thanks again.

sangie595

Oh, it happens a lot more often that you would think. I think my favourite one was the cancellation of a disciplinary meeting over sickness absence because the manager had to go to "an important disciplinary"!

annmark61

Just an update on my previous posts...... Stage 1 meeting finally reconvened today and following sangie595's advice I was cool calm and professional (at least on the outside!!)
Meeting lasted all of five minutes and the outcome was....... NO FURTHER ACTION!!
What a complete relief and I do know how fortunate I have been.
I would like to say thank you all for the advice given........particularly sangie595 who gave me the confidence and wise words when I really needed it. Thanks again

sammyjammy

That's brilliant, thanks for coming back and letting us know.

Sangie you've been an absolute star for this lady too!

robatwork

Sangie nearly quit this forum a few weeks ago after some unpleasantness - good to see he/she is still around giving some knowledgeable advice.