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References following disciplinary action

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  • References following disciplinary action

    Afternoon all,

    I've been working for my company since 2011, and a couple of months ago (after a clean disciplinary record), I was brought to a disciplinary hearing with my employers on the basis that I'd committed gross misconduct by sending an excessive number of personal emails internally.

    I was initially told that the likely outcome of this hearing would be dismissal but ultimately, I ended up with a final written warning. The hearing was held in accordance with the ACAS guidelines.There were some mitigating circumstances involved - I'd been suffering from stress-related illness for some time and my managers were aware of this but hadn't made any provisions to help me, and the week before the hearing, I'd been signed off sick due to stress/anxiety. And while I'll freely admit I was sending a lot of emails to colleagues that clearly weren't work-related (generally silly pictures of cats), and I'll also admit that I was in the wrong and acted quite idiotically, I was exceeding my targets and was by no means the only person sending personal emails. As my line manager also frequently sent me memes, I didn't think what I was doing was so seriously wrong that I could lose my job over it.

    When I mentioned this latter point in my hearing (at which my trade union representative was present), this sparked off an investigation into emails in the entire department. Disciplinary action was taken against a couple of my colleagues, but in the form of verbal warnings or first written warnings. Other colleagues within the department 'got away' with a general telling-off to the department as a whole.

    To summarise the background, then - I acted pretty stupidly but I found the company's verdict both heavy-handed and inconsistent, and I suspect that what happened is related to my mental illness, and there was an element of trying to make an example of me. That said, I haven't challenged the final written warning to try and reduce it to a verbal/first written warning, because I don't think that subjecting myself to more stress is going to do me any good at this stage. It's not fair, but it's an unfairness I have to accept for the moment for the good of my health.

    Now I'm (finally) reaching my point! Perhaps unsurprisingly, I've been looking for a new job. I have mixed feelings about this because I'm fairly happy where I'm living, and I love the actual work I do, but things have got to the point at work where I don't think I can stay. While I found a wealth of information online about employee rights during disciplinary hearings, I can't find much about what happens afterwards.

    Do employers have to mention unexpired warnings on references, or could they choose to mention them only if asked directly? Would they say only that the warning is for gross misconduct, or would they go into more detail about what I actually did? At what point should I mention to prospective employers that I have this on my record, and should I perhaps tell them what happened? And if so, how do I tell them that I found my company's approach unfair without sounding too much like I'm criticising my employers? I'm aware that the policy on giving references differs from company to company, but what are they allowed to do, and what must they not do?

    Thanks in advance for any help, and sorry I've waffled a bit. If anyone has any useful links to online sources with further information, that would also be wonderful.

  • #2
    Re: References following disciplinary action

    Hi, First of all if I was you I would pro early suggest challenging the outcome of your written warning as that does sound harsh.

    and rest easy chances are they wouldn't mention it in any communication with your future employer as they will usually only be asked to confirm that you worked there.

    I wouldn't mention it to any new employers unless they ask directly and then I would make light.

    I cant any see this having any effect on your future


    good luck in the job hunt :-)
    The brain is the only thing on earth to have named its self

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: References following disciplinary action

      Thanks for the advice! I think it's too late to formally challenge the outcome - you can appeal within 5 working days and it's been about 6 weeks now. I didn't sign anything to say I accepted the warning (nor would I, I don't think, not without seeking further advice, because I don't think it's fair), but I think after so long, it's a case of tacit agreement. I'd have challenged it earlier, as I knew at the time that I only had 5 days to appeal, but I was just so relieved to keep my job, and I'd had enough of fighting with them at the time.
      I'm also considering going freelance, which would eliminate this problem - but that's another matter!

      Comment

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