Suspension - How serious??

[LISA1610]

Hi All.

My husband has just been suspended from work during a meeting that was supposed to be a 1-2-1 catch up and discussion following some recent issues. He has been completely blindsided and has been suspended based on the items below;

* Using the works postage system for personal items (a few parcels on one occassion - it was brought to his attention by his manager 4 weeks ago and arrangements put in place for the money to be paid back, prior to his meeting today (3 weeks ago) - final payment was due today)
* A complaint from a client (he was due to formalise his own complaint today with the meeting he had planned with his manager as he was verbally abused by the person who has now complained about him)
* Failure to submit reports on time (was highlighted a couple of weeks ago and, again, better ways of working around tight deadlines and client sites was to be discussed in today's meeting [I helped him with his notes last night as he was worried about making sure his ideas came across properly])
* Upsetting the office manager when challenging his overtime payments (literally the next day after verbal abuse issue and had sent them over with the correct week number but not month so would have left him short on pay - they spoke quite a lot straight after the call and she was fine with him for the next few weeks after that. Again, this happened a fortnight ago without anything mentioned until today and there have been no further issues between him and this office manager since)

I also have to add that he suffers from anxiety (his work are well aware of this) and following the verbal abuse from the client (as mentioned above) he removed himself from the situation, said he was going to call his manager and asked his manager if he could leave site as he was really shook up and upset. They said he had to stay (this was all away from home) as they needed the results from the machinery they were running. he was due home the next evening but he was in a really bad way and had to take his anxiety meds for days afterwards. He was going to formalise his complaint in his meeting today. And it was his way home from this trip, whilst he was not in a good way at all, that he found out his overtime wasn't being paid due to one error on his sheet. I heard the call and he wasn't nasty, just frustrated and even mentioned he had had a tough week already. But as he spoke to the office manager on text and phone afterwards and she laughing and joking with him, he's really upset that she has now decided to complain.

I work in a HR based role, so understand the possible need to suspend but my concern is that, as arrangement has been put in place to recoup the money from the postage weeks ago (and he was complying with the request and had apologised), and the fact that he called his manager following the verbal abuse he received to inform him of the incident, have they got much of a case for grosse misconduct?

In our work place, we would view any other sanctions given in relation to these areas (there haven't been any) and I do not believe that we would dismiss, but he is debating whether to offer resignation and see if they offer garden leave, or whether he should let the process run and risk dismissal.

He is in complete shock as all items would have been resolved or brought to light during his 1-2-1 meeting so is upset that he hasn't had chance to air his own concerns which may have prevented these steps being taken.

sorry, I am totally stuck..............

[Amethyst]

Don't apologise, it must be terribly stressful for you both and of course you're concerned about your husband given his anxiety. The main importance of course and as always is both of you and your health. I'll tag Ula to pop in about the procedure leading up to this suspension as it doesn't seem right at all that a 1-2-1 catch up morphed into a disciplinary and suspension without any notice at all. As you work in HR yourself you probably have better knowledge of the ACAS guidelines than I do and so if it's not sitting right with you, there is probably something going on. Ula will be able to help

It does sound like they expected a grievance to be raised and have dug out the recent incidents to bundle together to justify the suspension, maybe while they sort out a situation - the customer who was abusive towards him ( and it does sound like he handled it properly ) - are they quite important to the business?

How long has your husband been in that job?
Any previous written warnings / disciplinaries ?
Does he have his employment contract / the company terms/policy/handbook etc ?

[LISA1610]

Thanks for your reply .He has been with them for 15 months now. No warnings on file and he has a contract of employment with 3 month's notice.

I'm.just concerned that alot of the stuff was from a fortnight ago at least and whilst I understand that he was working away last week, I feel they should have re-scheduled his rota to suspend him last week (he was even in training yesterday!) If this was serious enough to suspend anyway. We would deal with any suspension immediately .

X

[ULA]

Following on from the questions raised by Amethyst. Has the suspension been confirmed in writing and if so are the allegations they are investigating the first part of the starred point you have detailed in your first post?

[Amethyst]

Have they given a time scale for the suspension ( investigatory? )

As he's been there under 2 years, as you know, his rights are weaker unfair dismissal wise unless there's some form of discrimination.

I'm going to move your thread to the employment forum and someone should pop in soon xxx

( oops crossed posts with Ula …. thread moved to employment in any event )

[LISA1610]

Thanks all. All the points are being reviewed as part of their investigation and the suspension had been given in writing. His investigation meeting is scheduled for Monday.

[Setmefree3]

(1) unauthorised usage of companies postal system (resolved by company offering Hubbie to pay back)
(2) client bangs in complaint against Hubbie (that’s convenient for the company)
(3) time sheet incorrectly filled (problem resolved with Hubbies initiative to contact company)
(4) stress level extremely high after clients verbal abuse.
(5) not making deadlines (Is it any wonder why)
(6) company were made aware of anxiety problems in advance with Hubbie, yet were happy to suspend not considering what mental health impact this would have, or indeed not asking if support was needed before suspension.

[ULA]

The less than 2 years service is an issue unless, if the company does decide to dismiss, it meets one of the relevant criteria which I am sure you are aware about. In terms of practical guidance between now and the investigatory meeting with your husband on Monday he needs to go through each point of the allegations and detail his responses to them. * Using the works postage system for personal items - I know that arrangements have been in put in place to repay the cost however I think there needs to be some reference as to why this happened, particularly if there are any staff policies/handbook that contains references to the misuse of company property for personal purposes. * A complaint from a client - use the basis of the complaint your husband was going to formalise to cover this point. * Failure to submit reports on time - use the notes that have already been prepared to cover this issue. * Upsetting the office manager when challenging his overtime payments - get your husband to detail his version of events and that he did not believe from the way the conversation went that he had upset her. * Issue with the overtime - it sounds like it was just "human error" that anyone could make however, since he was in a particularly anxious state at the time that may have contributed to this. If he can get this all detailed in advance with notes that he takes with him then it will help in ensuring he is well prepared for the meeting.

[LISA1610]

Can I just ask what the implications are if he has worked for his company for less than two years? X

[Setmefree3]

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-...-employer/#one

[mariefab]

You usually need 2 years service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.
With less than 2 years service you can be dismissed without the employer needing to give any reason at all.

Unless the dismissal is because of a protected characteristic covered by the Equality Act, e.g. disability, or other prohibited grounds.
In these cases you are covered from day 1.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga...her-dismissals