Definition of Gross Misconduct

[michael callaghan]

I am posting this on behalf of a friend.
This person has been working for Yell.com for the past 3 months. Her main task was to bring on new customers and appease existing ones who had become very disillusioned with Yell service. She did an excellent job and recovered a large number of customers who were about to leave. But she did a very silly thing. With one of the new customers she got a contract signed in the normal way. When she got home she was double checking all the contracts she had done that day. When she came to this person`s contract , she noticed that she had done something wrong and overcharged the customer. Because of her workload and lack of time, she decided to amend the contract and get it sent off to Yell quickly. She subsequently rang Yell and advised them of the situation and to disregard the first contract. Unfortunately she initialed the amended contract with the customers initials.

Now this lady has been sacked for gross misconduct, even though it was done in the interest of the customer. There was no fraud intended in any way. She got no notice whatsoever. She was just called in to see a manager and sacked. She did not even get a chance to explain herself. She has also been told that any bonus`s due will not be paid. But she has earned he bonus`s fair and square.
What do you think she can do now as far as employment law is concerned ?

[leclerc]

Re: Definition of Gross Misconduct

The basics facts you have given are summarised like this.
Your friend initialed a contract for a client because she had made a mistake. However, the initial on that contract was fraudulent as the company had not made the amendment. She then admitted to Yell that the contract was null and void because she had committed fraud by signing for the company which she had no authority or right to do. That is gross misconduct 100% which results in pay up to the date of sacking but if bonuses were due after that date then she is ineligible for them. The basic facts are 100% correct for the employer.


There are only procedural things that can be considered such as length of time working for the employer. How long had she worked for the company? If it's less than 2 years then I think there may well be a problem even considering any appeal.

Please wait for others to provide advice but I don't personally think there is much wrong with what was done based on the facts of the case.

[michael callaghan]

Re: Definition of Gross Misconduct

I`m not sure if you have slightly misunderstood my post.
My friend had the authority to act on behalf of Yell to make amendments to a contract. In this case she was trying to help her customer, and not trying to defraud anybody. Surely a tribunal would look at the reason she did this. It was completely non malicious.
She did not actually admit to Yell that that the first contract was null and void because she had fraudulently initialed the second one, she simply was informing them that she had made amendments in favour of the customer and to save time she initialed it herself. There was no party getting hurt here, everything was done in good faith.
Does ACAS or a tribunal look at the reasons behind a wrong doing ? and make a fair decision based on the reason.

[leclerc]

Re: Definition of Gross Misconduct

If she initialed something that the client was supposed to initial then that constitutes gross misconduct.
If the paperwork required the client to initial paperwork and not YELL and she had initialed the part that the client was supposed to do to save time then that is gross misconduct even if by doing so it saved time and was to the benefit of the client.

[Amethyst]

Re: Definition of Gross Misconduct

Sadly leclerc is correct

Unfortunately she initialed the amended contract with the customers initials.

It simply constitutes fraud, it may have been with the best of intentions but the contract should have gone back to the client to be authorised. That would constitute gross misconduct I'm afraid. Had she initialed it with her own initials that would have been fine, but to forge the customers initials is something that could get the company into a whole heap of trouble.

[michael callaghan]

Re: Definition of Gross Misconduct

I understand where you are coming from, but how would a tribunal look at it if the Yell representative did not really anticipate or expect this outcome of events.
Should Yell or any company give examples in their disciplinary policy of what they would consider to be gross misconduct. In situations, where it is possible for employees to assume that they are only committing a minor misdemeanor, or even no misdemeanor at all - Yell should surely ensure that they are aware of the consequences, if they were to treat it as gross misconduct. If an ex-employee can reasonably argue that they were sacked for doing something they had no reason to suppose was a sack able offense , they must surely have a chance of winning at an Employment Tribunal.

[Amethyst]

Re: Definition of Gross Misconduct

Sadly fraud will be gross misconduct.

Your friend appears to have only worked with Yell for 3 months so even were she dismissed for gross miscodnuct when she feels it should be a warning for misconduct, she has pretty much no rights, unless she was dismissed because of a protected characteristic (like ethnicity, sex, age etc etc)