Could I be fired

[Candean]

I am a keyworker, it has been a stressful 11 months since covid hit and my business turnover has significantly increased.

At the end of an 11.5 hour shift, very busy/stressful day, my delivery van broke down which meant I was stuck for hours in the cold. I just wanted to go home and relax. So I asked the duty manager if I could take home a bottle of alcohol and pay for it the next day to which he said yes. It was after 10pm at this point, however because I wasn’t buying the alcohol that evening and the manager said it was ok I believed it was fine. The other member of staff didn’t challenge me when I asked to get the bottles security tag off and I explained what I was doing. If one of those two staff members had challenged me and said no I would’ve respected their decision.

i paid for the alcohol the very next day, I had every intention of paying for it - i was never going to steal it.

Now I am being called to investigatory meeting, on two points - one being stealing the alcohol and second for breaching alcohol licensing laws. I fully believed because I was not buying alcohol this was fine, and the fact that two other employees let me do this it was ok.

few points to add,
worked for the company for 30+ years never had any misconduct before
i am in Scotland so Scottish laws apply
my partner is pregnant, I am sole earner, we are in process of getting a mortgage so I really need this job.it genuinely was an honest mistake.
i have been under a heavy amount of pressure and stress lately, I have asked for extra support however not allowed to employ new workers to help my department because it’s too close to the financial year end.

[ULA]

Although my experience is based on England and Wales I believe handling of disciplinary issues in Scotland should be consistent with the ACAS Code of Practice or a company's own policy which should be similar.

At the moment it sounds like they are just holding an investigatory meeting to establish facts from which they will make a decision as to whether to take disciplainary action. Or have you been formally invited to a disciplinary meeting?

If it is just an investigatory meeting then you need to set out the facts of what happened that evening and that you asked permission from your manager which was given. Having obtained that premission you believed that you were "covered" in terms of it not being considered as stealing alcohol because you had every intention of paying the next day, which you did. Alcohol licensing law are different in Scotland to England and it cannot be sold after 10pm, this is where there may be more of an issue because although you did not actually pay for it then and there (after 10pm) you still took alcohol for the intention of purchasing it after the time limit.

If your company has a disciplinary policy it may be worth checking it, as they often provide examples of conduct that they consider to be gross misconduct and see if this is covered or potentially fits into an example.

I cannot say whether this will lead to disciplinary action being taken but I would suggest as mitigation you ask that your takes into account your 30+ years of exemplory employment and the extreme pressure of the work.

[des8]

I would just add that regarding the possible charge of allegedly breakingthe licencing laws, you have not been convicted of that.
It is possible, given that you had no intention of breaking the law (no mens rea) you would not be convicted in court (might need a smooth talking solicitor tho')

[Candean]

Thank you for your help. The investigatory meeting was this morning.

They are referring it to a disciplinary meeting now. The duty manager has turned round and said that he didn’t say yes it was fine and that he said just do what you want - so they have completely backtracked on what he said. The only proof I would have is him nodding on the CCTV if it was seen.

Its come to my attention that a fellow member of staff failed a test purchase two weeks ago and sold to a minor, however they did not get accused of gross misconduct.

I definitely did not do this with intention of breaking the law.

during my meeting today, they started interviewed me and told me straight away that it was escalating to a disciplinary, then they continued the meeting/ asked me if I had anything to add. I believe they already knew what the outcome of this interview was going to be before they even spoke to me. This is clear in the meeting notes of which I have a copy of - surely they should’ve adjourned and went away to think about it before telling me their decision?

Thanks

[ULA]

You need to get hold of a copy of your company's disciplinary policy. An investigatory meeting cannot be turned into a disciplinary meeting.

In order for a disciplinary meeting to take place under the ACAS Code of Practice you should be written to giving details of the allegations, copies of any evidence the company is going to rely on at the meeting, details of what the potenial outcome of the meeting may be, if it is determined that disciplinary action should be taken i.e. a written warning, and the right to be accompanied by a colleague or union representative. You should also be given enough notice of the meeting to give you time to prepare your defence.