Breach of contract - Dismissal from employer ADVICE PLEASE

Mmills

The OP said they weren't working on their business at 3pm, so to me the ONLY way that it could have happened was that it was scheduled to post at 3pm or someone else did it on their behalf. 

However, as they also said that they did post on their business page, which suggests that they are lying to us and are fully guilty and should therefore, in your eyes, be held fully accountable for this and should have the book thrown at them.

At the end of the day it seems like a major overreaction and another attempt by a company to try to run the personal lives of their employees.  The company is probably also afraid that by their employees running a side business that it takes away the company's ability to force unpaid overtime on their employee because "it's just expected".

nick1234

Sounds nonsense to me they are looking for a reason to fire you and not pay redundancy!

MalMonroe

nick1234 said:

Sounds nonsense to me they are looking for a reason to fire you and not pay redundancy!

Your comment sounds like nonsense. The OP has a contract, the terms of which have been breached by the OP. The reason they are looking to fire the OP is breach of contract, which the OP has acknowledged and which is perfectly valid. 

MalMonroe

"there is a clause in my contract which says that I must not carry out any other work without their prior consent as it may compete or interfere with their business, and may be done during working hours."

Given what you say, I don't think that you'll win if you do claim unfair dismissal because dismissal wouldn't be unfair. Sadly, you quite plainly breached the terms of your contract - which you have admitted. If you are lucky, they may decide to give you a second chance, with the proviso that you don't use the time they are paying for to do your own work. I do hope so, and wish you all the best. 

Undervalued

nick1234 said:

Sounds nonsense to me they are looking for a reason to fire you and not pay redundancy!

The OP has given them a reason and the only nonsense I see here is your post!

Undervalued

Mmills said:

The OP said they weren't working on their business at 3pm, so to me the ONLY way that it could have happened was that it was scheduled to post at 3pm or someone else did it on their behalf. 

However, as they also said that they did post on their business page, which suggests that they are lying to us and are fully guilty and should therefore, in your eyes, be held fully accountable for this and should have the book thrown at them.

At the end of the day it seems like a major overreaction and another attempt by a company to try to run the personal lives of their employees.  The company is probably also afraid that by their employees running a side business that it takes away the company's ability to force unpaid overtime on their employee because "it's just expected".

The OP agreed to the terms of their contract when they accepted the job and are bound by the terms. If they weren't happy they should have attempted to negotiate different terms or, if that wasn't possible, turn the job down and work elsewhere.

As I said earlier had they sought the employer's agreement (as their contract requires) and if that agreement was unreasonably withheld then they may have had a case.

Restrictions on working elsewhere are not uncommon in employment contracts and are generally enforceable.

JReacher1

nick1234 said:

Sounds nonsense to me they are looking for a reason to fire you and not pay redundancy!

I agree. 

The OP has breached their contract and although it is only a minor breach it is possibly being used to dismiss them without having to pay redundancy.  

A 3pm message on social media is very minor (almost insignificant) and in normal circumstances would not lead to this level of investigation and disciplinary process.  

Personally I would have just said I was on the toilet when I posted the message and they could then explain why me posting this message while on the toilet was interfering with my work. 

ToxicWomble

Even if it’s a minor breach it’s a breach of contract (working on the assumption that it is) and the employer is fit to deal with it how they want (within the boundaries of law and their policies etc)
If the shoe was on the other foot the forum would light up with outrage

ljs_1985

Thank you everyone for your advice. It was a stupid mistake and it looks like I’ll pay for it now.

Thanks again

almanak

ljs_1985 said:

Hi there

I’m looking for some advice at this stage regarding employment contracts. I am employed by a company as an it support manager, where I provide IT support to my colleagues. I also have a side business which at the moment is small and doesn’t take up any of my time during my contract hours with my employer.

I am currently suspended and facing dismissal as there is a clause in my contract which says that I must not carry out any other work without their prior consent as it may compete or interfere with their business, and may be done during working hours.

I failed to get consent before starting this business and that was a genuine oversight which I have apologised for however I’ve explained that there’s no competition and my side business only equates to around 2 hours of work per week which I do on evenings or weekend.

i have had 2 meetings with them whilst they investigate and they are suggesting that I do work on my own business during work hours, the reason for this conclusion is that 4 months ago I made a social media post at 3pm on my business account mentioning that I’d done some work for my side business. I explained to them that just because the post was at 3pm it doesn’t mean I was doing the work at 3pm (I wasn’t). They then mentioned that they can see from a post that I have t shirts made with my company name on them and that this suggests my business is larger than I’m saying it is (it isn’t).

They now have 10 days to get back to me with their decision but I’m sure they’re going to dismiss me under breach of contract for not getting their permission first. I just wondered if anyone has any idea of whether this seems fair. I do understand that my contract clearly says I should have got permission first, which I accept I am in the wrong for. However, had I got the permission first I think it would have been accepted as the side business doesn’t use my working time with my employer, and isn’t a business in competition with them. Therefore could the still fire me simply for not telling them, even though if I had told them it would have been ok?

you can schedule your posts so It didnt need to be make during working hours. Did you get any warning? If not before dismissal it is not the best company, also your business could have been dormant once signing a contract.