I have been suspended by a retailer for mis-use of discount card. Please help me!!

brendankiwi

Hi,
I live with two chefs- its my wifes birthday and we went to the supermarket together to buy ingredients for tikka misala. 
At the till I used my card- and we passed the goods over the scanner together. I used my employee discount card and produced my bank card- THEN they intervened and offered to pay. I did not put up much reistance and he touched the card on the machine- thus paying for the items.  The other chef ran off to buy dessert bits and came back-- same thing- he used his card while I scanner my discount card.  
I thought that as long as i am the purchaser and no one touches the discount card but me I was okay. But not so! 

The card is issued under strict rules- I must be the purchaser. Even "carelessness" means gross misconduct and dismissal. At the first interview with the HR- they believed dismissal and a second interview in a few days with another manager will determine whether her decision is uphelp or if it is red flag warning. 

I really need my job- I just put an offer on a flat and need a letter from my employer than my job is secure. 

getmore4less

You accept you were wrong.
you knew  the rules
Should have fixed it while in the store, either change to you paying or remove the discount

There is also the saying mistake once...   mistake twice

major grovel time.
you could go with the he swiped his card before I had a chance, believable  once but not twice...........

Manxman_in_exile

As above you should have sorted this out before you left the store.  "Look - we're trying to buy ingredients for a meal for my wife's birthday.  I'm meant to be buying them with my staff discount card but my friend used his card on contactless before I could stop him.  Can you reverse his transaction and charge me instead?  It's my discount not his"

Sorry - but by not doing so at the time you might appear to have acquiesced in the card's misuse and it won't even look like carelessness.

Again as above - major grovel time.  Apologise as much as you can... one -off incident... will never happen again... totally out of character.. I was slightly tipsy (if you weren't just finishing work)... etc etc.  Unfortunately it doesn't help that you let it happen twice.

And I'd be particularly disappointed with your friends' behaviour.  They're basically committing fraud in your name... 

lincroft1710

Nothing we can say will help you, except if you have a god pray to them. Even though it is probably true, your story has an element of being fabricated, which could be why HR is saying dismissal. If you are a valued employee with a spotless record and glowing reports from managers, you may get away with a final warning

Ditzy_Mitzy

The problem here is not that it happened once, which may be explained away as an accident, but twice.  There were two transactions paid for by third parties, in which the discount card was used.  Either the OP was extremely careless, or did it deliberately.  How much are we talking about?  And, more to the point has this happened before?  Could you offer to pay the money back?  

moneysavinghero

How long have you worked there for? If you have been there a long time they will probably look at your more favourably but if you have only just started recently it might not go so well.

Marcon

brendankiwi said:

Hi,
I live with two chefs- its my wifes birthday and we went to the supermarket together to buy ingredients for tikka misala. 
At the till I used my card- and we passed the goods over the scanner together. I used my employee discount card and produced my bank card- THEN they intervened and offered to pay. I did not put up much reistance and he touched the card on the machine- thus paying for the items.  The other chef ran off to buy dessert bits and came back-- same thing- he used his card while I scanner my discount card.  
I thought that as long as i am the purchaser and no one touches the discount card but me I was okay. But not so! 

The card is issued under strict rules- I must be the purchaser. Even "carelessness" means gross misconduct and dismissal. At the first interview with the HR- they believed dismissal and a second interview in a few days with another manager will determine whether her decision is uphelp or if it is red flag warning. 

I really need my job- I just put an offer on a flat and need a letter from my employer than my job is secure. 

You knew the rules and you happily broke them, so it's a bit hard to see what 'help' you think anyone here can be. As others have said, once could be an error, but twice...?

Even so, I hope it'll be a warning and you keep your job.

[Deleted User]

When I worked for a large retailer we were hot on this too, any misuse and you were gone basically.,

TELLIT01

The OP is entirely at the mercy of management and whether or not they have any flexibility in application of rules on this type of misconduct. My nephew nearly had the same problem some years ago when I paid for purchases at the DIY shed he worked for, the items were for me.  I got a phone call from the company asking why I had been given a staff discount and explained that the rules stated that the card could be used on purchases 'for the employee and their family members'.  The manager said that meant their immediate family and I countered by saying that was not how their rules were worded.  My nephew had also checked with his team leader who actually said in my hearing that they weren't sure but go ahead.  With their own management structure not knowing or caring about the rules they backed down.

moneysavinghero

TELLIT01 said:

The OP is entirely at the mercy of management and whether or not they have any flexibility in application of rules on this type of misconduct. My nephew nearly had the same problem some years ago when I paid for purchases at the DIY shed he worked for, the items were for me.  I got a phone call from the company asking why I had been given a staff discount and explained that the rules stated that the card could be used on purchases 'for the employee and their family members'.  The manager said that meant their immediate family and I countered by saying that was not how their rules were worded.  My nephew had also checked with his team leader who actually said in my hearing that they weren't sure but go ahead.  With their own management structure not knowing or caring about the rules they backed down.

Why would the company call you? Why would they even have your phone number? And why would you have the rules committed to your head and ready to be reeled off to some random company calling you when you were not even the employee of that company? And why did the company you didn't work for give you a hearing?

Marvel1

TELLIT01 said:

The OP is entirely at the mercy of management and whether or not they have any flexibility in application of rules on this type of misconduct. My nephew nearly had the same problem some years ago when I paid for purchases at the DIY shed he worked for, the items were for me.  I got a phone call from the company asking why I had been given a staff discount and explained that the rules stated that the card could be used on purchases 'for the employee and their family members'.  The manager said that meant their immediate family and I countered by saying that was not how their rules were worded.  My nephew had also checked with his team leader who actually said in my hearing that they weren't sure but go ahead.  With their own management structure not knowing or caring about the rules they backed down.

To be fair most people know when they say family, it does not extend to uncles, aunties, cousins etc.