How do people keep chipper?

[auntycabbage]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

Hi Trev

I just wanted to send you some support and hugs. I know some of what you are feeling. Keep strong!

xx

[FlamingParrot]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

For me the sanctions do not fit the "crime" and appear certainly over-harsh when considering the role. I would have thought an informal chat would have sufficed and for them to understand context. You have to understand the original allegation was theft, unproven and after 7 months this was the final charge.

Was that alleged theft of computer equipment?

Funny how fond employers are of the "T" word, once upon a time I also got a letter from an in-house shyster accusing me of theft (of intellectual property). :mmph:

[Trev1234]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

Hi FP

A member of staff took a photo of a box in my office which subsequently went missing - so the initial allegation was theft of a tablet device. There was no evidence or fact to this. It went on a fishing trip raising use of a parking pass (provided to me to support any failure in the ICT infrastructure), mgt behaviors which went no where to ICT Policy. I accepted I worked at home because of no test network and they threw ICT policy at me, dropping all others as no evidence. They slyly used "totting" up by breaking the ICT allegation into 5 parts and then by adding up each sanction gained a dismissal. I.e. Sanction 1 Final Written, Sanction 2 FW, 3 nothing, 4 FW, etc..... Only the disciplinary policy suggests totting "live" sanctions in separate incidents. These are all one incident broken down without any existing or "live" sanctions.

Had fun haven't I!

T

[FlamingParrot]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

What you say above is consistent with my experiences and those of others in a similar situation: once they make up their minds they are going to get rid of someone, the set out on a crusade to find 'evidence', making it up as they go along, as opposed to the other way round where some real wrong doing is noticed and then an investigation is started. :spy:

When I got the boot from a big F in$titution all those years ago, the woman in charge of the operation got IT to read my emails :ranger: and found a number of them between myself and a friend of mine whom she'd fired a couple of years earlier, who had found a good job at another bank. This was in the dark ages before smartphones and tablets, when webmail was in its infancy so we did use the company email. :ohwell: There was nothing untoward in our emails, yet she got compliance to ring the other bank's compliance dept. arguing an exchange of confidential information taking place. The other bank said quite clearly that was not the case, yet they still sacked my friend as a result of that operation. :rant:They read his emails and found some documents which they used as the basis to sack him for misrepresentation. It's always the cart before the horse!

[Trev1234]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

spot on - did you fight and it, and did you win?

T

[Trev1234]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

.....another thing if theu investigated everyone for breaching ICT policy they would be no one left!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

spot on - did you fight and it, and did you win?

T

I issued a claim and got a settlement but it took nearly a year. My friend, however, didn't get very far. His claim was submitted out of time for a start (by himself). :mmph: Mine was submitted literally in the nick of time, by my solicitor, who submitted it online on the dot at midnight on the last day! :scared: He only told me that after the fact, of course.

[Trev1234]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

They set my appeal for 29 Sept which is exactly the 3 month. I'm going to ACAS in the next few weeks after hopefully getting a green light from legals - though they are taking their time! I have another thread 'what's going on' which I think you know about - Teaboy has been my lead. I will update on that thread when I know more. Buggered if legals aren't the man from delmonte!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

.....another thing if theu investigated everyone for breaching ICT policy they would be no one left!

My investigation was something to shout about. I had an investigation meeting during which I was presented with reams of printouts of emails and web screenshots that said nothing other than I had a design portfolio online. I walked out of that meeting after three hours, when they moved on to the subject of my emails to the third party I mentioned earlier. :bolt: During the meeting I was told I was allegedly in possession of confidential information and intellectual property I shouldn't have and I had to 'sanitize' my computer.

The day after I got a phone call saying the company would be sending a cab to pick me up at home to take me to their offices with my home computer and my laptop for inspection. Back in those days I had both, my home computer was a tower with two internal HDs and an external unit. I always made a point of using the C: drive just for Windows and programs and kept my files on the D: drive and the external HD. I had just two hours warning so I made sure all my files were copied onto the D: drive, I then got a screwdriver and took out the D: drive leaving only one HD inside, then went to the DOS prompt and typed "format". I was going to re-install Windows but didn't have time before the CAB arrived. When I arrived at the offices, the evil mastermind took me to a little room with an IT guy who plugged the tower in and got nothing at all. He asked me how I booted up the PC and I said you had to boot from a floppy disk and handed him a floppy boot disk. He put it in, rebooted and got a C:> prompt! The evil mastermind asked him whether there was any company data on the PC, he replied "there isn't even Windows on here!" :bounce: I said I'd been told by the guy handling the investigation that I had to sanitize my computer the night before and I'd obeyed him!

Meanwhile the evil mastermind was inspecting my laptop that had very little if anything at all. I had a good laugh because they had to pay another cab to take me back home and I was a long distance commuter so the black cabs they booked cost them a few hundred quid, all for nothing! msl:msl:msl:

[Trev1234]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

Neat! I on the other hand didn't rebuild any equipment as I genuinely had nothing to hide - after all this I should have done!

Either way the sanctions are way too severe and inconsistent so regardless of any other facts this should be sufficient aligned to my role, JD and loose ICT policy. They ain't listening and I've been professional throughout but all they've been is complete shits! Even had the termerity to say I was a bloody good worker - eh?! Go figure!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

Neat! I on the other hand didn't rebuild any equipment as I genuinely had nothing to hide - after all this I should have done!

I had nothing to hide either, all their evidence was on a public website they'd thoroughly screen printed as well as the company's email system and the network drive that was allocated to me as my 'personal' drive. I did it to have a laugh at their expense, :evil: :evil: :evil: knowing full well that I was going to get the sack regardless what I did because the entire operation had been plotted for a year.

Either way the sanctions are way too severe and inconsistent so regardless of any other facts this should be sufficient aligned to my role, JD and loose ICT policy. They ain't listening and I've been professional throughout but all they've been is complete shits! Even had the termerity to say I was a bloody good worker - eh?! Go figure!

I also argued that if they had a problem with my having that stuff online, they should have given me a warning and asked me to take the site down, and only if I refused to do so then it would be fair enough to go for dismissal. Apparently not because it was GROSS misconduct and required summary dismissal. :scared:

It's a common ploy to say that you were good at your job, shame you decided to take the wrong turn by doing xyz when you had such a promising career ahead of you with the company.:violin::violin::violin:

[Trev1234]

Re: How do people keep chipper?

Actually the dismissal letter did state "you have let yourself down and colleagues down"! Cheek!

T