Accepted redundancy settlement agreement, am now under investigation. Seek legal advice?

HampshireH

starrybear said:

Not that cut and dried for my poor husband, unfortunately. I wish it was.

Spoke to the legal team provided by the house insurer this afternoon. They can't do anything until the company inform us of what's happening next. ie. whether it's going down some sort of disciplinary route (although hes already signed and returned the redundancy settlement agreement, he hasn't been informed of his termination date, so im assuming they can still take it in this direction if they see fit)

The more I mull on it, the more I think they're looking for any excuse to withold the enhanced part of the package

I was reading this thinking the same......sounds like a very convenient excuse not to pay an enhanced deal.

He needs to get a copy of the redundancy policy and the misconduct policy asap before these are updated to cover this circumstance which they may not currently cover

starrybear

Thank you for the advice, but im guessing even if we ask for those and they need to change a clause within a document, they won't share it until that's been done?

prowla

Many years ago I worked for a company and our Italian office let someone go.

The next day the customer master file went missing and business stopped.

They decided that he'd done something malicious and were going to go after him.

I worked with them to go through the events with their local IT and we figured out what had happened.

Part of the person's job had been to run the daily job to consolidate the information and in doing so the job created a new version of the file.

IT had a policy of deleting a persons account on the systems when leaving and it had an option to include removing their files.

Yep, the new version of the file was created under his username and thus removing his account and files deleted it too.

Fortunately we figured it out before they took any action (and hopefully he never even knew about the issue).

My point in relation to the topic in hand is that companies can jump to the wrong conclusion.

My company did the right thing and investigated the matter properly, which led to the correct outcome.

In mitigation I'd also say that some of the file-sharing facilities may be so integrated that it can be difficult to know where the files are and/or if you are updating/overwriting a shared document.

On the other hand, recovery takes time and effort to do recovery; there is a whole technology area surrounding that and some data can be lost, for example if items are only backed up on a daily basis.

So, the company has to do its work to determine and address the issue.

As per my example above, it's actually their duty.

They might find that perhaps their procedures are flawed, leaving their data unprotected, and this may be a wake-up call (though I wouldn't point that out to them).

IT systems are like bowling alleys: the non-savvy may need the bumpers raised along the sides to prevent balls going off into the gutter,

But from hubby's side beware of saying anything which might be misconstrued as demonstrating malice or carelessness.

I think the letter somewhat assumes that you are talking to amiable and benevolent people, which may not be their position at all.

Perhaps pause, take a breath, and switch mindsets: pretend that you are the company on the receiving end of this heinous act and you receive that - would you buy it?

starrybear

@prowla - super-helpful. Thank you. We've both had some wine tonight, so will reset in the morning and consider our next move once we know what they're accusing him of. 

I'm so gutted for him tonight. He's cried for only the second time in our 25 year marriage. He gave his all to the role and cared so, so much.

To all - so grateful for the good advice and support that's been given today 

Savvy_Sue

I take it he's not in a union? That would be first point of call.

tinkafairy

Has he spoken to ACAS?

starrybear

Savvy_Sue said:

I take it he's not in a union? That would be first point of call.

Unfortunately not

starrybear

tinkafairy said:

Has he spoken to ACAS?

Yes. They were surprisingly unhelpful, but his main question was whether he should seek his own legal advice, which they wouldn't be drawn on. 

DullGreyGuy

starrybear said:

The more I mull on it, the more I think they're looking for any excuse to withold the enhanced part of the package

I know conspiracy theories are in vogue these days but why bother offering an enhanced redundancy package and then create a convoluted investigation, which will cost time and money, to try and get out of it? If they hadn't wanted to pay an enhanced package they simply wouldnt have offered one in the first place. 

Whilst I appreciate the "there's no smoke without fire" type mentality ultimately suspending someone on full pay etc doesnt mean they are guilty of anything, just that there are concerns and to avoid any further issues IF they are guilty you remove their access during the investigation.  If the investigation proves there was nothing wrong done then access is reinstated and things carry on. 

If you think about it from the other direction, you find your bank account has been emptied over night and complain to the company, they tell you that it was a guy in Accounts thats stolen the money, they thought he'd been doing it for the last couple of months to various customers but didnt want to upset their feelings so let him continue to have access to systems whilst it was investigated. I'm sure people would be saying it was irresponsible for them to let him continue to have access during the investigation. 

Tabieth

I would not send the letter without getting further advice. He’s not in a union which is a shame, is he entitled to any free legal advice from memberships or anything? I’d ask the employer what the next steps are and what’s happening. Then, depending on the reply, comsider getting legal advice. 

Good luck!