Been fired for NOTHING

LegacyUser

Hi all do not even know where to start.

basically i feel i have been dissmissed for no reason.

just to give you a small background story, i had worked in this company for 4 years only ever had 1 talking too in all of my time there and now i am fired.

ok so a couple of weeks ago i got a phone call off my boss, he told me he was using me as a witness as he was suspending someone. i went along very awkwardly but as he was my boss i didnt see any other option i had to go i was instructed to go.

so suspension given to the person, i was then told i had to cover the rest of that persons shift, i obliged as i was instructed to but i have never been trained in this poition at all, only worked there on 2 other occasions but on this this occasion there was a lodgement to be made. Now this is something i have never had to do before as there was no reason for me to do it. so another person who has worked there on alot of occasions rang me and tried to explain what to do(alot to go through to explain here).

so i did what i thought was right and when i finished i put the money(less than 200€ on a day when i counted alot more) in the safe..i then got a phone call requesting i come to head office as i was to be investigated as a money bag was missing..thought to myself no problem i know i put it into the safe.

so upshot of it all i had 2 meetings with my boss and his lapdog(HR) well i got dismissed straight away and i am in shock as i have never even been spoken too about an incident never mind had a warning over anything.

surely i cannot be fired for "Failure to prepare and lodge takings correctly" seen as though i have never been trained in this procedure

Does anyone else think this is fishy...

3DataModem

What were you actually dismissed for?
Stealing or not lodging properly?

My.testicals

3DataModem wrote: »

What were you actually dismissed for?
Stealing or not lodging properly?

Hi thanks for the reply. i am the op. I was fired for not lodging properly.

theteal

A bit of info here

My.testicals

theteal wrote: »

A bit of info here

cheers for that i have looked there already but i am not really sure if i have been unfairly dissmised.

i really only have their word on it that the bag is missing

bbam

How recent was this talking to you refer to? was it documented or a written warning?
Did you get any letter explaining your termination?

When you mention the money was missing, did it turn up in the safe or was it lost/stolen?

If the money wasn't stolen and you weren't on a written warning I'd be calling in to HR asking to see the discipline policy, ask to be brought through it step by step showing where you were brought the discipline system before being terminated.
There should be a definite policy and employees should be informed what point they are on and if being instantly dismissed (which can happen) you have a right to see the documentation surrounding your termination, there should also be an appeals process...

Mrs OBumble

Sounds like you could do with a lawyer.

My.testicals

bbam wrote: »

How recent was this talking to you refer to?

It was about 2 1/2 years ago over a totally unrelated subject, but was just a "dont do it again" talking to.

bbam wrote: »

was it documented or a written warning?

Never documented

bbam wrote: »

Did you get any letter explaining your termination?

No but it only happened in the last few days so i reckon its in the post

bbam wrote: »

When you mention the money was missing, did it turn up in the safe or was it lost/stolen?

I have been told it is still unaccounted for.

bbam wrote: »

If the money wasn't stolen and you weren't on a written warning I'd be calling in to HR asking to see the discipline policy, ask to be brought through it step by step showing where you were brought the discipline system before being terminated.

When i recieved the letter to say i was being investigated they attached a copy of their disciplinary procedures

bbam wrote: »

There should be a definite policy and employees should be informed what point they are on and if being instantly dismissed (which can happen) you have a right to see the documentation surrounding your termination, there should also be an appeals process...

i was never once told i was on a warning at all...they have told me i can appeal, not too sure what to do on this one tho

JustMary wrote: »

Sounds like you could do with a lawyer.

Alot of people are starting to tell me this, do you know if i can apply for legal aid now that i am unemployed..


Thank you to anyone who posted a reply

edellc

OP I worked in accounts and if you have lodged money incorrectly and it is still unaccounted for then you may have lodged it into someones elses account, mistake I know but could be very costly to the employer as you said yourself you had counted much more than the money bag you left in the safe so I can only guess the amount you lodged..... However there is always a paper trail with money and the bank ALWAYS and to make a lodgement you had to have filled in the lodgement book with the details of the lodgement, this should have had the amount lodged and the bank account to which you lodged the monies, all the company need to do is go to the bank and demand to know where this money is....or if you just used the lodgement slips in the bank did you use the right account number even so you would have kept the side slip of the lodgement form which should have been filled in either by you or the bank teller

I find it a joke that your employer, regardless of how long you have worked there let you deal with cash without any training, that is their stupidity....you can get free legal aid but really ring the citizen advice in your area and ask when their legal team meet and make an appointment to see them, they will point you in the direction of legal aid and/or advise you if you have a case or not

nicechick!

Surreal week wrote: »

Hi all do not even know where to start.

basically i feel i have been dissmissed for no reason.

just to give you a small background story, i had worked in this company for 4 years only ever had 1 talking too in all of my time there and now i am fired.

ok so a couple of weeks ago i got a phone call off my boss, he told me he was using me as a witness as he was suspending someone. i went along very awkwardly but as he was my boss i didnt see any other option i had to go i was instructed to go.

so suspension given to the person, i was then told i had to cover the rest of that persons shift, i obliged as i was instructed to but i have never been trained in this poition at all, only worked there on 2 other occasions but on this this occasion there was a lodgement to be made. Now this is something i have never had to do before as there was no reason for me to do it. so another person who has worked there on alot of occasions rang me and tried to explain what to do(alot to go through to explain here).

so i did what i thought was right and when i finished i put the money(less than 200€ on a day when i counted alot more) in the safe..i then got a phone call requesting i come to head office as i was to be investigated as a money bag was missing..thought to myself no problem i know i put it into the safe.

so upshot of it all i had 2 meetings with my boss and his lapdog(HR) well i got dismissed straight away and i am in shock as i have never even been spoken too about an incident never mind had a warning over anything.

surely i cannot be fired for "Failure to prepare and lodge takings correctly" seen as though i have never been trained in this procedure

Does anyone else think this is fishy...

Ok its hard to make a call on this I would need more information however from reading your thread it does suggest they have treated you unfairly.

I would immediately take this further you have the right to appeal there decision which should be in writing on the dismissal letter with a contact name & number included (separate to the persons dealing with this from day one) Make sure you keep everything they have given you in writing

Firstly you should have been given an invite to a disciplinary hearing stating the reasons why date time i.e lodgement short giving date, time etc you should also be given company grievance procedures which outlines company policy & procedure related to disciplinary

At the hearing you should have been given an opportunity to state your case and thereafter a decision made. Did they consider this and get back to you or make the decision there & then? (if not this suggested they had agreed the outcome of hearing prior to actually it taking place - again unfair)


I would consider this is unfair dismissal however I would you look at the terms & conditions are your contract & job description making lodegements may be there in writing however if you have worked there four years & can prove that this is not part of your daily role/job description they clearly could not dismiss you! You made a mistake an expensive one however they clearly had not equipped you with the skill to do so.

In your dismissal writing if they have ''suggested'' that you failed to apply company policy & procedure then I would be looking for your training records & sign off policy

Hope this helps! Good luck

My.testicals

edellc wrote: »

OP I worked in accounts and if you have lodged money incorrectly and it is still unaccounted for then you may have lodged it into someones elses account, mistake I know but could be very costly to the employer as you said yourself you had counted much more than the money bag you left in the safe so I can only guess the amount you lodged..... However there is always a paper trail with money and the bank ALWAYS and to make a lodgement you had to have filled in the lodgement book with the details of the lodgement, this should have had the amount lodged and the bank account to which you lodged the monies, all the company need to do is go to the bank and demand to know where this money is....or if you just used the lodgement slips in the bank did you use the right account number even so you would have kept the side slip of the lodgement form which should have been filled in either by you or the bank teller

You see technically i did not lodge the money into a bank, i had to count the money in a small room where there is a small drop safe and i dropped it into the safe for collection on the next collection date, but i actually missed the collection as i was suffering a bit and was in the toilet(trying not to be crude)

edellc wrote: »

I find it a joke that your employer, regardless of how long you have worked there let you deal with cash without any training, that is their stupidity....you can get free legal aid but really ring the citizen advice in your area and ask when their legal team meet and make an appointment to see them, they will point you in the direction of legal aid and/or advise you if you have a case or not

This seems to be my best route alot of people are adviing me to do this so i will.

nicechick! wrote: »

Ok its hard to make a call on this I would need more information however from reading your thread it does suggest they have treated you unfairly.

Obviously i do not want to get into too much detail online but if you want to pm me i can give you a bit more detail

nicechick! wrote: »

I would immediately take this further you have the right to appeal there decision which should be in writing on the dismissal letter with a contact name & number included (separate to the persons dealing with this from day one) Make sure you keep everything they have given you in writing

Im not sure what i want to do here, in the meetings i got the impression i was not wanted anymore(i feel this as i was a higher earner than most of the rest of the staff)

nicechick! wrote: »

Firstly you should have been given an invite to a disciplinary hearing stating the reasons why date time i.e lodgement short giving date, time etc you should also be given company grievance procedures which outlines company policy & procedure related to disciplinary

When i was informed of the meeting by letter(delivered by courier)there was a copy of company procedure accompanying the letter.

nicechick! wrote: »

At the hearing you should have been given an opportunity to state your case and thereafter a decision made. Did they consider this and get back to you or make the decision there & then? (if not this suggested they had agreed the outcome of hearing prior to actually it taking place - again unfair)

Yes i actually had 2 and 1/2 meetings(half meaning that on the second meeting i actually had the company vehicle and i was told to bring the vehicle to a certain area then the next day i wa brought back for a 5 minute meeting just to be fired.)



[/QUOTE] I would consider this is unfair dismissal however I would you look at the terms & conditions are your contract & job description making lodegements may be there in writing however if you have worked there four years & can prove that this is not part of your daily role/job description they clearly could not dismiss you! You made a mistake an expensive one however they clearly had not equipped you with the skill to do so. [/QUOTE]

No i was never trained on the lodgemnt side of things..

[/QUOTE]In your dismissal writing if they have ''suggested'' that you failed to apply company policy & procedure then I would be looking for your training records & sign off policy

Hope this helps! Good luck[/QUOTE]

I have recieved absolutely nothing off them in writing but he HR manager told me it was failuer to prepare and lodge correctly and that the company had to "protect the clients interests"

Any bit of advice helps and thank you all for advice

nicechick!

I will send you a private mail

OldmanMondeo

From the quick read I would suggest taking legal advice sooner rather than later. I was let go / fired for no reason last year, spoke to a solicitor the next working day, had them in court within 2 weeks and paid off within a month. PM me if you need any-more info.

lolz90

IMHO it appears to be a case of unfair dismissal. I wouldn't necessarily consider contacting a solicitor as it would prove quite expensive. It is more likely that there are HR consultants/employment experts who would be in a position to advise you of the next best step. The link below might be of some help.

Good luck op!

http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/services/howtomakeacomplaint/

OldmanMondeo

lolz90 wrote: »

IMHO it appears to be a case of unfair dismissal. I wouldn't necessarily consider contacting a solicitor as it would prove quite expensive. It is more likely that there are HR consultants/employment experts who would be in a position to advise you of the next best step. The link below might be of some help.

Good luck op!

http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/services/howtomakeacomplaint/

A solicitor would only cost a few quid for first consulation, after that, and speaking from experience, legal expenses can be covered in any settlement. the ET will only give, I think a maximum of 24 months. Should you get a job within a few weeks or months, the ET will only advise payment for the time you where out of work.

DonQuay1

Surreal week wrote: »

Hi all do not even know where to start.

basically i feel i have been dissmissed for no reason.

just to give you a small background story, i had worked in this company for 4 years only ever had 1 talking too in all of my time there and now i am fired.

ok so a couple of weeks ago i got a phone call off my boss, he told me he was using me as a witness as he was suspending someone. i went along very awkwardly but as he was my boss i didnt see any other option i had to go i was instructed to go.

so suspension given to the person, i was then told i had to cover the rest of that persons shift, i obliged as i was instructed to but i have never been trained in this poition at all, only worked there on 2 other occasions but on this this occasion there was a lodgement to be made. Now this is something i have never had to do before as there was no reason for me to do it. so another person who has worked there on alot of occasions rang me and tried to explain what to do(alot to go through to explain here).

so i did what i thought was right and when i finished i put the money(less than 200€ on a day when i counted alot more) in the safe..i then got a phone call requesting i come to head office as i was to be investigated as a money bag was missing..thought to myself no problem i know i put it into the safe.

so upshot of it all i had 2 meetings with my boss and his lapdog(HR) well i got dismissed straight away and i am in shock as i have never even been spoken too about an incident never mind had a warning over anything.

surely i cannot be fired for "Failure to prepare and lodge takings correctly" seen as though i have never been trained in this procedure

Does anyone else think this is fishy...

If you didn't steal it - sue them.
If they wanted to properly sack you they would have had called the Gardai. That way they would have put it on official footing. (They'd need to do that for insurance - recovery of any stolen money or legal costs if any ensued). They's be saying that you'd stolen something and so the Gardai would have to charge you.

From your point of you - you'd have to be presented with any evidence.
From their perspective - calling the Gardai would have covered them if you sued then for unfair dismssal.

If they only trained you over the 'phone in such a haphazrd mammer .... then sacked you because the money was only mislaid and not stolen ..... it's their fault for not training you. You're not a mind reader that can learn in sec. There's rules - even post Celtic Tiger.

Sue them

Word of advice: Don't take a job back with them again in settlement. They'll have long memories and will probably try to find other excuses to sack you..

Eoin

Let a lawyer advise legal action or not please.