Off work due to a Disciplinary procedure

redmalc

Hi All 
looking for some advise for a friend of mine
A few weeks ago a friend of mine was alleged to have committed a serious breach of their job by three work colleagues and her company issued a disciplinary notice advising her it was gross misconduct and could lead to her losing her job.
it effected her terribly and she told me the three members of staff had colluded together to cover their job and claimed my friend had been made aware of a serious issue that had happened, something my friend totally denied .
This caused my friend to be off work through stress and anxiety and on numerous occasions we e mailed the company to advise them it was all lies and collusion and we would be taking legal action against them if they dismissed her.
The companies representatives held the disciplinary over teams and my colleague defended her position and after a further week the company called her to advise all charges and allegations had been dropped, it’s had a terrible effect on her and she went back into work last week and had to be in the same office as the three people who tried to set her up for dismissal, needless to say she is now back of work again and not in a very good place .
What can she do to try and force the company to either get rid of the three liars or agree a compromise payment for her to leave the business because it’s near impossible to return and work with the people who has caused her illness 

EnPointe

if the OPs 'friend' has evidence of bullying  and/or harrassment  by the three  in question she can  submit a  complaint / allegation  under the discipilinary processes and/or submit a grievance under the grievance procedure , the ultimate outcome of that could be disciplinary  action against the three if there is good evidence against them with the possibiliy *IF* Gross misconduct on their behalf is proven of a formal warning / Demotion / Disciplinary transfer or at the outside  dismissal

OP's 'Friend' unlikely to get  a pay out , a transfer  is the more likely outcome. 

if this is genuinely  the OOP's 'friend'  they would be well minded  that there are three sides to every story  and  of  truth of the situation there is the matter of hat can be proven ina  disciplinary and /or judicial process  

YBR

I'm sorry your friend finds herself in that situation.

Probably the better thing is for your friend to look for another job that gives a fresh start. Realistically she isn't in a position to "force" the employer to do anything and they're more likely to manage out one person (your friend) than three.

As part of this, she will probably want to agree what reference the company will give on her to another potential employer so she can put this behind her.

DullGreyGuy

redmalc said:

looking for some advise for a friend of mine
A few weeks ago a friend of mine was alleged to have committed a serious breach of their job by three work colleagues and her company issued a disciplinary notice advising her it was gross misconduct and could lead to her losing her job.
it effected her terribly and she told me the three members of staff had colluded together to cover their job and claimed my friend had been made aware of a serious issue that had happened, something my friend totally denied .
This caused my friend to be off work through stress and anxiety and on numerous occasions we e mailed the company to advise them it was all lies and collusion and we would be taking legal action against them if they dismissed her.
The companies representatives held the disciplinary over teams and my colleague defended her position and after a further week the company called her to advise all charges and allegations had been dropped, it’s had a terrible effect on her and she went back into work last week and had to be in the same office as the three people who tried to set her up for dismissal, needless to say she is now back of work again and not in a very good place .
What can she do to try and force the company to either get rid of the three liars or agree a compromise payment for her to leave the business because it’s near impossible to return and work with the people who has caused her illness 

Would need to know much more about what actually happened, what each persons role is generally and specifically in the incident. 

One reading of what you've said is that they were just butt covering which whilst it may have been nice if they had included you in it they arent obliged to. You dont claim they were actually the ones that caused the incident nor that they were the ones that initially raised the matter. 

Being accused of something is never going to be pleasant, can understand worse if coworkers leave you out on a limb but companies have to have due process to assess allegations and ultimately it appears that process has exonerated you. If you can move on from it or if you decide this is a good time to find alternative employment is something to consider over time. 

There needs to be a high degree of malicious intent for an employer to really consider action against the accuser because employers do need to have staff call out problems rather than hide them in fear of reprisals if they've misheard or misunderstood the situation etc. 

pinkshoes

That's a pretty appalling thing to go through then have to sit in an office with the three people that tried to stitch her up.

There are two options. 

1. Raise a formal complaint with HR, making it clear that their act was bullying, and see if HR will issue some sort of formal warning against them. This isn't going to make things any better though in reality.

2. Look for another job. Her three colleagues clearly don't like her, so it's probably best to move on.

Personally I'd go down the HR route whilst also looking for another job.

lincroft1710

It is one of those occasions where (sadly) "might is right", the employer is unlikely to dismiss 3 employees because a 4th is unhappy working with them. If this is a toxic environment, then, even though she seems to be the innocent party, it may be best for to leave

elsien

Has she asked about any options for her to have a sideways move so she’s not working with these other people?

Nothanks

Grievance is the only option based on the brief outline. But with low expectations. 

Your friend doesn’t KNOW and shouldn’t know what action (if any) the company takes against her colleagues.