Worried about my future - please help

[Huffy2403]

Hello - I am looking for some advise please.

I have worked for my current employer for 3.5 years and was promoted 1.5 years ago to a Manager position. In my new role I manage a team of customer support people - who are all women. ( This is relevant so please bear with me ).

I use facebook but have never used it at work until earlier this year ( 2016). I discovered that my facebook account had been hacked and I had been subscribed to a group that was inappropriate. It was not pornographic but did show ladies in their underwear and some of posts were a bit saucy.

Due to the nature of this group and my position within the business, I panicked and logged on to facebook using my work computer to try and get rid of this group and ensure that I was not associated to it any more.

Unfortunately this was discovered and I am now on suspension for bringing the company into disrepute and my trust and confidence as a manger is broken.

I am absolutely devastated, as I have never done anything like this before and whilst the group could only be viewed by other group members, I wanted to ensure that no one knew of this.

I have attended an investigation meeting and I am worried that I will be fired for gross misconduct. I made it clear in this investigation meeting that I had nothing to do with this group and the posts that used my username used was not me.

I have an unblemished reputation in this current role but, if I am fired - I don't see how I could get another job if this is the case.

I am also worried that if I am lucky enough to keep my job - they may demote me. if this is the case, don,t know if I could face everyone at work afterwards.

Should I offer to resign and what could be the consequences of me doing this. I would have to give 3 months notice so would they have to still pay me ?

Your help and assistance would be greatly accepted.

[teaboy2]

Re: Worried about my future - please help

Whats the companies IT policy on use of social media on company IT equipment?

Did you tell them you account had been hacked? If it was hacked did you post a status on your facebook explianing this in reference to the group page thing, once you discovered the hack? If so, do you have evidence of this i.e. is the status still visible? If it is, then take a screen shot as it will show the date and time and show it to the person conducting the investigation/disciplinary and that is evidence that you yourself were a victim of a crime under The Computer Misuse Act (1990), where the perpretator had used either their own home computer or a 3rd partys computer to perpretate the crime of hacking your facebook account. Therefore it will prove that your yourself were a victim of crime and that should they continue with the disciplinary process against you, they would themselves be found to victimising you for being the unfortunate victim of a crime!

Given its common for peoples facebook accounts to be hacked, they would have great difficulty, should you have posted a statement that you account had been hacked the the time to recovered your account, to have any grounds for reasonable belief that you had brought the company into disrepute. Therefore they can not sack you. But alot lies on whether you told them in the investigation if the account had been hacked, and if you posted a statement to that effect as a status update on facebook. Also look at the dates and times of the posts the hacker made to the group, if they occured in work time, and not via a mobile, then ask the company how could you have possibly posted such comments if you were at work, the comments were made via a computer not a mobile phone, and the only computers avaliable to you during work time is the company computers! I bet they have no record of you using the computers at the times the hacker posted the comments.

Also finally, why was the group inappropriate: Images of ladies in their underwear appear on the highstreets shops windows, newspapers, internet adverts etc. Just because your office is full of women, it doesn't mean being a member of such a ground amounts to bringing the company in to disrepute. What is their explanation as to how it brings the company into disrepute? Am sure your female colleagues also members of similar groups showing men in their boxers or similar semi nude male models!!


At the moment no formal disciplinary process has been started against you. Yes you have been suspended (gardening leave) pending informal investigatory meeting (investigatory meetings are seperate from formal disciplinary process). The investigator, will have taken onboard what you have said, and recommend to the employer whether to take formal disciplinary action or recomend that no disciplinary action be taken - Which if the investigator is worth his/her salt, they will recommend no action be taken - Alternatively they may make no recomendation at all, and simply present their findings to the employer for the employer to then decide if it wants to take formal disciplinary action. - So at the moment, your not under formal disciplinary action and its vital you understand that, because clearly you currently think your already being disciplined for this as part of disciplinary process and theres no going back, which is not the case as they haven't started formal disciplinary action against you. So do not resign, they have not grounds to give you a verbal let along dismiss you, they certainly have no grounds to accuse you of bringing the company in to disrepute either.

The only thing they may have is dependant on what the the company IT policy says about use of social media i.e. not permitted to use company computers for personal use, or not permitted to use company computers for social media purposes or similar. If it doesn't anything similar to those examples, then your not in breach of IT policy either!

So for now, stop worrying, enjoy your time off and the free money (i assume your suspended with pay. if not let me know) and just keep us updated on how things progress!

[Huffy2403]

Re: Worried about my future - please help

Hi Teaboy2,

Thanks for your comprehensive reply.

Interestingly enough I have discovered some more information, yesterday afternoon, which makes for some very interesting reading.

After speaking to ACAS - they advised that I requested the date and time stamps of the posts that I was supposed to have made ( BTW the comments are what have made the situation as it is - not the photos of women in their underwear ).

I received this information and every single one of the alleged comments that I have made, were made outside of working hours......

Therefore the IT company policy should never have been brought into this equation ( in my opinion ). Trouble is I have now confessed to logging onto my Facebook account during work time.

What makes this even worse is that - as this group that the hacker had signed me up to, is a closed group and all posts / comments can only be seen by other group members. It doesn't appear on either my public or friends profile ( this is what I wanted to check when I used my company computer ). Therefore I can only conclude that the person who brought this to the attention of the company must be a member. I happen to know that one other staff member is a member of this group, but I am struggling to believe that this person would have reported me ( as I thought they were a friend of mine ).

I didn't post a comment to say my account had been hacked - as I had already discovered that membership of this group would not have been known to anyone outside of the group. Good call though - for the future, if I should ever need it.

I am on full pay, whilst suspended - but the agony of this situation is killing me.

I will just have to wait to see what the outcome of their investigation is - but like you say, I am hoping that they wont take it any further.

Many thanks for your assistance.

[teaboy2]

Re: Worried about my future - please help

What does the IT company policy actually state about using social media?

[Huffy2403]

Re: Worried about my future - please help

I believe the IT company policy does state no social media - but as I have said, the alleged posts were made outside of work hours - so therefore they cant prove that I used social media during work times. I know that I have bow confessed to that - but that was only to sort out this mess ( as originally posted ).

This whole situation is driving me nuts now. its been two weeks today since my suspension. The longer it goes on the more I tie myself up in knots.

I all have seen from the company I work for, is the transcripts of the investigation meeting. What annoys me more is that ( a ) no one actually asked me if I done it, they just automatically suspended me and ( b ) I now believe that the person who brought it my the company's attention must have been a proper group member - as this was a private group. the only way to have seen the posts made by the hacker would be if you are a member of this group. Surely this leads to the question why are they not also being investigated ?

[teaboy2]

Re: Worried about my future - please help

Right you need to point all this out at the disciplinary hearing if it actually goes to disciplinary. Also logging in to Facebook to change your password to prevent futher damage to your reputation and protect your privacy amounts to a valid case of mitigating circumstances (victim of crime). Not only that, logging in to facebook to secure your account is a security matter of utmost important, and doesn't amount to actually using facebook for social media purposes, but to protect your personal security, reputation and protect from identity fraud etc etc!