Suspended from work for serious allegation

[annalouise]

Hi,

I am a student living in my university town, and have worked within a pub for the past 1 year and 4 months. I have never had a day off sick, never been in any sort of trouble whatsoever, and have always got on really well with everybody, staff and customers.

Last Sunday, I turned up for work as usual, and my assistant manager was being his usually chatty and friendly self with me and just asked if before I started could I pop upstairs with himself for a quick meeting. When I went upstairs, I was surprised to see the business director (it is a family business) sat there. As soon as I sat down, the business director instructed the assistant manager to write down the time of the interview. I was then accused of stealing money and stock from the company for months, much to my shock. I was told that I had been a suspect for months upon months, and they now had CCTV evidence of this. When I said I couldn't believe what they were accusing me of, I was asked whether I was denying the allegations, to which I replied of course, and then the assistant manager was instructed to write this down also.

When I asked to see the CCTV images, I was not shown then but instead I was read out a list of separate instances. From these instances, I noticed that none were direct evidence of me stealing, they appeared to be normal acts that all staff would do but had been twisted in to making them seem like I was up to something dodgy. When I tried to explain the events they mentioned, and that they had simply tried to use normal actions and twist them, I was told I was a thief and a liar. I was in a bad state and every time I attempted to speak I was just told I was a liar and eventually told to get out of the office and an final disciplinary hearing would take place after it had been investigated. I was also told this was a police investigation in to a criminal offence.

Ironically, I am have just graduated in a Criminology and Social Policy degree. I am currently looking and applying for a full-time job within the police/probation/intelligence sectors. So for them to accuse me of being a criminal, when dealing with criminals is the career field I want to go in to, is completely absurd. I have obviously been terrified by this whole thing and felt completely intimidated, I have never been in any sort of trouble in my life and am a very honest person and to be accused of something as serious as this has hit me really hard.

I approached the police station myself to try and get the crime reference number so that I could sort my legal advice out, and was told that no case had been made, and that they believed it sounded dodgy. They also said if they strongly believed they had enough evidence, then the police would be involved, and probably have been at the meeting. I also would not have been allowed to work there for almost a year since the suspicions were first apparently raised. I know the company are in money troubles, and I was due to leave in two weeks anyway. The only other part-time staff member who has worked there the same amount of time has a father who is a solicitor, and she was told almost a year ago when this first started she would obviously not be a suspect. I feel like I've been picked on as I live alone here with no family, I am a student with little money, and have never been in any situation like this before and so clearly don't know what to do. Im terrified it will jepordise my future job prospects after I have worked so hard for the last three years.

Also the manager of the business said to me and another member of staff a few weeks ago that since she has taken over in September 2013, she has not noticed any money or stock going missing whatsoever and so never understood what those suspicions were about with regards to losses in the first place. None of it seems to make sense.

I was also due to be paid my months wages today, and these have not been paid. Are they allowed to do this?

I'm very concerned about everything, and don't know what I can do about it. I know I have not done anything wrong so I would be happy for police to investigate, I don't understand why they aren't even though the company said they have "evidence".

Thank you for any help and apologies for the long post (there is a lot to this I am struggling to cut it down).

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Hi and welcome to Legal Beagles.

Making allegations of the nature this "director" has made is a very serious matter and if there is no substantial evidence to support it, he could be in very serious trouble indeed.

If they had any evidence of the acts they allege you carried out, they would have produced this at the time. Also, their actions at this meeting and the fact the business is in financial trouble says a lot. Pointing the finger at an innocent person is a tactic I have come across before, especially where a business owner is trying to cover up discrepancies and irregularities in the accounts.

You ask about your wages. The law is quite clear; if you have carried out work for someone, they must pay you for carrying out that work.

I am going to leave other LB members to look in and advise, but you may need to consider seeking a Without Notice Part 8 Injunction in order to stop this "director" making any further false/wrongful allegations and to enforce your wages. Incidentally, how much are you owed in wages?

[annalouise]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

One more thing, am I allowed to record on my phone the final disciplinary hearing? As I feel they are dodgy people and they are trying to say things to me that they feel I won't understand and so are going to claim whatever they want. Unfortunately for them I am not willing to lie over and just take this accusation, I want to fight it wherever possible. If I could record it I could then have it for my own records to make sense of afterwards. Can I do this?
Thank you!

[annalouise]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Thank you very much. I have felt lost as I am aware that the law has changed now and if you have been working for an employer for less than two years you cannot take them to a tribunal etc so you basically have no rights?

I am owed around 500. The thing that bugs me the most is I put a lot of those hours in around the time of my dissertation deadline and exams, so do not want to have done all that for nothing.

Thanks for your help

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

This is why I am leaving my post open for other LB members to look in and advise. A number of LB members currently work in or have worked in law enforcement or the legal profession and there are others are very experienced in employment matters.

[enquirer]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Annalouise:

Family business, you as the outsider. Business in serious financial trouble.

Your analysis is probably correct - you are being set up as the fall guy. Their intention is probably to sack you and then write the discrepencies off - probably as part of an insurance fraud. You might consider reporting your suspicions to the Police.

As dismissal could threaten your career, forthright action is required. You might care to engage a solicitor to write them a very stiff letter pointing out the seriousness of their allegations and inviting them to substantiate them.

Record them covertly. Phones are rather obvious, there are some ideas here: http://www.onlinespyshop.co.uk/

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Annalouise:

Family business, you as the outsider. Business in serious financial trouble.

Your analysis is probably correct - you are being set up as the fall guy. Their intention is probably to sack you and then write the discrepencies off - probably as part of an insurance fraud. You might consider reporting your suspicions to the Police.

As dismissal could threaten your career, forthright action is required. You might care to engage a solicitor to write them a very stiff letter pointing out the seriousness of their allegations and inviting them to substantiate them.

Record them covertly. Phones are rather obvious, there are some ideas here: http://www.onlinespyshop.co.uk/

I agree with your analysis, Enquirer. I am minded to suggest a Without Notice Part 8 injunction and putting the employer to strict proof as well. It may have the effect of stopping the employer dead in their tracks as well as force them into paying the wages that are due. Also, since Part 8 injunctions carry criminal sanctions, this might provide an incentive to the employer to stop behaving like some small-time mobster.

[leclerc]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Hold your horses everyone for one cotton picking minute. Anna Louise has stated that she has two weeks left in the job. I have two questions: Are you suspended on FULL PAY? They should have provided a letter to this affect after this so called meeting....
Furthermore, when does your job end?

In terms of pay, that is an unlawful deduction of wages so I would assume a solicitor would write to the company demanding them.

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Hold your horses everyone for one cotton picking minute. Anna Louise has stated that she has two weeks left in the job. I have two questions: Are you suspended on FULL PAY? They should have provided a letter to this affect after this so called meeting....
Furthermore, when does your job end?

In terms of pay, that is an unlawful deduction of wages so I would assume a solicitor would write to the company demanding them.

Whilst I agree with what you say, Leclerc, the employer has made some very serious allegations against Annalouise and has not produced a single scrap of evidence in support of them. This employer needs putting back in their box PDQ as well as a sharp shock to stop them repeating allegations capable of causing huge damage to Annalouise's reputation and employment prospects.

[Harmonica]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

It would appear that they have unlawfully deducted your wages. However, as you have only worked there for a year and a half, why don't they just sack you? You haven't been working there long enough to make an unfair dismissal claim.

[annalouise]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Thank you all so much for your help. I managed to get my wages paid eventually after sending a letter referring to the Employment Rights Act. I also had my hearing with them to discuss the allegations, to which they showed me three CCTV clips all of which were almost laughable, and to which I had an explanation for all. They came back to me a few days later to let me know they believed me and I had good explanations, and that they had dropped the allegations

Although now, I am confused. During this meeting they also brought to light some of the "house rules" of the company, such as handing personal money to the manager to be locked securely in the office at the start of the shift, drinking behind the bar, etc. Now, I was happy to admit in the meeting that I had forgotten all about these rules, and do occasionally have my tap water/tea behind the bar. My work colleague who accompanied me to the meeting also freely admitted she also regularly breaks these "rules". We were then told that they are pinned up on the notice board so there were no excuses for forgetting them. However, these rules have never been made visable since I was shown them at the start of my employment well over a year ago. My colleague also said that she had never seen the list of these rules (quite a hefty list!!) since commencing her employment. The company directors response to this was that this was the fault of the managers, and when my colleague informed the director that the managers themselves constantly break all of these rules, his response was that it wasn't really our fault then as they should be visible and managers should be enforcing them. These rules were never brought up in the suspension hearing, and I was told that after I sent the letter about my wages the company director came in to the pub scrounging around for these rules as they said I had legal teams involved. So I believe they knew they had nothing on me with regards to stealing, and so were looking for anything else they could find. I was not aware these would be discussed in the final hearing.

I have now been informed that I have been dismissed not for stealing, but for breaking these house rules. I have no complaints with this as I willingly admit I had forgotten what the list of rules were. My only query though, is that even though my other work colleague sat next to me and said she and all of the other members of staff at the pub do not follow these rules that we haven't seen since being employed, no other members of staff have been dismissed because of this. In the meeting, we were even shown on CCTV a clip of another member of staff breaking one of these rules by pouring himself a coke behind the bar (as this happened during one of the clips of one of the 'stealing' clips) and were told that he had been held in a meeting because of this. I have acted no differently to any other employee there, and so if I am being dismissed for these reasons that other people have also freely admitted to, surely they should also be dismissed?

My employer acted as though he was doing me a favor in the phone conversation, saying I am being dismissed but it's only a piece of paper and if anyone asks him for a reference he will say I've been the reliable, honest, hard-working employee that I have been for the past year and 4 months. In the official letter, I never received so much as an apology for the stealing claims, and this was not mentioned at all in the letter to say that I was found not guilty of this. So I am left wondering if they are dismissing me for these house rules just to keep me away from the pub to keep their back covered. It is an insult to me that after the way I have been treated over all of this, and the fact that word has spread around the town I work in about this as they never kept it confidential at all (everyone thinking I am a thief) and then this is the outcome.

Am I being discriminated against if I am dismissed over something when all other employees who acted in the same way are not?

The saga continues!!

Thank you for your help.

[Harmonica]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Am I being discriminated against if I am dismissed over something when all other employees who acted in the same way are not?

Not unless you can prove that the less favourable treatment you have received is as a result of unlawful discrimination. You have been treated unfairly but unfortunately that is not against the law, especially as you have not worked there for two years or more. Therefore, unless you can prove that your treatment is as a result of anything in the list below, you have not been unlawfully discriminated against I'm afraid:

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;
• race, caste, ethnicity, national origin or skin colour;
• religion or belief;
• sex;
• sexual orientation;
• part-time work;
• fixed-term work;
• trade union membership or activities.
• Raising a health and safety concern
• Raising a matter that is genuinely in the public interest.

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

I would be inclined to warn Jobcentre Plus about these employers. It is possible JCP has received other complaints about them.

[leclerc]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Strangely, I am drawn in again by this thread. I was going to respond to Bluebottle's comment but now, I am looking at something different.
As far as I am aware, the company director has used evidence not already presented to you prior to the meeting which appears to be slightly odd.
Furthermore, I wonder whether your representative was later then brought in for a disciplinary as well since clearly they had done the same as yourself?

Very very very strange way of doing business.

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended from work for serious allegation

Strangely, I am drawn in again by this thread. I was going to respond to Bluebottle's comment but now, I am looking at something different.
As far as I am aware, the company director has used evidence not already presented to you prior to the meeting which appears to be slightly odd.
Furthermore, I wonder whether your representative was later then brought in for a disciplinary as well since clearly they had done the same as yourself?

Very very very strange way of doing business.

You noticed it as well, Leclerc.

I do know that JCP keep an eye on employers who have a high turnover of staff, or where there is evidence of undue familiarity, or sexual harassment, or repeated breaches of health and safety legislation and a number of other matters. The usual sanction is to refuse to accept orders from such employers for vacancies.