Advice re suspension.

[Flossie10]

I am writing this on behalf of my son. He is a shift manager for a well known courier company. Over the last 3 years he has been subjected to various allegations made by colleagues all of which have been unfounded. There has recently been a change of management who have made it clear that their intentions are to weed out all of the ‘dead wood’. (He has worked for the company for 7 years). It was made clear that anyone who didn’t fit with any new regime would be managed out with f the company.
He has now been suspended on the grounds of gross misconduct. This was as a result of him accepting a drink from someone who allegedly shook a vending machine to obtain drink and sweets. The alleged perpetrator denies the allegations against him saying he paid for his goods but one got stuck on the way out and he nudged the machine to make them fall. This person is a young black male who has also been subjected to racial harassment and bullying.
The incident happened in a few room where there were two other people. One of these people went to a manager stating he knew how to get two people sacked not raising any concern about any theft or other behaviour. He has today received the statements and photos taken and the evidence appears to be very flimsy. He was telephoned by one of the witnesses who stated that he was told that there would need to be reconsideration of his position in the company if he refused to make a
The incident has not been reported to the Police despite there being an allegation of theft. This all appears to be a nonsense. My son has mental health problems which his employers are aware of and have not managed well. Increasing his workload and bullying are just a small part of the problem. Another issue is that there was a 7 day period from when the incident first occurred and both parties being suspended which is not in line with the company’s procedures as if it is gross misconduct the the suspension should have been immediate. They have also indicated that they would not be paid during the investigation period.
Sorry this is such a long and rambling post but some advice is needed as to what his rights are.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this.

[echat11]

Is he member of a union? By the the description of events, all your son did was accept a 'vending machine drink' from a colleague who paid for it, but the drink didn't appear, so remedial action was taken against the vending machine. It does sound 'ridiculous' reason for suspending both employees.

I would actually raise a Formal Grievance in writing (covering all the poor treatment your son has received by colleagues / company), the suspension / gross misconduct isn't an isolated incident, but sounds like a continuation of poor treatment against your son by the colleagues / company over a long period of time.

If he has a disiplinary meeting, he needs to take a colleague who can take notes etc.

Wait for ULA to provide advice before you do anything.

[Flossie10]

Many thanks for your reply echat11. He has a meeting on Friday but was only notified today. We are preparing information for a grievance and he will take someone to the meeting. His concern is that they f they want to dismiss him the effect this would have on his ability to get another job. He also has been collecting evidence about his treatment and how he has been made to manage a higher workload than other colleagues in the same position. There has never been any concerns raised regarding his actual performance as he is careful to make sure he does his job properly. The allegations have been awful and none have been proven but as he said if you throw enough mud.

[echat11]

I might be wrong on this, but if you get the Formal Grievance in, then they would have to delay the Disciplinary meeting and deal with the Formal Grievance first. He needs to refer to his employee handbook.

https://www.acas.org.uk/grievance-pr...e-step-by-step

Also keep checking the thread for ULA's advice.

[ULA]

Sorry ot hear about your sons situation.

Firstly it is very unlikely that even if the company reported the "theft" to the police that they would be the slightest bit interested given the value of a few drinks, so my view is this would be unlikely to happen.

I presume the meeting on Fri is part of the investigatory process and that the information he has received is for him to prepare for this meeting. If I am correct in that assumption then since it is an investigatory meeting there is no right for him to be accompanied as in a disciplainary meeting, although some companies do allow this as part of their procedures, so please check that situation.

If the company has not complied with its own procedures then this would need to be brought up at the meeting by your son - just so that it is on record.

In regard to whether your son should be paid whilst he is suspended, typically this is the norm unless again the company policy specifcally states that employees will not be paid whilst on suspension for gross misconduct. This is something that he should check.

In regard to any grievance that your son wishes to raise about his treatment then this needs to be based on recent incidents not historical and he would need to be able to document, date, time, place, what happened, who was involved and was there anyone present who witnessed the incident/s.

Raising a grievance may not lead to the current process being suspended/ceased whilst the grievance is being dealt with and the company could decide to run both processed concurrently.

Hope that helps but if you have any further questions plesae come back to this thread.

[Flossie10]

Thank you ULA for taking the time to read the lengthy post. Thank you chart for you reply. There has already been an investigation meeting the meeting Friday is the disciplinary meeting. It is being conducted by someone who was involved in the n taking statements during the investigation. Does this make them impartial. This was also the person who suggested to the be of the witnesses that their position in the company may need to be reviewed if they do not make a statement as they were initially reluctant.
Many thanks for your help.

[ULA]

Hi Flossie10 sorry not to respond sooner I was not online yesterday.

In my opinion 2 days notice is a bit short for him to prepare for a disciplinary meeting but it would also depend on how much information they had provided him as evidence they are relying on. Hopefully he was given the right to be accompanied.

I am not sure how large your son's company is but I would suggest that a different manager should deal with the disciplinary meeting than the person who carried out the investigaton just as you say to maintain a fair, impartial process.