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Urgent help needed

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  • Urgent help needed

    Today I was on my way to work and called by senior management asking me to "pop in and have a chat" with him and HR about "some of the extra hours I've been doing and my general wellbeing", they cancelled all my appointments and asked me to come in straight away.

    I arrived and was told it was an informal chat for fact-finding and that HR was there to take notes. This manager is my manager's manager if that makes sense.

    He proceeded to ask me about the bank work I had been doing for 2 different teams, how I found it, how it was conducted and what it involved (all very odd, he should have known what these teams do).

    Extra hours are logged by me onto a sheet, emailed to the relevant manager, who signs them off and emails them to payroll. Nobody has ever questioned this although the manager for one team said HR had a problem with my hours a month ago, though nobody said what or told me.

    He then showed me a printed word document which was taken from my work phone call logs. It was a list of the days I claimed to work, how many calls were made, what time and how long for.

    My manager asked me to explain why on some days 0 calls were made, other days only very very brief calls, and other days the calls all made before 6pm (the hours I claimed were 6-10pm).

    I explained the truth. My work phone is crap so I use my personal phone. I asked several times if this was not allowed and HR intervened and said it was not recommended. I pointed out that a lot of people use their personal phones in my ream, it's well known the work phones are crap. I further explained that if the phone is on speakerphone it works, which means I can make calls on that phone as long as I am somewhere private. Other times I get fed up of trying to be heard and disconnect the call then call from my personal phone. (these are mental health patients so confidentiality is key)

    Manager clearly didn't believe this. I have claimed for 5 months at a total of approx £4,000 before tax.

    The job for one team involves phone calls, a max of 20 min per person, with notes to be added onto a system. This accounts for probably under £500 over those months. I have an email from that manager saying on at least one occasion that even if I finished early she would put me down for the full shift. Some calls didn't answer, others were very brief, others well over an hour, it all depends. Notes can take me 5 mins each or way more, again depending.

    The other job involves phone calls at no more than 1 hour per person (in reality can be anything from 10 min - 1 hour) but the admin work is significant and it can involve liaising with other agencies which my manager quite rightly pointed out can't be done at 6pm as these agencies are closed. This role is counselling so it involves taking notes which are uploaded onto the patient's medical file and I have to re-read notes before the next session to refresh my memory. It can be labour intensive as referrals etc. mean reading through the patient's notes to find certain bits of information. Quite often it means spending a lot of time researching the patient's condition and therapies or reading their medical notes. Basically it can be majority paperwork and not much actual phone call sometimes.

    I felt victimised and became very distressed, The manager asked if I would provide them with a copy of my personal phone bill. I explain that I don't get one (sim only with giff gaff) but that I would try. He said this would "clear it up".

    Manager said he isn't disputing that I did the work - he says he thinks I did it during my normal working hours, so basically he is saying I am claiming for 6-10pm but finished all my work before 6pm. (Sorry if this is confusing. I work 10-6 in my normal job, I was doing extra hours around my normal job, so 6-10pm, or 9-10am as well, these are the hours claiming for). So in other words, it's fraud because I wasn't working extra hours just doing extra work in normal hours.

    Since coming home, I have discovered that giff gaff do not do itemised billing. I have emailed them (they don't have call centres) to see what they advise. I have screenshots to prove they don't do itemised billing and that I have emailed them.

    I am now very concerned I will lose my job and go to prison for fraud because I cannot prove I made the calls (even though the calls are not the only part of the job). I can prove that notes were made and referrals made. I can't prove any time I spent researching, re-reading notes or making notes. I suffer with anxiety and this has made it so bad.

    I should also mention I have worked there just over 2 years and in that time no disciplinaries at all. In fact, I am the "yes" person who does everything, I go above and beyond and have a good reputation amongst my team and patients. I have done bank work across 5 teams and work incredibly hard.

    I wonder if the problem is the working time directive - i regularly worked over 48 hours for the first 4 months, but they only asked me to sign it a few weeks ago, could this be why they are trying to negate my hours?

    In theory they could call all of my patients and ask them what time they are called by me, how often and how long we speak - but is that reliable? Some of them have been discharged and others are new, some rarely answer the phone, sometimes calls had to be ended (eg., if they were out and about not at home, or kids in the background etc), likewise some went way over an hour, it all varies...

    sorry for the long post
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Good morning.

    I’m very sorry about your situation.

    Proof is very important. Even if you can prove you did some hours over time by contacting patients, do you have a record of everyone you called in the past 5 months?

    The company is in desperate need of some new work phones, especially if all the staff cannot do their job properly.

    Logging any additional overtime each week with proof is vital so this does not happen again.

    I understand that giff gaff do not give itemised bills however you can contact an agent to discuss your situation:
    https://support2.giffgaff.com/app/as...-records/form/


    To request usage data statements may help your situation:
    http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Sol...g/ta-p/3522465


    I hope this helps and good luck.
    I am a law student undertaking work experience on the LegalBeagles forum. My advice is from my own experience only and is given without liability. If in any doubt, please contact a regulated and insured legal professional to seek further advice.

    Comment


    • #3
      Please try and not get yourself stressed about the situation you need to take this one stage at a time.

      It would seem that you have just had an informal meeting in regard to your overtime claims and at the moment the company has not decided whether it will pursue any possible disciplinary action which would be the next stage.

      Law Student 6 seems to have provided you some useful links to try and get some usage information for your Giff Gaff account so please follow that advice and see what you can get. This may well prove that you were working from your personal phone and give the manger and HR the inforamtion needed to support your overtime claims.

      Do you have to get agreement to work overtime, most organisations require some level of authority before overtime can be worked? If so would the person who has authorised your overtime not be able to write and confirm that this was requested?
      If you would like a one-to-one expert consultation with me on your employment issue than I can be contacted by emailing admin@legalbeaglesgroup.com

      I do not provide advice by PM although I may on occasion ask you to send me documents this way but any related advice will be provided back on your thread.

      I do my best to provide good practical advice, however I do so without liability.
      If you have any doubts then do please seek professional legal advice.


      You can’t always stop the waves but you can learn to surf.

      You are braver than you believe, smarter than you think and stronger than you seem.



      If we have helped you we'd appreciate it if you can leave a review on our Trust Pilot page

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you so much for the replies.

        the overtime is agreed already, the manager asked if I could do 21 hours per week until the replacement is hired and I said yes. I write down the hours and then email them to her, she signs it off and emails it to payroll. She has signed it every month without issue.

        giff gaff have responded to tell me they can only provide an itemised bill via a subject access request which costs £10 and takes up to 40 days to get back. The usage statement online only shows usage outside of the free minutes etc so shows me nothing.

        These over time hours are basically worked as follows
        4 hours in one team making calls and uploading notes (this is ad hoc, I would say a total of no more than £500)

        21 hours a week (up to 25 hours) for another team, making calls, uploading notes, researching, referring, re reading notes before next call, identifying key things to discuss etc, reading their medical notes and checking before calls for updates.

        For some reason the manager at the meeting seemed to expect most of these hours to be calls (this is his misunderstanding as he wasn’t aware of the job role) and that is why he thinks I didn’t do the work at the times I claimed.

        he is basically saying I did all the work inside my Normal working hours and that I am claiming overtime for it instead.

        i have 3 days left at work before I go on annual leave for 2.5 weeks and now I’m terrified I’ll go back to face a police investigation and prison or lose my job or both. As a single widowed parent this terrifies me as it means my kids would end up in care as I have no family.

        I can’t stress enough that the work was done at the times said. The only difference is that occasionally I might put worked 6-10pm but actually worked 10pm-2am, so same amount of hours just different times and this has always been ok previously.

        Comment


        • #5
          The police are not going to be investigating this matter, it is an issue between you and your employer and the police will not be interested about whether someone has incorrectly (according to the employer) claimed overtime.

          How was it left with the manager/HR at the end of the meeting? If it was go and get the evidence and then come back to us, then I suggest you email them and confirm that having been in contact with Giff Gaff, the usage statement which can be provided immediately would not provide the necessary information however you can submit an SAR for the information, although Giff Gaff are incorrect an SAR request must be responded to within a calendar month of the request not 40 days (it used to be 40 days but this has changed). Ask the manager/HR to confirm whether they want you to make an SAR request for the information as you would be happy to, in order to provide the information to prove your overtime claims.


          If you would like a one-to-one expert consultation with me on your employment issue than I can be contacted by emailing admin@legalbeaglesgroup.com

          I do not provide advice by PM although I may on occasion ask you to send me documents this way but any related advice will be provided back on your thread.

          I do my best to provide good practical advice, however I do so without liability.
          If you have any doubts then do please seek professional legal advice.


          You can’t always stop the waves but you can learn to surf.

          You are braver than you believe, smarter than you think and stronger than you seem.



          If we have helped you we'd appreciate it if you can leave a review on our Trust Pilot page

          Comment


          • #6
            the meeting was left with me saying "what if I can't get a bill" and them saying they would review everything and make a decision, they said if I could get a bill that would be helpful and clear things up. They didn't say whether or not there would be any more meetings etc.

            Isn't claiming overtime incorrectly fraud? Because I was paid? This is what I am worried about. I cannot prove the work I did aside from calls (how can I prove I was sat here reading notes for example?) even if the call was 5 mins long it could lead to a lot of paperwork...

            they are also suggesting I did the work during my normal hours (so work for team B during my team A hours). These teams are all within the same company doing very similar roles. Is this fraud? I did admit to doing some calls in team A hours but my manager had approved this (not in writing sadly). It is not unusual for teams to work for each other and swap around like this. In fact many times I have asked my manager to use some of team A time to do work for another team. I have messages from me saying to my manager "sorry but XXXXX doesn't want me using any more team A hours so I'll need to do more after work", I have weekly diary sheets and an email showing I was going to meetings for the other team and these are all sent to my manager, so I can prove she was aware I was doing work in team A hours for team B. However she might go down the lines of "not realising how much" or "changing her permission"

            I work so hard and I feel victimized by this. I am the only person who does so much extra hours, extra work etc. I never say no and I never complain. My patients love me and I have good relationships with my colleagues, I have done so much good for the company and it is so hurtful to be in this situation.

            Comment


            • #7
              In which case if they are looking to get some proof by way of a bill that you made these calls in the times you were claiming overtime then I suggest you go back to the company and let them know how you can get this information and that you are prepared to do this but it will need to be by way of a SAR to Gigg Gaff and will take up to a calendar month for them to provide the information.

              If the company decided to proceed down a discplinary process for incorrect claiming of overtime then yes they could determine that it was fraud and for which in most companies this would be considered gross misconduct. The outcome of gross misconduct is potentially dismissal, however it it not something they would go to the police about.

              If you have the approval from managers to work between teams then this can be taken into account and if any further investigation by the manager/HR is carrried out these managers can be asked to provide statements to support that was the way work was carried out by you.
              If you would like a one-to-one expert consultation with me on your employment issue than I can be contacted by emailing admin@legalbeaglesgroup.com

              I do not provide advice by PM although I may on occasion ask you to send me documents this way but any related advice will be provided back on your thread.

              I do my best to provide good practical advice, however I do so without liability.
              If you have any doubts then do please seek professional legal advice.


              You can’t always stop the waves but you can learn to surf.

              You are braver than you believe, smarter than you think and stronger than you seem.



              If we have helped you we'd appreciate it if you can leave a review on our Trust Pilot page

              Comment


              • #8
                thank you so much, I have been googling and scaring myself silly reading about people who have been jailed for claiming overtime they didnt work.

                I have today gone through the patient notes and can prove that they were all done in the hours of 6-10pm which are the hours I claimed for. Obviously I can't prove any research I did, any reading of notes or anything like that, but this at least proves some work was done during those hours.

                My worry is that there are some calls made during my normal hours (initially this was allowed, then my manager changed her mind as it ended up being long-term instead of short term. However since she changed her mind, there have been minimal calls during work hours, it's been quick "can we rearrange" type calls, which I admitted to in the meeting and wouldn't have affected my usual work). Occasional patient notes done during normal working hours but again, minimal.

                My worry is that they will try to say I did the overtime work during my normal working hours. This is not the case. I worked all the hours I claimed for. I actually worked more than I claimed for but that's beside the point.

                If they say I did some - or most of the overtime during my normal working hours, what happens then? As I can prove at least some overtime was done, but can't prove everything.

                If they decided to go to the police would I go to prison?

                I am not sure how much I earned - I would say no more than £4000 before tax - and that would be for all overtime hours. Obviously I can prove some of the work.

                The anxiety is stopping me sleeping and I can't concentrate, I love my job and I am good at it, I don't want to lose my job and I am terrified of going to prison as it means my kids would end up in care as I literally have nobody.

                To clarify, all of the work was done, I did work every hour I claimed, but in addition I worked extra hours I did not claim for and I did small amounts during my normal working hours (which my manager was OK with at first and only changed her mind recently, I can prove that she knew about it as she gets my diary emailed to her weekly).

                I am also worried they will try to suggest that the work I did didn't take as long as I am saying - the only other people who do the same job do it permanently, I am merely covering the role, so I am not as knowledgeable as them and it takes me longer to research things or do things.

                I am very disheartened by it all, I also have no idea what is happening, I didn't know it was a fact finding meeting because all they said at first was "informal chat" and when I got there I felt ambushed.

                What happens now? They aren't telling me anything, it was left with "if you could get the bill that would at least clear that side of it up" (the other side being my stress levels I assume?) I said ok, and that was that. I asked what happens if I can't get a bill. They said they'd review everything and make a decision, I don't know what that means either.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Maybe a lot of Googling is not a good thing for you to do at the moment. As I have said this is a matter between you and your employer.

                  As you have been there over 2 years if the company is going to take any disciplinary action then they will need to do so by following their disciplinary procedure, however you are not at this stage yet. As i said in post #5 you have been tasked by the manager/HR to provide a mobile phone bill, email these indiviudals about your discussion with Giff Gaff and see if they want you to make an SAR to get the information.
                  If you would like a one-to-one expert consultation with me on your employment issue than I can be contacted by emailing admin@legalbeaglesgroup.com

                  I do not provide advice by PM although I may on occasion ask you to send me documents this way but any related advice will be provided back on your thread.

                  I do my best to provide good practical advice, however I do so without liability.
                  If you have any doubts then do please seek professional legal advice.


                  You can’t always stop the waves but you can learn to surf.

                  You are braver than you believe, smarter than you think and stronger than you seem.



                  If we have helped you we'd appreciate it if you can leave a review on our Trust Pilot page

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Just to further reassure you, in my old role in a local authority, I uncovered serious timesheet fraud from a staff member - who was disciplined but resigned. There was never any thought to involve the police in any way, it didn’t even occur to me. The police do not bother to investigate multi million pound scams and fraud they will say this is a civil matter. X
                    "Although scalar fields are Lorentz scalars, they may transform nontrivially under other symmetries, such as flavour or isospin. For example, the pion is invariant under the restricted Lorentz group, but is an isospin triplet (meaning it transforms like a three component vector under the SU(2) isospin symmetry). Furthermore, it picks up a negative phase under parity inversion, so it transforms nontrivially under the full Lorentz group; such particles are called pseudoscalar rather than scalar. Most mesons are pseudoscalar particles." (finally explained to a captivated Celestine by Professor Brian Cox on Wednesday 27th June 2012 )

                    I am proud to have co-founded LegalBeagles in 2007

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                    Comment


                    • #11
                      thank you both.

                      I supplied the screenshots from giffgaff and the senior manager responded saying he had discussed with the CEO and they are now asking that I submit an SAR for my phone records.

                      Can they legally ask me to do this? If I refuse, can they dismiss me?

                      My colleagues have been raising concerns with me for a few weeks with regards to how I am being treated (publicly quizzed and scrutinized in the work group chat, degraded in the team meeting until my team stood up for me etc) and this is the final straw.

                      I suffer with OCD and anxiety which is normally stable, however since this I have become very unwell and my GP has now signed me off work for 2 weeks telling me that my employers should take heed of my mental health.

                      I have also gathered further proof by way of emails sent, notes uploaded, documents edited etc to prove I was working within the overtime hours. I have proof that one of the teams is in charge of recording my hours and proof of the work done for that team. I have some call logs from my work phone over the last month (as they are on the actual phone).

                      I feel harassed and violated and I am really distressed, my colleagues cannot believe this situation and neither can I.

                      Comment

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