Under investigation for misconduct - could I be dismissed for a driving offence?

Brian12389

Hi, I’ve worked in the civil service for 20 plus years with an exemplary record. In the last 5 years I have had to travel to various gov depts and we can hire cars through enterprise to do this. I choose to do so as much cheaper than train and saves the public purse. I’ve managed to rack up 4 speeding offences - each time through work. Anyhow I was summonsed to the magistrates court as faced a totting up suspension. I had already booked a car for a meeting scheduled that week. The magistrates ignored my plea to keep my licence as they did not think it would cause exceptional hardship and I was banned for six months, however I had the right to appeal and take the matter to the crown court. I said I would do that. Afterwards the usher indicated that I had 21 days to appeal but to think about it as I may get a longer sentence or bigger fine. I was also advised I should not pay my fine as that indicated I would not be appealing. I was under the impression I could still drive whilst appealing. I left court and then drove to the meeting, I could have caught the train. I slept on it and thought I would just accept the sentence as I would have a clean licence after 6 months. I have not booked any cars through work since and have used trains and taxis. However following an audit I am being investigated for booking and using a car for work whilst suspended, not informing work of my penalty and possibly contravening the civil service code. I have made an honest mistake by thinking I could still drive, I was not represented in court and mis-read guidance. Apparently you need to get approval from the magistrate you can still drive only when formally appealing. Has anyone any advice - I’m really worried 😟

TBagpuss

OK, the short answer is yes, you could be dismissed.

An employer is required to follow fair processes when dealing with disciplinary matters but as long as the process they follow is fair, the decision as to whether a particualr incident justifies dismissal is up to them.

In a big organisation like the civil service they may have more detailed guidlines about what will or won't result in dismissal, but even so I would expect that to be guidance, not binding.

I think that the fact that you booked cars rather than public trnasport to 'save the public purse' is irrelevant - that isn't why you are being investigated.

I think that the issue of not notifying them isprobably the biggest one - you may not have known off the top of your head that you were supposed to do so, but common sense would suggest that at the point you got the summons, knowing that you had work-related trips coming up, you needed to check the rules to see whether you needed to tell them, and if so, what and when.

If you are in a Union, speak to your rep to get support and advice.

I suspect that your best course of action is likely to admit up front what you did, explain that you mistakenly belived that you were Ok to drive because you were planning to appel an that you had not relaisedyou needed todisclose to your employer until that appeal had been exhausted. (i.e. you were not intenionally trying to hide it or decive them)

Beyond explaining once that you had a genuine but misteakn belive that you were allowed to drive while suspnded because you were at that time planning to appeal, don't make excuses. It is likely to come across as trying to down play the seriouness of your actions and cast doubt on whether you've really accepted responsibility.

Be apologetic and let them see that you have learned from your mistakes - perhaps be clear that in future, you will ask for advice or check the policies / codes of practice if you are uncertain about whether something has to be disclosed.

Since they have mentioned possible breach of the civil service code, i'd also suggest that you re-familiarise yourself with the relevent parts of the so that you are clear about whether you have broekn it, and whether there are any guidelines about what that means.

lincroft1710

I am going to hope you are a member of one of the several unions to which a civil servant can belong. Because your union will give you help and advice.

Any perceived wrongdoing has the potential to lead to dismissal. Unless you have been notified of a forthcoming disciplinary, there is little you can actually do.

Brian12389

Thank you for the advice. I’ve disclosed to my line manager that I thought I could drive. They have to open an investigation - so an independent person is collecting the facts so they can provide a report to them - they will then make a decision on the misconduct charges as to what course of disciplinary action to take. I am an honest person and have made a stupid mistake/oversight/error of judgement :-(

Brian12389

I’m worried I could be dismissed for gross misconduct though, so am preparing for that. I darent think about the consequences, loss of income, bad reference etc. Would it be advisable to resign so at least I can find another job without any recrimination on my CV/reference?

BoGoF

Had you declared your previous points to your employer? I know that in certain CS depts they require you produce your online DVLA report.

Comms69

Brian12389 wrote: »

I’m worried I could be dismissed for gross misconduct though, so am preparing for that. I darent think about the consequences, loss of income, bad reference etc. Would it be advisable to resign so at least I can find another job without any recrimination on my CV/reference?

You should never resign without specific assurances.


If you go down that route, they may still investigate, the reference may say exactly what happened, you have no access to benefits and no long winded dismissal process which the CS typically has.

lincroft1710

Resignation is not recommended, you could end up with a reference "resigned whilst under investigation for potential misconduct".

Wait and see what happens. If your line managers believe you are worth keeping, they will not be in a rush to dismiss you.

Brian12389

I have subsequently checked policy and do not have to disclose driving offences unless it leads to disqualification. They outsource the licence checking and they must get notified if anything changes as that is what prompted the query as they were notified my licence had expired. Ironically the system implies it could be because my photo is expired! As I say I told my line manager it was for totting up and I had a 6 month ban - I provided them with a screen grab of the details, so they are honing in on this incident. They had thought I was banned for sometime and had been driving for the business on lots of occasions!

lincroft1710

Well, you were disqualified so you should have declared the offences.

Brian12389

Yea I know :-(