Pending disciplinary

LaurenAnn1991

Hi guys. First post, so please go gently.

I currently have a gross misconduct procedure pending at work. Essentially, I referred to someone as a lazy dog on a well known messenger site with several other colleagues.

So I have had my investigation, which I am made to believe must be fair & unbiased? I was shouted at, & told I was difficult to work with, despite being given a glowing reference only several weeks earlier.

I had resigned before said incident, & despite the fact I only have several days left, they are still continuing to pursue the matter. I am on a zero hours contract, & have been there almost 4 years.

I was told New Years Day would be my disciplinary hearing. 1 day before my notice period is up. I was then offered the 5th by my GM, which I happily accepted, as they can not discipline me if I no longer work for the company. Head of HR has now emailed to say that it's actually back to New Years Day.

Advice guys??

Bogalot

Apologise, there's no doubting you messed up. What a horrible thing to say.

Given how strongly they are pursuing this, I doubt there is room for negotiation. You should ask about the possibility of a neutral reference, but I'd expect it to state you were dismissed for gross misconduct.

One thing not to do is miss the hearing in the hope that the action will timeout. It won't, they'll hear it in your absence. At least take the opportunity to repair whatever damage you can.

(And take this as the strongest message that work and social media do not mix!)

LaurenAnn1991

I have apologised & said girl does not want it pursuing. There have been numerous incidents which I will not go into which are severely more damaging than this, which have not even been investigated.

Surely they cannot dismiss me if my notice period has timed out. I no longer work for the company, so they can't dismiss me?

TELLIT01

I've heard people, justifiably and otherwise, called a lot worse! I do wonder though when people will ever learn not to post anything even vaguely work related on social media sites. They are not private and can land you in a lot of trouble, as the OP has discovered.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

LaurenAnn1991 wrote: »

I have apologised & said girl does not want it pursuing. There have been numerous incidents which I will not go into which are severely more damaging than this, which have not even been investigated.

Surely they cannot dismiss me if my notice period has timed out. I no longer work for the company, so they can't dismiss me?

No, they can't dismiss you - but they can give an honest reference which could state you resigned while under under investigation for gross misconduct. You'll struggle to get another job with that as your reference.

Have you apologised to the person you insulted - both in person and via the social media?

I'd suggest attending the hearing, apologising profusely, tell them that lessons have been learned (I hope!) and that it'll never happen again. That may lead to an inclination for them to give a neutral reference and not mention the reason for you leaving.

Assuming your user name indicates your DOB, you really are old enough to know better. I do hope you've learned from this - it doesn't matter what else has happened - two wrongs don't make a right. Your behaviour is unacceptable.

Undervalued

LaurenAnn1991 wrote: »

I have apologised & said girl does not want it pursuing. There have been numerous incidents which I will not go into which are severely more damaging than this, which have not even been investigated.

Surely they cannot dismiss me if my notice period has timed out. I no longer work for the company, so they can't dismiss me?

That is completely irrelevant. All that is relevant is your alleged misconduct. Lots of people exceed the speed limit or shoplift but that doesn't make it legal!

Some firms will still go through the motions or holding a disciplinary hearing after an employee has left. Obviously they cannot make you attend but they can still conclude that you committed gross misconduct (or not) whilst you were still employed.

As has been stated earlier, even if they don't hold a hearing, they could still respond to any reference request with something like "resigned whist under investigation for gross misconduct" which comes to much the same thing.

Don't fall for the myth that "you cannot give a bad reference". It is just that, a myth. Some firms restrict what they will say in a reference because of the remote possibility of being sued if it was claimed to be malicious. However legally, providing it is true and does not deliberately mislead, they can say what they like. Or they can simply refuse to give a reference at all which is generally interpreted as having nothing good to say.

Finally, never ever mix social media and work!

Fluffybunny80

she resigned BEFORE the incident, so never resigned because of this?
that's how it reads to me in the op.
So you were already leaving and said something silly
Hardly crime of the year!
Is new years day a working day for you then?

Guest101

LaurenAnn1991 wrote: »

Hi guys. First post, so please go gently.

I currently have a gross misconduct procedure pending at work. Essentially, I referred to someone as a lazy dog on a well known messenger site with several other colleagues.

So I have had my investigation, which I am made to believe must be fair & unbiased? I was shouted at, & told I was difficult to work with, despite being given a glowing reference only several weeks earlier.

I had resigned before said incident, & despite the fact I only have several days left, they are still continuing to pursue the matter. I am on a zero hours contract, & have been there almost 4 years.

I was told New Years Day would be my disciplinary hearing. 1 day before my notice period is up. I was then offered the 5th by my GM, which I happily accepted, as they can not discipline me if I no longer work for the company. Head of HR has now emailed to say that it's actually back to New Years Day.

Advice guys??

The only reason to show up is to be paid for that time there. - so presumably they're paying you to attend?


You're zero hours contract so you have in effect no notice period.

Undervalued

Fluffybunny80 wrote: »

she resigned BEFORE the incident, so never resigned because of this?
that's how it reads to me in the op.
So you were already leaving and said something silly
Hardly crime of the year!
Is new years day a working day for you then?

Technically she had given notice that she was going to resign on a particular date. So, she was still employed at the time of the alleged misconduct and subject to the same rules as the other employees.

Fireflyaway

Legally I have no clue, but if this happened to me I just wouldn't go in to work. I'd call in sick if its only a couple of days. Then you no longer work there what can they do? you resigned prior to the incident so you were not dismissed.
Many reference requests are very basic and only ask your position, salary and length of service.
As I say this is just my personal view. Forget it all and move on with the new year but don't do something like that again. Social media is not private. Even emails can get into the hands of people you don't want them to.

Undervalued

Fireflyaway wrote: »

Legally I have no clue, but if this happened to me I just wouldn't go in to work. I'd call in sick if its only a couple of days. Then you no longer work there what can they do? you resigned prior to the incident so you were not dismissed.
Many reference requests are very basic and only ask your position, salary and length of service.
As I say this is just my personal view. Forget it all and move on with the new year but don't do something like that again. Social media is not private. Even emails can get into the hands of people you don't want them to.

No she didn't. She gave notice before the incident but was still employed when the alleged misconduct took place. So she can potentially be dismissed.