• Welcome to the LegalBeagles Consumer and Legal Forum.
    Please Register to get the most out of the forum. Registration is free and only needs a username and email address.
    REGISTER
    Please do not post your full name, reference numbers or any identifiable details on the forum.
  • If you need direct help with your employment issue you can contact us at admin@legalbeaglesgroup.com for further assistance. This will give you access to “off-forum” support on a one-to- one basis from an experienced employment law expert for which we would welcome that you make a donation to help towards their time spent assisting on your matter. You can do this by clicking on the donate button in the box below.

Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

Collapse
Loading...
X
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

    Hi,

    I have done a really stupid thing, and my questions relate to the impact that will have on my future.

    First of all, unlike a lot of people on this site, I did shoplift. I knew what I was doing, I made a stupid choice, and I don't really understand why I did it. Just was trying on a bunch of stuff, and then thought I could get way with it, and walking out of the shop was stopped.

    I knew I was doing something wrong, I felt guilty even before I left the shop but wanted to see if I hd done it (and whilst it was a one off, I had previously taken small things - to see if I could- I think 2 other situations both a while apart. A scarf once, and a hair product once.

    In this situation, I put stuff on and put stuff in my bag- about 50 pounds worth.

    Not that it's relevant to the wrong doing, I had had some pretty awful stuff going on - my brother's girlfriend comitted suicide not ages before this, and I was waiting on a hospital appointment for an MRI scan, as I was in pretty major pain at the time and on some pretty funky pain killers (I had an operation not long after that sorted that). I don't think it's relevant, but the security guards and the police kept saying who put you up to this, is something wrong, why do this etc (I suppose they didn't expect someone like me- at the time mid twenties, polite, and super regretful - there was a woman in there swearing and saying they couldn't do anything to her etc.)

    Anyway, I answered every question I could as best as I could, no one was rude to me (I emptied my bag out for them, and while they questioned a necklace I had, they accepted the receipt I had for it, even though it was from a pound store and those receipts just say 'item', (I did buy it.)

    The police gave me a caution, as it was a first offense etc, and I co operated. (Actually, it's Scotland, so they said they would recommend that I be given an adult warning but because I tried to take 50 pounds worth this may not be allowed, and it might be referred to the Procurator Fiscal, in which case it was likely that a fiscal warning or fine would be recommended. They said a police adult warning would be on police records for 2 years, but not on criminal records, and I have been struggling to find out about the fiscal warning, but a fiscal fine apparently stays on your records for 2 years as well and is meant to be worse.

    {I'm not allowed to post links, so I'm including in blue information to allow you to find the data yourselves, but I can post them once I've made 10 posts.)
    Adult warning info: ask the . scottish . police . uk Q562
    Fiscal stuff info: victimsofcrimeonscotland - alternatives - to - prosecution


    I offered compensation at the time, and the store staff gave me a letter saying notice of intended civil recovery.

    Like others, I do feel I owe something as I did do wrong, and god I wish I hadn't been such an idiot. It makes me feel sick that I did it. I'm old enough to know better, and I don't even understand what was going through my own head. At least I can be relieved that I'm awful at breaking the law- in a weird way I'm glad I was caught, I'll certainly never be tempted again!

    Weirdly they didn't ban me from the store. (Not that I've been back, far too embarrassed by my own idiocy). They just said they'd be watching me carefully if I ever came back. (I wish they had banned me - might make me feel more like I was being punished.)

    Anyway, the letter received (a few weeks ago) includes the following paragraph at the bottom:

    "In principle the Data Protection Act 1998 does not prevent the use of data for civil recovery and employment screening purposes provided that the data protection principles are complied with. You are notified that the personal information held about you may be passed to the Police for criminal proceedings and to Retail Loss Prevention for civil recovery proceedings. Your personal data may be stored and used by prospective employers within client companies to make employment decisions and for the purposes of crime prevention and detection including verifying details on application forms and protection of the rights of this company and other companies as appropriate. We will pass this personal data to Retail Loss Prevention Limited and it will be shared in accordance with data protection law with appropriate commercial organisations and crime prevention bodies. The use of this data will at all times be in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998."

    Soooo, the crux of my questions relate to the fact I think I've stuffed my future up by being a complete moron.

    I am a (mature) uni student, and I had thought to either go into teaching, or a management role, or library work (which usually means spending time with vulnerable adults or children), or possibly social work or if I stuck on the finance ish side of things, becoming an accountant (some friends recently became accountants, they say you don't need a degree in accounting and that you get a great introduction to business.)

    All of the professions I was considering are probably ones that (understandably) don't want to employ someone who has shoplifted. I looked further and found that in Scotland they have a system called disclosure Scotland.

    ask the . scottish . police . uk q642


    And that the disclosures for the jobs I was considering are all eligible for (I think) standard disclosure, which show spent and unspent convictions (hopefully not relevant) and cautions. (are these the warnings? Does that mean they don't go away, ever?)

    disclosurescotland information standarddisclosure


    If you click on the 'eligible positions legislation' the link comes to

    ssi 2013 /50 / schedule 4


    This lists a load of professions who are excluded from the 'rehabilitation of offenders' legislation per the explanation at the start of the thing which says

    "5. There is excepted from the provisions of section 4(3)(b) of the Act—


    (a)any profession, office, employment or occupation specified in Schedule 4;"

    I found the act and section 4(3)(b) says:
    (3)Subject to the provisions of any order made under subsection (4) below,—

    (a)any obligation imposed on any person by any rule of law or by the provisions of any agreement or arrangement to disclose any matters to any other person shall not extend to requiring him to disclose a spent conviction or any circumstances ancillary to a spent conviction (whether the conviction is his own or another’s); and

    (b)a conviction which has become spent or any circumstances ancillary thereto, or any failure to disclose a spent conviction or any such circumstances, shall not be a proper ground for dismissing or excluding a person from any office, profession, occupation or employment, or for prejudicing him in any way in any occupation or employment.

    BUT:- I am confused. I understand that this means, that (if the above does not apply) failure to disclose a spent conviction or any other circumstances SHALL be ground for dismissing or excluding me from an office/profession/job etc, but is this the case as concerns an adult warning? Or a fiscal warning? or fine?

    I don't understand the difference between an adult warning and a caution per disclosure scotland. (I still haven't received anything from the police so don't even now if it will be an adult warning, a fiscal warning or worse.)

    I think I will ask disclosure Scotland this, but post it up here anyway.

    Also, this leads me back to the letter from the store RE RPL (the abbreviation I've seen around this site). I have highlighted the bits that ring bells for me.

    "Your personal data may be stored and used by prospective employers within client companies to make employment decisions and for the purposes of crime prevention and detection including verifying details on application forms and protection of the rights of this company and other companies as appropriate. We will pass this personal data to Retail Loss Prevention Limited and it will be shared in accordance with data protection law with appropriate commercial organisations and crime prevention bodies."

    Obviously, my concern is not with re-offending, so, whilst I'm unsure of the use of them passing my data to crime prevention bodies, I'm less concerned about that (though I don't understand what that means).

    As it says specifically "within client companies" does that mean just the retail companies that employ the firm, or anyone that might want to do pre employment screening?

    What do they mean by "appropriate commercial organisations?"

    A lot of the work I want to do is within the public sector, not commercial. I'm not to concerned about not being able to work in retail at the moment - I would be crazy to apply to the company this happened with, anyway, and I would hope if I end up in retail in a few years, that it didn't come up? I didn't know that only the police had the legal right to all my details, so they have my full name, address, date of birth, everything. I had to give it again to the police later.

    I'm basically wondering if I should write off ever getting one of the jobs I'd like, because of this stupid thing. I think the social work registry goes through disclosure scotland, teaching definitely does, and I don't know if accounting or more commercial things. And, as I'm nearing the end of my degree, I was looking at applying now, so everything would definiitley be within 2 years, so even if the warning goes away after 2, it would still be on my disclosure now if they do it, if it's a fiscal fine at least.

    And that's before even considering if they are letting anyone willynilly check their data which according to the website ( integrity screening uk)
    they do.

    (Though I don't know if any of the areas I'm working in would be checking whether I'm subject to civil recovery proceedings.)

    I also checked the company name (cireco) and it is not on the data protection public register, although rlp is. Interestingly, the 'purposes' for data processing are listed as
    "We process personal information to enable us to provide investigatory services, to trace debtors and purchase debts and to collect on behalf of creditors. We also process personal information to maintain our own accounts and records and to support and manage our employees."

    None of the above purposes relate to my situation, or this 'integrity database' being maintained to sell details of my integrity. What they say they will do with my data id not what they say they are doing with it per the register.

    Additionally, I understand from reading this site that I am not a debtor - that they cannot charge me a fixed fee for my wrongs. (I would be much happier paying the company directly an apology piece of compensation.)

    They also say they share the data in this way:

    We sometimes need to share the personal information we process with the individual themself and also with other organisations. Where this is necessary we are required to comply with all aspects of the Data Protection Act (DPA). What follows is a description of the types of organisations we may need to share some of the personal information we process with for one or more reasons.


    "Where necessary or required we share information with:
    • voluntary and charitable organisations
    • ombudsmen and regulatory authorities
    • business associates and other professional advisers
    • associated companies
    • suppliers
    • financial organisations
    • credit reference, debt collection and tracing agencies
    • police forces
    • private investigators
    • courts and tribunals
    • government
    • traders in personal data
    • family, associates or representatives of the person whose personal data we are processing;
    • current, past or prospective employers
    • examining bodies"

    I think this is a misleading statement. They say "Where necessary or required" but I do not see any circumstances where it would be necessary or required for them to share the data with traders in personal data, and I think sharing it with anyone who might be a prospective employer is highly irregular, they're obviously making money off of a horrible situation, and why have a disclosure system if someone can not be found guilty of a crime and have their whole future wrecked anyway? I don't know what to do. I think I need to write to the information commissioner about this as well as disclosure Scotland.

    As concerns the credit statement issue, I know I'm going to need a credit card at least temporarily as I have an overdraft that will be reducing following graduation, and at least at the moment I have not got a job that pays enough to cover my rent.

    As you can tell this has been bothering me for ages! I still haven't decided how to respond to RLP, and I'm so worried about the possible implications. Some of the jobs I've applied for already are ones in the public sector etc, but no one has asked me for a disclosure, and I think you need to give permission for a disclosure to go ahead. I have kept applying for jobs in areas I'm interested in and I have kept volunteering for kids groups for which I have already got a PVG (this is a disclosure to work with kids and vulnerable people) but I think I should tell someone about this, or it might get worse.

    I don't think I'm a danger:- I mainly help tidy up and split up arguments and suggest games for the teens and kids to play. I certainly would never suggest anyone break the law. I'm wanting to wait to say anything to find out whether I get a warning or a fine... and to work out what the implication would be for all of this before I say I can't volunteer anymore!

    I also do office work - and I don't remember there being any disclosure for that job, but we do look at financial info sometimes (for paying for services and buy goods) but I don't do any processing of the payments or anything.

    I know that if I was convicted they would fire me as even if I don't deal with stuff, it would look bad on the company to have me there. But obviously I'm terrified that if I don't tell them and leave that retail loss prevention might contact them and I'll be fired, even if I do pay them the money.

    Please help with any advice. I would really appreciate it. I can't believe how stupid I've been. Key things I need to know (if anyone has any idea) are: 1. If it is a police warning or a fiscal warning or a fiscal fine, does that
    a) stop me from doing the jobs I am presently doing OR
    b) mean I will never do the jobs I want to do in the future?

    And c) is there anything I can do to stop this from destroying my future?

    Thanks so much to those here that offer advice.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

    Just ignore RLP, they have no authority and lost a court case (Oxford?) when they tried to pretend that they did.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

      Send RLP a cease and desist letter informing them you do not acknowledge their clients vexatious and unproven claim or loss. Tell them to cease processing your data and remove it completely from their database. Tell them they are also to remove it from the sister company cierco's data as you never gave them permission to process your data, and should you be refused employment as a result of an prospective employer using cierco, then you deem both companies to be in breach of the data protection act and may take legal action against them.

      As for what you did and it showing on standard disclosure, i wouldn't worry to much about it, some have done far worse and still been able to make a career for themselves in those sectors, i.e. reformed drug dealers becoming social workers. They are more interested in your abilities and if your a risk to children. Off course they will ask you about it, but if your open and inform them during your interview and tell them how much you regret it, well honesty goes a long way as they say.

      Plus after 2 years the warnings fall of your record, am not sure if they show in your standard disclosure after that (am and employer in england, so i not sure how it works in Scotland to be honest), i doubt it as they no longer on your record par se!

      I have also message BlueBottle a former police officer who has a pet hate for RLP! So he will probably pop along to this thread at some point!
      Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Always seek the advice of an insured qualified professional. All my legal and nonlegal knowledge comes from either here (LB),my own personal research and experience and/or as the result of necessity as an Employer and Businessman.

      By using my advice in any form, you agreed to waive all rights to hold myself or any persons representing myself of any liability.

      If you PM me, make sure to include a link to your thread as I don't give out advice in private. All PMs that are sent in missuse (including but not limited to phishing, spam) of the PM application and/or PMs that are threatening or abusive will be reported to the Site Team and if necessary to the police and/or relevant Authority.

      I AM SO GOING TO GET BANNED BY CEL FOR POSTING terrible humour POSTS.

      The Governess; 6th March 2012 GRRRRRR

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

        TB,

        Thank you for drawing my attention to this thread.

        SYA,

        There are a number of issues relating to your case which could make a difference as to the manner in which the retailer and the police have handled the matter. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions -

        At the time of the incident -

        a. What was the name of the painkillers you were prescribed?
        b. What was the MRI required in respect of? and
        c. What was the outcome of the operation?

        These questions may sound intrusive, but it is necessary to ask them in view of what you were going through at the time of the incident.

        As for what the retailer and RLP have said in their letters, the statement as to the organisations RLP say they share their victims' personal information with is tantamount to Blackmail, which is a serious criminal offence. There may also be breaches of the Data Protection Act involved on the part of RLP and the retailer which could attract a fine of up to Ł500,000 or a visit from the Information Commissioner's investigation officers with the police in tow.
        Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

          I would have though given the medical condition at the time, that the equality act 2010 would also come into play here i.e. they can not discriminate against her for actions she committed as a direct or indirect result of a medical condition. Say for example if someone had a brain tumour and it effected their level of self control or ability to tell right from wrong etc, then that person can not be held liable for their actions, just like someone who is determined to be insane can not be!
          Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Always seek the advice of an insured qualified professional. All my legal and nonlegal knowledge comes from either here (LB),my own personal research and experience and/or as the result of necessity as an Employer and Businessman.

          By using my advice in any form, you agreed to waive all rights to hold myself or any persons representing myself of any liability.

          If you PM me, make sure to include a link to your thread as I don't give out advice in private. All PMs that are sent in missuse (including but not limited to phishing, spam) of the PM application and/or PMs that are threatening or abusive will be reported to the Site Team and if necessary to the police and/or relevant Authority.

          I AM SO GOING TO GET BANNED BY CEL FOR POSTING terrible humour POSTS.

          The Governess; 6th March 2012 GRRRRRR

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

            I agree with you,TB.

            Conditions which affect the cognitive functions within the brain and memory can impact on a person's actions and bring into question their actus reus and mens rea at the time of an alleged offence.

            Subject to what the OP says, it is quite possible the retailer and RLP may have bitten off more than they can chew and Police Scotland may have to invest in some backwards pedalling bicycles.
            Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

              Originally posted by bluebottle View Post
              I agree with you,TB.

              Conditions which affect the cognitive functions within the brain and memory can impact on a person's actions and bring into question their actus reus and mens rea at the time of an alleged offence.

              Subject to what the OP says, it is quite possible the retailer and RLP may have bitten off more than they can chew and Police Scotland may have to invest in some backwards pedalling bicycles.
              Totally agree with you BlueBottle.

              Not only would it effect a persons physical actions but also effect what they say and think, though the medication alone can do that, not just physical conditions. Therefore making any admission invalid and any police caution or equivalent invalid too. Basically if it wouldn't stand in court, then there's a good chance the caution can be cleared as though it was never given. Though obviously am only guessing using logic here and you will know more about it then myself and how to go about having the caution revoked.
              Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Always seek the advice of an insured qualified professional. All my legal and nonlegal knowledge comes from either here (LB),my own personal research and experience and/or as the result of necessity as an Employer and Businessman.

              By using my advice in any form, you agreed to waive all rights to hold myself or any persons representing myself of any liability.

              If you PM me, make sure to include a link to your thread as I don't give out advice in private. All PMs that are sent in missuse (including but not limited to phishing, spam) of the PM application and/or PMs that are threatening or abusive will be reported to the Site Team and if necessary to the police and/or relevant Authority.

              I AM SO GOING TO GET BANNED BY CEL FOR POSTING terrible humour POSTS.

              The Governess; 6th March 2012 GRRRRRR

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                First of all, thank you for your messages and information. Second of all, I really appreciate your thoughts that I may have been affected by medication in performing these stupid actions. However, whilst I really don't understand my own actions, they were my actions, however wrong they were, and whilst I was acting out of character and a bit crazy, I still did something I knew to be wrong, with a bit of a 'to hell with the consequences' attitude (I think it started with a rather nasty, 'oh i wish i could have that, I could just take it' mindset, and then if I was in for a penny, in for a pound mindset- as I said before, at small a silver lining as it may be at least I'm a useless criminal.)

                However to answer your questions:-
                At the time of the incident -

                a. What was the name of the painkillers you were prescribed?
                I was on a number of medications- beta blockers for anxiety, as well as diazepam- I only was given 3 diazepam tablets as they are addictive, and I was told to have one 'to test that I didn't have a bad reaction' before the MRI scan. I had this 'test pill' the night before the 'event'. I never took the other two, and thinking about it, i should find them and return them to a pharmacy. I was also on tramadol pain killers - they were 50mg doses, taken every 4 hours, but if in pain more often. The more often made me floaty and a bit muddled.
                b. What was the MRI required in respect of? I have messaged teaboy and bluebottle with this info.
                c. What was the outcome of the operation? I have messaged teaboy and bluebottle with this info.

                Whilst these do imply that there are messy situations for my being in control (seriously, I get that I wasn't myself) at the same time I do think the police and security staff were doing their jobs. The police as I said before asked me who put me up to it, and asked me what was going through my mind - I was rather upset and do remember responding that I didn't know, that I was so sorry, and whilst we didn't discuss medication, I also said to them that even if I was stressed, it didn't matter what I was thinking i had broken the law... and.. was kind of crying through this whole conversation.. quietly- just teary, not sobbing or anything. Just couldn't get a handle on my emotions.

                I wouldn't know how to approach the police about this. At the moment I still don't even know if it's a fiscal warning, police warning or other punishment. I don't even have a crime incident number, or the names of either of the 2 police officers that attended. (They have all my details though- I haven't heard from them).

                Bluebottle, you might know this, would such information be helpful to the police in making a decision about how to deal with a case like this? I could get a doctors note or show the prescriptions to them if it would. Also, how would I go about finding out who to speak to? Call the police and describe the incident and ask if it is possible to speak to the officer in charge of the investigation?

                I feel like I would be making excuses for my actions, and that the police officers would consider me to be (pardon the language) bullshitting, even though all the medical circumstances are true and supportable by notes. Do the police really take such things into account (even when caught red handed?) I just feel like even if I was woozy I should have still known better!

                As for what the retailer and RLP have said in their letters, the statement as to the organisations RLP say they share their victims' personal information with is tantamount to Blackmail, which is a serious criminal offence. There may also be breaches of the Data Protection Act involved on the part of RLP and the retailer which could attract a fine of up to Ł500,000 or a visit from the Information Commissioner's investigation officers with the police in tow.

                I thought the letter was shocking! I seriously would like to send it to someone to assess the legality of it. The only reason I questioned it being blackmail is that even if you pay you'll still be on the database, so less blackmail more just "you've just destroyed your own life, bravo, moron."

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                  Hi SYM

                  I can't comment on the issue regarding the police caution etc, other than to say i find it strange they have not notified you formally in writing as to what punishment you would receive, which they usually do when cautioning someone here in England! So it maybe that decided to not take any action at all, but bluebottle can help you with that.

                  Without having yet read your PM, i can only comment on the medication in terms to the effect it can have on people. Basically powerful medications like the ones you were on, can effect a person rationale thinking, so whilst you look back at the incident now from a logical point of few with sound mind and see it as being a crime, the point is at the time preceding the incident when you were in the shop and the thought crossed your mind, you were likely to have not been in full control of those thoughts or your actions. Look back at your last post and see the bit where you referred to taking one as test for any bad reactions, well what you did is likely your bad reaction to that drug!

                  I'll read your PM a bit later and give you my thoughts on it. Obviously i won't comment on this thread as to the content of the PM in regards to MRI etc, and will reply to MRI aspect by PM to protect your medical privacy.
                  Please note that this advice is given informally, without liability and without prejudice. Always seek the advice of an insured qualified professional. All my legal and nonlegal knowledge comes from either here (LB),my own personal research and experience and/or as the result of necessity as an Employer and Businessman.

                  By using my advice in any form, you agreed to waive all rights to hold myself or any persons representing myself of any liability.

                  If you PM me, make sure to include a link to your thread as I don't give out advice in private. All PMs that are sent in missuse (including but not limited to phishing, spam) of the PM application and/or PMs that are threatening or abusive will be reported to the Site Team and if necessary to the police and/or relevant Authority.

                  I AM SO GOING TO GET BANNED BY CEL FOR POSTING terrible humour POSTS.

                  The Governess; 6th March 2012 GRRRRRR

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                    Hi SYM,

                    I have read your PM and have sent you two separate PMs in response.

                    Diazepam has a number of side-effects and Tramadol has a long list of side-effects, quite a few of which are sufficient to introduce reasonable doubt. Any chemical imbalance you may have been or be suffering can also introduce reasonable doubt, especially if it affects the chemical balance within the part of the brain that deals with cognitive functions and behaviour.

                    In answer to your specific question about informing the police, yes, they do need to know about your health issues and the side-effects of any medication you were and are on. The side-effects you have experienced with Tramadol are especially telling.

                    RLP's database has echoes of the illegal databases maintained by the Economic League and Consulting Association. There is still ongoing legal action against those companies which funded and provided false and inaccurate information to the Consulting Association's database and those responsible for running the database were prosecuted and successfully convicted.
                    Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                      Hi again teaboy and bluebottle,

                      Thank you both again for the time and knowledge you are sharing. (I don't want to fall foul of forum rules by pulling anyone into private advice so will give my thanks here).

                      I appreciate as well the private information in relation to my medical condition, and am receiving support in relation to those, bluebottle. There were still some links you provided that i hadn't seen, which was great.

                      Teaboy, I suppose I should take some action, but as I'm most concerned with my health at the moment, I want to get to the completion of all treatment , find out the overall results and implications, and be in better condition first, without alienating any of the possible experts that can help me! I know this is probably paranoia, but feel may have a better result this way. I also think that at every stage of the way there were medical staff that did try to help me, and feel the issue is witht he system - rushing people and not staffing enough. (Though some of my family have different ideas and would like to sue sue sue..)

                      I will get in touch with the police to speak to them about my condition - I suppose I am part of the problem not the solution in reactions to health problems, because, not meaning to self flagellate, but I feel like even if I was being effected (affected? Grammar advice appreciated too ) I still committed a crime. Of course, the new police structure in Scotland makes it particularly hard to get information, with the new big central structure. I will call and try and speak to someone at the police station I think is in question. Hopefully the police do not think I am just making excuses and will let me show them my medication and copies of the doctors notes etc I already have for work- I really don't want to have to go to the GP I have been seeing for years and say "Can you give me a note for the police, I shoplifted on the new medication you gave me and I'm now using it as an excuse." What an idiot I've been.

                      One definite way I was influenced by either distress or medication is to not get the contact details of the police, or the crime reference number.

                      Again, thanks for all your help.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                        I have just found out from the police that the case was referred to the procurator fiscal for them to decide whether to prosecute or fine. I am going to write the fiscals with the information I was going to provide the police, and hope that they will take it into account

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                          Hi SYM,

                          First and foremost, stop the guilt trip. Retail security are not the sharpest knives in the drawer and a good number of them should never have been issued with a licence by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). However, that is not the fault of the SIA.

                          Second and most important is to tell the police about your health issues and medication side-effects. A doctor can confirm what you are going through and the effects this can have and is having on your day-to-day life. The same goes for medication and its side-effects.

                          In a report from a doctor, I would be looking for phrases like -

                          "... this is a known issue with [Name of Condition] and consistent with what [Name of Patient] reports and presents with..." and "... this is a known side-effect of [Name of Medication]".

                          All that is needed is reasonable doubt to cause a case to be dropped or dismissed, if it were ever to get to court.

                          Thirdly, under Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998/European Convention on Human Rights, you are entitled to a fair hearing and for all evidence to be considered and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law or other legally-convened tribunal.

                          It is not for the police and/or Procurator Fiscal to set themselves up as judge, jury and executioner. That is deemed to be unlawful under Section 6 of the Human Rights Act.

                          Finally, it is clear that, at the time of the incident, pharmaceutical, endocrinal and biochemical factors were involved and only a justice system that is totally corrupt would ignore them. You have the right to be treated fairly, including the inalienable right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
                          Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                            Originally posted by stupid young man View Post
                            I have just found out from the police that the case was referred to the procurator fiscal for them to decide whether to prosecute or fine. I am going to write the fiscals with the information I was going to provide the police, and hope that they will take it into account
                            I've only just seen this post, but please read my last post. It is vitally important that the PF knows about your current state of health and as it was at the time of the incident, including medication.
                            Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Employment law questions:- have I destroyed my possible career before starting

                              I have posted a letter to the PF with details of everything. (and sent an email, and included copies of doctors letters I already had, and pictures of the prescriptions on the medications I have, showing that I only got them 2 days before the incident.)

                              I will let you know what I hear, but the lady on the phone at the crown office said it may be 6 weeks before I get anything back.

                              Comment

                              View our Terms and Conditions

                              LegalBeagles Group uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience and to create a secure and effective website. By using this website, you are consenting to such use.To find out more and learn how to manage cookies please read our Cookie and Privacy Policy.

                              If you would like to opt in, or out, of receiving news and marketing from LegalBeagles Group Ltd you can amend your settings at any time here.


                              If you would like to cancel your registration please Contact Us. We will delete your user details on request, however, any previously posted user content will remain on the site with your username removed and 'Guest' inserted.

                              Announcement

                              Collapse

                              Welcome to LegalBeagles


                              Donate with PayPal button

                              LegalBeagles is a free forum, founded in May 2007, providing legal guidance and support to consumers and SME's across a range of legal areas.

                              See more
                              See less

                              Court Claim ?

                              Guides and Letters
                              Loading...



                              Search and Compare fixed fee legal services and find a solicitor near you.

                              Find a Law Firm


                              Working...
                              X