Disciplinary for conduct outside of work???

Janey33

I work for the police as a member of police staff.
I had a minor road collision and things got heated on scene shall we say.
The young man in question is now complaining to my work about my behaviour as his dad has got involved and he said I was intimidating / abusive.
Yes it got verbal, and he was younger than me and distressed but he was being untruthful and tried to leave the scene.
I made no threats at all, just wanted to talk to him about the incident.
It happened outside his work so it got more heated when two colleagues joined in.

Where do I stand? It was out of work, he knows im police staff as I had my ID on...
Officers attended and left once we exchanged details.

But now I'm worried about the complaint. Am I not allowed to stand up for myself just cause I'm police staff?

Any advice would be welcomed.. thanks

pinkshoes

Janey33 wrote: »

I work for the police as a member of police staff.
I had a minor road collision and things got heated on scene shall we say.
The young man in question is now complaining to my work about my behaviour as his dad has got involved and he said I was intimidating / abusive.
Yes it got verbal, and he was younger than me and distressed but he was being untruthful and tried to leave the scene.
I made no threats at all, just wanted to talk to him about the incident.
It happened outside his work so it got more heated when two colleagues joined in.

Where do I stand? It was out of work, he knows im police staff as I had my ID on...
Officers attended and left once we exchanged details.

But now I'm worried about the complaint. Am I not allowed to stand up for myself just cause I'm police staff?

Any advice would be welcomed.. thanks

I don't understand why you need to "stand up for yourself"? What exactly do you mean by this?

Were you intimidating? Did you say/do anything that could be seen as abusive?

In work or not, you are always representing the people you work for, so yes, if your behaviour was inappropriate, then you could be disciplined, but if you did nothing wrong, stayed calm etc... then you have nothing to worry about.

Undervalued

Janey33 wrote: »

I work for the police as a member of police staff.
I had a minor road collision and things got heated on scene shall we say.
The young man in question is now complaining to my work about my behaviour as his dad has got involved and he said I was intimidating / abusive.
Yes it got verbal, and he was younger than me and distressed but he was being untruthful and tried to leave the scene.
I made no threats at all, just wanted to talk to him about the incident.
It happened outside his work so it got more heated when two colleagues joined in.

Where do I stand? It was out of work, he knows im police staff as I had my ID on...
Officers attended and left once we exchanged details.

But now I'm worried about the complaint. Am I not allowed to stand up for myself just cause I'm police staff?

Any advice would be welcomed.. thanks

Virtually any employment contract has a clause about not bringing the employer into disrepute. Even if it is not spelt out it is an implied duty. Your badge identified your employer so if, in the complainant's opinion, you behaved badly that will lower his impression of your employers.

So, in short, yes it could be a disciplinary matter. Obviously that would depend on whether your behaviour was unreasonable or not. Given that there were several of them and only one of you there is a fair chance there will be "witnesses" as to how badly you behaved.

marliepanda

Janey33 wrote: »

I work for the police as a member of police staff.
I had a minor road collision and things got heated on scene shall we say.
The young man in question is now complaining to my work about my behaviour as his dad has got involved and he said I was intimidating / abusive.
Yes it got verbal, and he was younger than me and distressed but he was being untruthful and tried to leave the scene.
I made no threats at all, just wanted to talk to him about the incident.
It happened outside his work so it got more heated when two colleagues joined in.

Where do I stand? It was out of work, he knows im police staff as I had my ID on...
Officers attended and left once we exchanged details.

But now I'm worried about the complaint. Am I not allowed to stand up for myself just cause I'm police staff?

Any advice would be welcomed.. thanks

It depends on your conduct. If it can be seen to be bringing the police into disrepute then yes. Out of interest why did you have your ID on?

For example, many shops stop their workers smoking outside with uniform on/they have to cover it up. That's to stop them harming the reputation of the shop.

I imagine having a slanging match with a teenager covers that. If you knew you were right. You knew the law. You could have taken his number plate and details and reported it.

Janey33

It was all fine till he went into his work place, when it happened I was parked waiting for my partner.
Unfortunately down the rd from work so my Id was on.. my mistake.

He crashed into me,reversed to leave.. so I got out and snapped pic of his plate... at which point he pulled into another spot.
He got out apologetic and we exchanged details... he goes into work. 2mins later im still in car waiting..
He and two men come out and very aggressively tell me to leave that its old damage etc. One of the men was up close to me trying to scare me away..
So I get back in my car.. still waiting for my partner.

Then the men came out again minus the young lad.. so I walked past them to the shop hes working in and tried to talk to him..
Yes I was scared and angry and I raised my voice but I was never threatening.

I'm not making excuses for myself, but I an a little worried as this is the first time something like this has happened to me.

aife

Sounds like they were intimidating to you
Can you request CCTV ?

Janey33

The only cctv available is that from inside the shop.
Luckily during the 2nd onslaught from the two males my partner appeared.
So I had at least one person on my side

Janey33

No I didn't mention my position with the police to him at all.. or his dad who called me later.

I presumed the men that came out from the shop noticed my ID? Or when I had to call 999 to ask for help they might have heard me identify myself. I don't know how they knew..

I honestly don't know.. the initial exchange was fine, the dad is saying when I went into the shop I was intimidating. But all I wanted was to talk to the only other person that was involved.

sangie595

You aren't going to like this, but nevertheless - I don't believe you. And if this goes to investigation then there is a very good chance that others won't either. So you had better improve on your answers.

He was leaving the scene without stopping - by pulling into another space in close proximity to the parking space in which you were - and where he works? You have no evidence or idea that he was leaving, as opposed to stopping safely somewhere. Especially since he got out and both apologised and gave you his details. You said that.

So why did you also say that officers attended and left after you exchanged details? I know you work for the police, but really - they arrived in seconds? That is inconsistent with your other version of this.

He was being untruthful. In your opinion? You were arguing with him about being untruthful? Was that before or after he was apologetic and you exchanged details? And before or after the police attended? And who called the police - and why? After all, details had already been exchanged when he got out of the car. - you said that?

You are a lone female, you are scared and intimidated by two or three men who are being aggressive and threatening. So it makes perfect sense to get out of your car where you are safe and go into the shop they are in to argue with them. Doesn't it? You walk right past the men, so when was the "second onslaught" - because right now I am only counting one. And you are with your partner? So you and your partner decided to go into the shop and have a go at this young lad, and meanwhile the other two men that you walked past are where?

It's an occupational hazard of mine that I rip people defences to pieces to work out the weaknesses an employer can exploit. Your version here has so many holes it had a flotilla sailing through it. If I can find the holes, so can anyone else.

Janey33

sangie595 wrote: »

You aren't going to like this, but nevertheless - I don't believe you. And if this goes to investigation then there is a very good chance that others won't either. So you had better improve on your answers.

He was leaving the scene without stopping - by pulling into another space in close proximity to the parking space in which you were - and where he works? You have no evidence or idea that he was leaving, as opposed to stopping safely somewhere. Especially since he got out and both apologised and gave you his details. You said that.

So why did you also say that officers attended and left after you exchanged details? I know you work for the police, but really - they arrived in seconds? That is inconsistent with your other version of this.

He was being untruthful. In your opinion? You were arguing with him about being untruthful? Was that before or after he was apologetic and you exchanged details? And before or after the police attended? And who called the police - and why? After all, details had already been exchanged when he got out of the car. - you said that?

You are a lone female, you are scared and intimidated by two or three men who are being aggressive and threatening. So it makes perfect sense to get out of your car where you are safe and go into the shop they are in to argue with them. Doesn't it? You walk right past the men, so when was the "second onslaught" - because right now I am only counting one. And you are with your partner? So you and your partner decided to go into the shop and have a go at this young lad, and meanwhile the other two men that you walked past are where?

It's an occupational hazard of mine that I rip people defences to pieces to work out the weaknesses an employer can exploit. Your version here has so many holes it had a flotilla sailing through it. If I can find the holes, so can anyone else.

Your right the story is jumbled...
I didn't know he worked there or was pulling into another space i just thought he was leaving the scene...
On talking to him he did apologise and admitted fault... took his name and number...
He went into work...
He and the men came out.. be was quiet they were abusive.. this is when I got scared and called 999...
They all went back into store...
I sat for 20 mins waiting for my partners appointment to finish..
Men came back out..
Yes I got back out, I might have been scared but I refuse to be pushed around
I walked into the store to talk to the lad involved... males came back into store asked me to leave which I did... partner came out of her app while this was happening
Units arrived about 5 mins later
.
.
The officers confirmed exchange of details.
I'm not trying to appear dishonest as I'm not a dishonest person.
Appreciate honest feedback.. appears im in trouble for not being bullied away from the scene and getting angry...
In all honesty all I asked for was to talk, and for him to face situation not send bullies when he had already admitted fault

sangie595

That was a huge mistake. You do not ever talk to the other person. Every insurer tells you - leave what happened to them to sort out! Too late now. The majority of civilian staff I know are in the union - are you? If so, you had better talk to them now, before this goes to an interview.