Manager lying in order to Dismiss me

Paton147

In 2014 I lost my job due to a conviction and was dismissed from my employer. I found work elsewhere and left that regretful chapter of my life behind me.

Agency work was easy to come by as they typically didn't ask for references (so dismissal wasn't flagged up) but the work was unreliable and a bit soul destroying.

So last year I began applying for permanent jobs in the industry I spent the majority of career in, but it was far tougher in terms of interview processes, vetting and competition for good vacancies. In December I finally got a break through, a good job in a huge company in the U.K wide company. I'm not going to name them but think along the lines of a Network Rail.

My conviction was almost spent at that point, but I didn't need to declare it anyway. I applied via a CV and cover letter, and was never asked in interview why I left the company I was previously with for so long... even though my CV kinda red flagged this unconventional career change.

Five months into the role and my manager learnt of my conviction. I don't know how exactly as it's not easy to search for references to it online. One local newspaper reported it but it's a dead link now. Maybe a former colleague from my first company mentioned it in passing.

So a couple of weeks ago I was suspended on the allegation of potential conduct that could damage the companies reputation. I contacted my manager to explain this was in the past, and that a large part of the working population have had convictions. I said I applied to your company because you advertised that you gave ex-offenders opportunities.

A week later I got a revised letter with a new allegation, that I failed to disclose an unspent conviction during the recruitment stage or on start of employement. So once again, I contacted my manager with all the evidence to show the job wasn't subject to a criminal convictions declaration, asking to come back to work and rejoin the team.

Then yesterday, I received another letter updating the allegation to 'Dishonesty, I lied about the reason for leaving a previous employer'. I.e. they are saying I lied about dismissal from a previous employer but it never came up in interview.

I've been invited to an investigatory meeting that is one stage prior to full blown disciplinary action. I feel frustrated and helpless that my manager has changed the allegation twice and now settled on something that comes down to his word or mine. He is the investigating officer, my line manager and also the guy that interviewed me. It's a small tight knit depot and I feel it's hardly impartial.

The fact that he is continuing to pursue this suggests he's going to just lie and say "we asked you why you left that employer, and you lied and said change of career, not that you were dismissed". Something like that.

I did not lie, I was simply never asked about why I left the main company I worked with to do agency work.

I feel like it's a sham and a foregone conclusion that after all I've done to repair my career history and reputation by working hard, physically demanding agency jobs to get a good reference, that's all about to be destroyed by this short spell that will result in dismissal. It will be horrendous trying to find work again now.

I feel like contacting their chief exec. My manager is a liar but he's been in the company for many years and I'm only just in the door.

Mr.Generous

Wait and see what happens, stay calm. Ask to see the notes the interviewer made at the time of original interview. I would also secretly record the meeting, people say some stupid things before, during and after such meetings that never quite make it into the notes.

asajj

They would have interview notes. You can ask them to be reviewed I guess, assuming they exist. I understand that it is beyond frustrating but wait and see what happens. Try to stay calm and clear during the meeting. Stick to facts and don't make it personal. Good luck! Hope it will be resolved.

stator

You can ask to have someone with you during the meeting. They might behave themselves more if there is a 3rd party there.
Have you got a copy of the companies greivence procedure?

theronstar

Have you spoken with ACAS? Are you a member of a Trade Union?

Undervalued

stator wrote: »

You can ask to have someone with you during the meeting. They might behave themselves more if there is a 3rd party there.
Have you got a copy of the companies greivence procedure?

Well he can ask and they may agree but it is only a right at a formal disciplinary or grievance meeting and not at an "investigatory" one.

Also, as I read it he has been employed for less than two years so he could be dismissed for any non discriminatory reason or no reason at all.

Vectis

'Manager lying in order to Dismiss me' ...But for what reason?

Valli

Vectis wrote: »

'Manager lying in order to Dismiss me' ...But for what reason?

Stab in the dark, but maybe an interview script or company policy wasn't followed at the time and the spent conviction should have been discovered but wasn't. In other words he's trying to cover up his own error? Just a thought.

Alter_ego

If they want to dismiss, no need for all the palaver if you've only been employed a few months.
They can just do it!

sangie595

The difficulty that you face is that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not contain any protection from discrimination against ex-offenders, and only limits the amount of time that you must disclose for. Discrimination against ex offenders is not illegal. Plus, you are well short of the two years employment, so they can dismiss for pretty much any reason they wish. Therefore, there isn't any need for a "good reason" - the original one would have done as well as any other.

If you wish to secretly record the meeting, be aware of the fact that this will not help you at all. Setting aside any arguments about the lawfullness of that, even if the manager said something "stupid" such as "i totally hate all convicted criminals and under no circumstances will I ever let one on my team no matter what" - there isn't a damned thing you could do about it. But being caught secretly recording the meeting on company premises could certainly give a valid reason to dismiss if any were needed!

I think that all you can do is to calmly state your position and hope that common sense prevails. But you need to be aware of the fact, if you aren't already, that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act is a toothless piece of legalisation that has long demanded serious overhaul, but no government had ever had the guts to do it for fear of being seen to be soft on criminals. The truth is that 1/5th of the UK population over the age of 10 years has a criminal conviction, and instead of tackling this issue properly, the Act has become a version of "don't ask, don't tell" where the penalty is for truthfulness, or getting found out - not for the offence itself.

But I do wish you good luck. There but by the grace of God goes pretty much everybody - getting a criminal conviction isn't, or shouldn't be, the end of the world.

By the way, you might want to save this question for appeal, when someone else is hearing it - but if the original application form didn't ask about convictions at all, then does the company routinely ask verbally at interview? Because we both know that they don't! And so would anyone rational hearing an appeal. That is never going to be a standard question at interview even where disclosures are required. So the question might be, if it isn't company policy, why was it supposedly asked? Perhaps the manager is misremembering it, don't you think? Because you never suggest that managers lie, do you?

sangie595

Valli wrote: »

Stab in the dark, but maybe an interview script or company policy wasn't followed at the time and the spent conviction should have been discovered but wasn't. In other words he's trying to cover up his own error? Just a thought.

It's a large company. They are going to be "hip". So they will have eliminated such questions from their application forms unless the specific job is required to disclose. And where that is the case, "hip" companies will have a process in place that doesn't disclose to interviewers - not standard questions. And we know they are "hip" because they advertise themselves as providing opportunities for ex-offenders. No company publicly says that's when they don't need to, unless they have covered their bases in terms of correct processes. Which, of course, means nothing because clever employers or their managers can do almost anything they want.