Gross misconduct issue

[Ephesians]

I am very concerned about my daughter who has been going through a disciplinary on gross misconduct for 14months.

She was suspended in September ‘23 and this was reversed in September ‘24 after she had her “fact finding” meeting being told that the terms had been assessed / reviewed (the suspension was not regularly reviewed as far as we are aware as she never had communication around this until a year).

The allegations are around fraud and approvals for company taxis. (She is a scapegoat as far as I can tell for more senior personally). She presented 55 pages of screenshots via email showing work which was alleged to be fraud ahead of the first meeting. She has had 3 meetings and is waiting to hear if there is another one or not before going to a formal hearing.

She had a mental health crisis during this time and I am supporting her with a personal injury claim via a solicitor outside of the disciplinary issue against the organisation - organisation not yet received the paperwork.

One thing she hasn’t done is raise a grievance yet, the RCN union advised to wait until the outcome to do this as it may have more weight at tribunal - is this right ?

Grievance would be around - failure to follow process/ lack of objectivity/ failure to provide duty of care / lack of confidentiality / flawed investigation evidence/ conflict of interest with those involved in the process/ unlawful suspension.

if she gets a bad outcome at a hearing she will take the decision to tribunal but I am wondering if legally there is any benefit in raising a grievance around the ongoing issues now first. The issue is she is on medication / can’t leave the house and this is ongoing with the organisation not listening or improving their communication.

[ULA]

My first comment is this whole process for your daughter has taken so long and is still ongoing.

If her suspension was reversed in Sept was she expected to return back to work, which I presume she has not been able to do for medical reasons?

How is the organisation handling your daughter's absence from work, I am guessing not well given the comments in the final paragraph of your post.

Are the RCN union saying to wait raising a grievance until she hears whether they are going proceed to a disciplinary hearing? Are the grounds for the grievance those being advised by the union?

Has your daughter been provided with a timescale as to when they will be getting back to her and what was the date of her last meeting?

Just wanting to get some more detail before considering the timing of raising a grievance around the way the process has been handled.

[Ephesians]

Thanks for your reply.

When the suspension was reversed they said she could remain off on paid leave until the investigation has concluded unless she wanted to work in another area which she didn’t.

The union have advised on the future grievance themes which she agrees with.

Absence from work - not good, she hasn’t been told what her colleagues were told but she knows from a work friend everyone was told not to contact her and it was confidential. However information has been leaked since (not by her).

[Ephesians]

The last formal meeting was 15th November then there was another separate meeting on 29th November with someone else from HR to apologise for the delay but no timescale given….

the union have advised to wait until the decision to proceed to hearing or not is known before submitting the grievance.

[Ephesians]

Bumping

[Ephesians]

So to update - there is no case to answer however my daughter is being forced redeployment to another area of the organisation. Similar role and same level however this is against her will. The contract is with the employer not the specific business area however our understanding is that a contract should imply they can move someone though we may be wrong… any thoughts ? Grievance not submitted yet - should it be now ?

[ULA]

So I am assuming the investigation has been concluded and the outcome is that no disciplinary action will be taken. Has a reason been given as to why she is being redeployed e.g. due to changes in the department whilst on suspension?

Are any other terms of her employment changing e.g. location of work, hours etc?

Given your daughter was advised by the RCN union to wait until the outcome then now she has this I am sure they are advising her to submit it.

[Ephesians]

No change other than the area and the reason is “departmental changes” however the job still exists and the changes would be far greater in a completely new area !
yes they have advised to submit but not until this has been sorted. I suppose though she wants to submit it with this issue included before she is formally forced elsewhere ?

[Ephesians]

Bumping! HR have accepted that my daughter will return to her old role however there will be “adjustments”. It’s clear to us they don’t want her back but just asking for help in how to navigate this and when to submit the grievance….. she has no idea about any return date

[ULA]

My view is that your daughter should write to her employer, given that she has now been told that she will be returning to her old role, and suggest setting up a meeting as soon as convenient to discuss both the "adjustments" and a date for her returning.

See what there response is as that may determine whether her next step is to raise the grievance.

[Ephesians]

Thanks, she has been made aware of confidentiality breaches. Can she take legal action around this or does it get lumped in with the overall grievance?

[ULA]

By being "made aware of confidentiality breaches" do you mean they are investigating her for these?

[Ephesians]

No - they have revealed details of her investigation and allegations to members of staff in her old team. This has caused gossip and some fake news which we understand to be reputational damage ?

[ULA]

Firstly an employer has a duty of care to employees and should not engage in any action that could harm the reputation of the employee.

Secondly they need to adhere to their own policy on dealing with a disciplinary process which should have some commentary on confidentiality for those involved in the process.

If she has proof that people outside of the process that managed her suspension and the investigation are aware of the situation and there is no reason why they should have been made aware, then she may wish to consider this being included in her grievance.

[Ephesians]

Thank you - we have been looking at the employment tribunal timescale of 3 months after the issue - would this be ok from the point a grievance is not upheld? The issue started over a year ago so hope that doesn’t mean the deadline has passed ?