False accusation of gross misconduct

SpideressUK

My husband has worked 21 years for the same company. Today, a female colleague who has been there for 2 years has made a false accusation against him - she has accused him of hitting her.

It is a shop enviroment and a customer who was there at about the time the incident is supposed to have happened said he will testify my husband is innocent. However it may be that this woman claims my husband did it once the customer had left. The shop has CCTV but it is possible that only covers the till area so she may claim that this incident happened in a CCTV "blind spot".

He has been suspended for 7 days on full pay whilst it is investigated. Can he be dismissed if it comes down to her word against his or does she/the employer have to provide evidence of him having done this thing (which he has not done)?:sad:

Mr.Generous

No they wouldn't dismiss him based on one persons word against another unless they have some reason not to trust him, he has to tell them the complete truth, any little lie will give them reason to doubt.

annandale

Please make sure if there's an investigatory hearing that he is accompanied and if hes in a union tell him to contact them asap.

Also, he should ask for a copy of the disciplinary procedures that the company use.

And check out acas codes on investigation/disciplinary as well.

daytona0

How did the customer end up in a position where they could offer testimony? Frankly, if I walk into a shop and don't witness any punches or verbal abuse then that's the end of the story! I'm not going to end up as a witness further down the line!

Also, whilst the mantra of "innocent until proven guilty" applies, I would be inquisitive (as a third party, which you are) as to what actually happened.... If your husband has genuinely punched some woman in a blind spot then that's unforgivable and cowardly. You shouldn't be defending that...

If he is innocent then he should be fine But I would love to know what has happened in order for your husband to end up in a situation where such an accusation has been made... It would take someone manipulative (on either side) to end up in this situation!

Undervalued

annandale wrote: »

Please make sure if there's an investigatory hearing that he is accompanied and if hes in a union tell him to contact them asap.

Also, he should ask for a copy of the disciplinary procedures that the company use.

And check out acas codes on investigation/disciplinary as well.

There is no right to be accompanied at an investigatory meeting. That only applies to a disciplinary or grievance hearing.

SpideressUK

daytona0 wrote: »

How did the customer end up in a position where they could offer testimony? Frankly, if I walk into a shop and don't witness any punches or verbal abuse then that's the end of the story! I'm not going to end up as a witness further down the line!

Also, whilst the mantra of "innocent until proven guilty" applies, I would be inquisitive (as a third party, which you are) as to what actually happened.... If your husband has genuinely punched some woman in a blind spot then that's unforgivable and cowardly. You shouldn't be defending that...

If he is innocent then he should be fine But I would love to know what has happened in order for your husband to end up in a situation where such an accusation has been made... It would take someone manipulative (on either side) to end up in this situation!

The customer works in a nearby shop to my husband and so once my husband had been "called into the office" to be accused he went to see the customer he had served to ask if he would be a witness for him.

My husband is the most laid back and honest person you could ever meet. In the 30 years I have been with him he has never punched/hit anyone, it is against everything that is his nature. Ontop of that he has this (maybe a bit old fashioned) principle that "men do not hit women" which he keeps telling to our son "boys do not hit girls/men do not hit woman" .

I am certainly extremely interested in knowing the motive behind this woman's accusation and exactly what she is accusing him of ie hitting her on what part of her body? where were they supposed to be standing when this event supposedly happend? exactly at what point in time did this supposedly happen? who was in the shop at the time it was supposed to have happened? what were the circumstances leading up to the supposed event which may give reason/explanation why he is supposed to have hit her etc?

If this all clears up and he is vindicated then they are going to need to put something in place to safeguard him from ever being left alone in the shop again with anyone so that he can be free from false accusation though I doubt his company will change any systems/procedures or even discipline this woman who made the false accusation.

TBagpuss

SpideressUK wrote: »

My husband has worked 21 years for the same company. Today, a female colleague who has been there for 2 years has made a false accusation against him - she has accused him of hitting her.

It is a shop enviroment and a customer who was there at about the time the incident is supposed to have happened said he will testify my husband is innocent. However it may be that this woman claims my husband did it once the customer had left. The shop has CCTV but it is possible that only covers the till area so she may claim that this incident happened in a CCTV "blind spot".

He has been suspended for 7 days on full pay whilst it is investigated. Can he be dismissed if it comes down to her word against his or does she/the employer have to provide evidence of him having done this thing (which he has not done)?:sad:

Yes, he could be dismissed. If what you say is accurate, hover, it doesn't seem very likely.

The company could investigate, hear what each person has to say and reach the conclusion that they find her statement more convincing than his. The requirments are that they folow their own procedures and that the *process* is fair. They do not have to investigate, or to decide, based on the same sort of standards of proof required in a court. It would only be challengeable if their decision was one which no reasonable employer could have come to, and that is a fiarly high barrier.

That said, given the very serious nature of the allegation, it is sensible of them to have suspnded him temporarily whilethey make enwquiries, as that would protect them if the allegation were true, and as the suspension is paid, it is not considered to disadvantage your husband. It simply buys them some time to make enquiries without the risk of further incidents (including him trying to sort it out himnself!)

It seems an absolutely bizarre thing or someone to invent. It seems so strange that it is unlikely it is totally out of the blue. It may be that this is the tip of the iceberg and that the employer is already aware of other incidents or issues relating to her. If that is the case, then they may be being ultra careful to do everything absolutely correctly to ensure that they can discipline or dismiss her, and that they don't want to risk your husband making that harder for them by sayinganything to her or another colleague which might give her leverage.

It's also possible that there was a totally innocent incident which she has misinterpreted -for instnace, that he bumped into her in passing, or that somthing he was moving / carrying did so. IF that is the case then hopefully he will recall and be able to explain.

If she maintains the allegation the nthe employer presumably knows your husband very well based on how long he has worked there, and so they will be aware that it is an unlikely claim.

If he is called to a disciplinary meeting then he is, at that time, entitled to be accompanied.

In the mean time, in any investigation, he is best to be truthful and open.

I hope that it works out for him and that you update us with what happens

Xbigman

Is the accuser also suspended? They should be in these circumstances. And you should both be under instruction not to talk to colleagues.

What will the witness say? Its not necessary to see the punch itself. If the witness says there were words exchanged that would set the background to the accusation. That could be enough.

There are several ways to play this.
Be reasonable. He doesn't know what the accusation is about - no hard feelings. Play it down. Be prepared to eat poo and take a telling off and maybe have to apologise. The accuser thinks they've won and your husband still has a job.

If the first option isn't acceptable or if you think its too serious to play down your husband might want to consider a counter complaint that this was a malicious accusation. The downside is that this will make it far more likely someone will get sacked. And it might be him.


Darren

annandale

The very last thing I'd be doing is apologising for assaulting someone I didn't touch. You apologise and you are basically admitting guilt for a serious accusation. What if the person who said they were assaulted involved the police?

Apologise for an assault you didn't commit! Terrible advice.

Someone making a malicious allegation like this deserves to be investigated for it

ohreally

SpideressUK wrote: »

Today, a female colleague who has been there for 2 years has made a false accusation against him - she has accused him of hitting her.

Is it possible that something has motivated her to make this allegation?

What relationship did he have with her prior to this?

TELLIT01

TBagpuss wrote: »

It seems an absolutely bizarre thing or someone to invent. It seems so strange that it is unlikely it is totally out of the blue. It may be that this is the tip of the iceberg and that the employer is already aware of other incidents or issues relating to her.

Bizarre yes, but I know it can happen. It happened to me many years ago. I was called into a meeting with HR and my department manager and didn't have a clue what it was about. I was totally relaxed until the bombshell was dropped about what a female staff member claimed I had done. The claim was far worse than being accused of hitting her.
I suspect the look on my face when told the accusation, was enough for those present to accept that there was no basis for the claim. In my instance my accuser was never seen in the office again.