hello and a little advice please

[gunswills]

Hi hope everyone is ok, my wife is currently suspended pending and investigation of theft , she has fully complied with all that has been asked of her , but something cropped up during her interview , the investigating man produced a statement from a previous alleged time of money missing that had been written by the wifes area boss. The statement concluded that my wife was the main suspect , my wife had never seen the statement before or even privvy to its contents she had never been formally or informally interviewed about the previous incident let alone disciplined for it , the investigating man even told her that she was guilty of the previous incident as it said so in the statement. She informed him that she had no knowledge of this statement or its allegations and told him that what he had read out to her regarding locations and details was in fact incorrect , he then quickly put this statement away and moved on to other questions. When we got home she told me about this and it doesn't seem right , we contacted the investigating man and have asked for a copy of this statement, my wife felt like his judgement was already questioned by his reference to this statement. Does this sound like something is amiss? Any advice would be grateful , thank you

[des8]

tagging Ula & mariefab

[mariefab]

Does this sound like something is amiss?

Yes.
I suggest that your wife write down everything she remembers about the statement and make a note of the ways in which the details that were incorrect.
In the (unlikely) event that they do send a copy of the statement don't be surprised if those details are corrected.

[gunswills]

After she had time to calm down at home and replay everything we have written and typed it all out , i thought it would be within her rights to recieve this statement untampered as she felt like it was almost used as their trump card , if they do send a corrected version surely it will have no conclusion which suspects her of the allegation ? Surely this is almost making up the evidence to suit? Now i know that is not right, thank you for the insight MARIEFAB

[Amethyst]

mariefab - Maybe a Subject Access Request could be made to try obtain everything her employer holds, including this alleged statement ? ( re McWilliams v Citibank ? ) Subject Access Request Letter

[gunswills]

We went to a free solicitor drop in advice workshop today and spoke with a very nice guy, after we had explained the whole situation and what evidence they seem to have based their investigation on ( my wife is a catering manager who doesn't drive, usually on a weekly basis she does some form of shopping to account for items not delivered by various suppliers and so has to be driven by me or her mum), the evidence is 2 dates at the beginning of the month, for which she was on annual leave for , she dropped off some bottles of plonk on one day for the scheme manager in which she was 4 mins and 2nd occasion she dropped off some ice cream for a function which one of her staff had asked her to get. the nice man was a bit baffled as to why it had gotten to the stage it had, he also suggested to put forward an informal grevience about the statement as the previous incident was over 7 months ago and no formal or informal action had been taken , he suggested it served no real purpose other than try an and enforce a one sided view about my wife. he seemed pretty confident that regardless of outcome something could be done. All my wife wants is clear her name, she loves the job she does and has had some terrible times there but still loves what she does, fingers crossed it all works out, thank you all who have inputted , ive tried not to put too much down to save giving away anything. I will post back as it progresses.

[mariefab]

The investigator "quickly put this statement away and moved on to other questions" when he was informed that the details were wrong.
It's possible that, after realising their mistake, the response to the request for a copy of the statement could be something like, "The statement is no longer part of the investigation and it has been binned." Or maybe it was mislaid.

So, in case that eventually happens, I think that Amethyst's suggestion of an SAR could be used to your wife's advantage to get it in writing by doing it yourself.
What I mean is use it to request just that specific statement.
And so as to make that document you want easy for them to identify write in the SAR every detail that the area manager's statement contained as far as you can remember including the incorrect information.
You could be even more helpful and write that the investigator is likely to recall the document you want because you pointed out the errors it contained.
You could also add a little list of the mistakes and show your corrections too.

If, they still proceed to a disciplinary they should provide you with copies of any other documents that they intend to use beforehand.
And, if they haven't responded to your requests you can use a copy of the SAR you send in your defence.

I suggest that you do the SAR quickly. Send by email and by recorded delivery letter.

[gunswills]

would we send this to the investigating officer , who i might add we did phone on the day requesting a copy and followed up with an email to the HR advisor who was also present , a policy document they attached to an email sent to my wife pointed out any communication should be directed through the investigating officer first ?

[mariefab]

Send an email to both and a letter to HR.

[gunswills]

My wife phoned the investigating officer today to chase up minutes etc and the statement and as you said they have replied with the statement will not be used in the investigation and as such doesn't need to be seen , SAR email send and a letter to follow

[mariefab]

My wife phoned the investigating officer today to chase up minutes etc and the statement and as you said they have replied with the statement will not be used in the investigation and as such doesn't need to be seen

What a surprise!
Let's hope that they continue that stance and fail to comply with the SAR.

This is because their next step would usually be a disciplinary and employers are supposed to approach these with an open mind. All evidence good or bad should be presented.
What could possibly be more relevant than their previous decision that the she was guilty of an earlier theft.
The only logical explanation for not using it is that it was created to be used as evidence for this investigation because of a lack of other evidence. (This explains why they didn't get the details right because if had been written at the time the details would have been fresh in their minds so there wouldn't have been any mistakes.)

Whether they like it, or not, your wife can use her SAR letter at a disciplinary hearing to show that they'd already decided that she was guilty of a previous theft. Further, that they did so in secret, without conducting any investigation or disciplinary proceedings and without telling her anything about it.

It's possible that, when they consider the SAR, they might realise how they've polluted the process and decide to take it no further.

[gunswills]

She is a bit worries that they might get rid of her now that the SAR has been requested , seen to be rocking the boat?

[mariefab]

I'd say that their creating documentary evidence that they'd found her guilty of an earlier theft shows that they were already trying to get rid of her.

Letting them get away with that would just give them a clean slate so that they can proceed without worry to the recent alleged theft.

[gunswills]

Also amazing that because satifactory answers given they are widening the investigation to encompass budgets and even questioning items she bought herself for the use at work, she has done nothing wrong and this whole thing has made us wonder was there any money in the safe to begin with as the manager who is responsible for the key has seemingly got away with saying " i put my hands up, i made a mistake, sorry", included in the minutes was a part where they quoted the manager saying she would have to pay back the money, my wife seeing her manager distressed kindly offered to help her if she could , they questioned why would she do that ? Bit obvious to me but to them it's suspicious , our big worry is if our income gets halved, we will struggle.

[gunswills]

Wifes suspension was due to end yesterday , however it was extended on weds 8th aug 18 just gone to cover till next monday 13 aug 18 , she was also called in for more questions today which resulted in her being told the investigation was done and they were awaiting the results of the audit and she was to be in work on monday.

they also said a few measures will be put in place too which will be discussed on monday with the scheme manager but the internal end of the investigation was done and it would be down to the " police " they have allegedly involved to decide if any further action/disciplinary action will be needed...

they then asked my wife about a conversation she had quoted that she had had with the scheme manager regarding my wifes possible mental health issue and informed my wife when they had approached the scheme manager to confirm, she had denied any conversation took place, my wife assured them it had taken place and there was even a third party witness who she named and provided details of the who what when and where.

They also asked my wife if she was being bullied or more specifically financially bullied either in work or at home, she asked several times for them to explain it what they were getting at, her rep then stepped in saying is my wife free to go etc and the meeting ended. Several times my wife made reference to the statement as detailed above to be told numerous times it will not be held on record and it held no significance to the investigation etc , our SAR is still yet to be met.

Mixed feelings about it all , clearly they have dropped a clanger with the above statement but it all feels a bit back handed as if they are returning her to work for her to just keep quiet about everything , she is apprehensive about the scheme manager lying about a few things throughout this whole episode and clearly whatever trust she had has now gone, she is going to see how monday plays out and what " changes " are being put forward, it already feels to her that she is not trusted and these changes will be to remove cash handling situations in which case it defeats the whole point of us going to such lengths to prove my wife was not guilty! Any thoughts from anyone ?

can anyone shed light on why they would ask if she is being financially bullied at work or at home ? Thanks in advance