8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

[Pinkchick]

Hi i'm really hoping someone could help me please?

I was suspended from work around 8 weeks ago for suspected bonus fraud and miss-selling. While I have been off and suspended I stupidly made a comment on a closed group (an employee was leaving the business so opened this page to invite people for leaving drinks, but it was closed meaning no public could read or see anything) on Facebook, my comment said "sorry I can't come, some gimp at "**"(my workplace) screwed me over. There was also another comment but not on this page in question but my own page which didn't state who I worked for or what I did (nowhere have I stated who my employee is), I wrote I had had a bad day because of a power mad assistant manager. I understand I was more than stupid to do this but didn't believe I was doing anything wrong.

I had my disciplinary yesterday, which the outcome was dismissal for miss-use of the social media policy. I was cleared of the bonus fraud and the miss-selling. I have read through the social media policy and it doesn't state anywhere about gross misconduct. In the disciplinary policy where it states what can be classed as gross misconduct the only thing I can find relating to this would be "rudeness or other unacceptable behaviour towards customers or colleagues" and "acts of bullying or violence, including physical assault"

I suffer from depression on and off and have a history of this. When I wrote this on Facebook I had just been suspended and didn't know what or how to feel and stupidly feeling very depressed led to this. I know this is no excuse.

I am waiting for my outcome letter to arrive in the post then I can think about appealing. DO you think there is any use in appealing?

Thanks in advance.

[bluebottle]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi and welcome to Legal Beagles.

I feel it is going to be a case of "Is your employer acting reasonably?" or "Would any right-minded person consider your employer's actions to be reasonable in the circumstances?" I will bump this for one of our Employment Law specialists to look in and give you more focused advice.

:bump:

[Pinkchick]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi and welcome to Legal Beagles.

I feel it is going to be a case of "Is your employer acting reasonably?" or "Would any right-minded person consider your employer's actions to be reasonable in the circumstances?" I will bump this for one of our Employment Law specialists to look in and give you more focused advice.

:bump:

Thank you....I'm making myself ill over this.

[Tools]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi

Can you post up the wording of your employers social media policy, missing out any company identifying names. If you have an electronic version could you PM or email it to me admin@legalbeagles.info.

[Pinkchick]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi I will send you over the social media policy, Thanks

[Pinkchick]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Have sent it via email thanks

[Tools]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Thanks, I`ve read through it and you seem to have gone against their Social Media Policy which then transfers across to their Harassment & Bullying Policy.

Derogatory remarks made have been interpreted as breaching this policy to which they clearly state it may be classed as gross misconduct that they may deal with by summary dismissal.

I understand that you did not identify yourself as an ** employee on the second comment but assume this was common knowledge to your friends.

I`m afraid that in my opinion, which is not legally qualified, you do not have the prospect of appeal. I am happy to be corrected by others and below is the wording from the policy.

[Pinkchick]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi thanks for that. It wasn't common knowledge who I worked for. It's not something I ever wanted to advertise tbh. I never named names on the comments and the "gimp" was no longer an employee of the company. I understand now what I have done and i'm kicking myself. Might it be worth an appeal with a massive personal apology thrown in? I do feel that the route they have gone down is very harsh. I have never had any warnings of any kind for anything and this seems so small but yet led to dismissal. Im quite happy to take a first and final warning

Thanks

[charitynjw]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi pinkchick, & welcome to Legal Beagles.

One thing you haven't mentioned is how long you had worked for your employer.

If you started after April 2012, you can't take it to an Employment Tribunal anyway, as you would require 2 year's continuous employment to do so.
This would therefore give your (now ex-) employer the upper hand.

If you started before that date, you may have a reasonable argument & it might be worth appealing.

[Inca]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

There is a saying (quoting Amethyst here)..if you don't want it repeating don't say it on internet (or words to that effect),,and I have to agree with Tools.......unless there is anything in Charitys post that applies to you,I can't see any way you can fight it....you did it..they saw it...
Sorry

[Pinkchick]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Hi thanks for that. I was employed from March 2012.

[bluebottle]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Having looked at the employer's Social Media Policy document, kindly posted by Tools, my first impression of it is that the first paragraph borders on the oppressive. All I can do is refer back to the comment I made in my first post in this thread, "Would any right-minded person consider the employer's actions to be reasonable in the circumstances?" and amend it to read "Would any right-minded person consider the employer's Social Media Policy to be reasonable?" I would certain like to know who it was that drafted it because they do not appear to have a clue how the law works in its widest sense. If it was a so-called "HR Consultant", I would be very concerned as these people tend, more often than not, to overlook other areas of the law and, quite often, land employers in hot water to the point where the employer gets badly burned.

[charitynjw]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

Ok.

Before 6th April 2012, you only need 1 year's continuous service to be eligible for an unfair dismissal claim.

It still won't be easy, but there are possibilities.

First the bad news; it now costs to go to Tribunal.
£230 to lodge a complaint; £950 to actually go to the hearing.
But it often costs the employer a good deal more, which may give you some leverage.

As regards the actual 'offence', dismissals concerning social media sites are a relatively new phenomenon, so as such there is little in the way of actual case law.
The way it seems to be looked at is, the more public, & the more explicit/derogatory the comments, the more likely it will be 'gross misconduct'.

Two contrasting cases are Preece v J D Wetherspoons plc and Witham v Club 24 Ltd

Have a read through both, see what you think.

You can also contact ACAS & ask their opinion; they offer a mediation service.

Keep us posted, as feedback does help. :tinysmile_grin_t:

[Tools]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

BB, the snippets I pasted are only a small piece of the policy, it is extensive and IMO reasonable for such a company. Their brand/product could easily be affected and suffer loss by comments made online.

[bluebottle]

Re: 8 week suspension led to Dismissal yesterday, please help

BB, the snippets I pasted are only a small piece of the policy, it is extensive and IMO reasonable for such a company. Their brand/product could easily be affected and suffer loss by comments made online.

I can only go by what was posted up, though, having said that, some employers' Social Media Policies I have seen leave a lot to be desired.