Disciplinary Hearing - Help

The Cycling pianist

Hi guys

So, I have a disciplinary hearing with my manager on Wednesday, which I found out about today, and I want to give my version of events here to see how you guys think it will go.

I work part time in retail on a zero-hour contract, and have done so since April. It's a small shop and there are only a handful of us, with only one person in the shop at any time. We are usually emailed out a rota with our hours for the month. A few weeks ago, the shop was closed for a few hours basically because one guy was down to come in at 5, I had originally been down to come in at 4, and neither of us showed up. On this date on the original rota, Bob (name obviously changed) had been down to come in at 5. However, that was later changed because it didn't suit him, and I was put down to come in at 4. I had never been sent out an email with either of these rotas, I was basically making a note of my next shift on a shift-by-shift basis. We keep the rota open in an Excel document in work. When I tried to look at the rota the week before this happened, Excel was misbehaving and I couldn't click into it. I forced quit using control alt delete, re-opened the rota file and it said I was due in next Wednesday at 4. However, according to the manager, that was the old rota and I was in fact due to come in on Monday at 4, which is the day this incident took place (even though, once I got my college timetable, I specified to my manager that I would rather not work Mondays). Also, I have never been given a formal written or verbal warning in my time at the shop, and I am now past my probation period.

So, that's my story. The hearing is being chaired by my manager, and one of my colleagues will be taking minutes. Also, I have the opportunity to bring in another colleague with me. Apparently the hearing will result in one of two outcomes, I'll either be let go or I'll get a warning. I phoned my manager today to confirm that I'd attend, and she seemed very relaxed about it, as if this is no big deal, more of a formality than anything. Hopefully it will be, but I'm still pretty worried. Any thoughts on my story/how to approach the hearing are greatly, greatly appreciated.

Nody

Did you get those two possible outcomes in writing? Because a hearing can not be held with a outcome (or verdict) already decided as the whole point is to have a meeting to find out the facts and based on this make a decision.

The Cycling pianist

I got an email informing me of the hearing, and in that email was written "as you have a relatively short term of employment with the organization, we will consider whether your employment may be terminated after the hearing, alternatively a warning may be given".

Also, I've been reading up on the legislation and it looks like I have a case under article 17.1 of the Organisation of Working Time Act

17.—(1) If neither the contract of employment of the employee concerned nor any employment regulation order, registered employment agreement or collective agreement that has effect in relation to the employee specifies the normal or regular starting and finishing times of work of an employee, the employee's employer shall notify the employee, subject to subsection (3), at least 24 hours before the first day or, as the case may be, the day, in each week that he or she proposes to require the employee to work, of the times at which the employee will normally be required to start and finish work on each day, or, as the case may be, the day or days concerned, of that week.

Magenta

To be honest I would rather quit than go to that hearing. Seems like you're meant to telepathically know your roster has changed. No thanks.

The Cycling pianist

Magenta wrote: »

To be honest I would rather quit than go to that hearing. Seems like you're meant to telepathically know your roster has changed. No thanks.

My manager is a complete flake, so I have absolutely no idea how serious this hearing will be. I know it wouldn't be very professional, but I could easily turn around and go "oh yeah, well you've done X, Y and Z"

mfergus

The Cycling pianist wrote: »

I got an email informing me of the hearing, and in that email was written "as you have a relatively short term of employment with the organization, we will consider whether your employment may be terminated after the hearing, alternatively a warning may be given".
.

Sounds like you're already found guilty and this meeting is purely about deciding the course of punishment?

The Cycling pianist

mfergus wrote: »

Sounds like you're already found guilty and this meeting is purely about deciding the course of punishment?

Sounds like it. Now, the manager has already taken down my version of events in a very informal manner, so I don't know if this is just a formality so the company has an official record. I've always been on good terms with my manager, so I honestly don't know what to expect

folders33

It's very important that the company follow fair procedure at your disciplinary. You should have received a letter outlining the exact allegation against you so you can defend yourself properly. If they do not do things right they leave themselves open to a legitimate complaint through the rights commissioner. I presume you have are not in a trade union? What you do next depends on how much you value the job and how much you feel wronged. You could request to have the exact allegation in writing today. This will alert your manager that you are prepared for this and will either make them back down or create more trouble for you. If you plan to claim if you are fired then this is the way to go. At the disciplinary you should only discuss what the allegation is, yes or no answers. Don't go into any other topics and if pressurised, make sure that you state you are uncomfortable with their line of questioning in the minutes. You clearly haven't done anything wrong if what you are saying is true, so I would go in there relaxed and state the truth. Make sure you request a record of the minutes and that they are correct before you sign it. If you receive a warning and you do not agree with it, appeal this in writing within 5 working days. You may have further grievance options then. You should probably contact NERA on this if you are unfortunately let go. Best of luck on this.

gugleguy

Brace yourself OP. Best of luck in any case. Let us know the outcome or if you decide to quit before the thing starts .

Buford T Justice

In fairness, if their rota system is as simple as an excel document which can be freely edited / corrupted then they don't have much hope. Unless they can prove you were given a copy of the new rota, (not one that could be subsequently changed ie, shared access file) and through your own negligence you didn't turn up then there's not much they can do.

That doesn't mean they won't try though. It does seem excessive though for a small business with only a few staff.

The Cycling pianist

@folders33 - Thanks for the detailed response. Yes, I have the allegations in writing, so I know exactly what will be discussed. Will I be allowed bring notes in so I can keep my argument on track and don't have to rely on memory?

@gugleguy - thanks. I'll post here tomorrow evening, I'm not quitting, it's a fight to the death now

@Buford T Justice - (East bound and down!!) - to be honest, their argument has as much substance as a house of cards. I really should win

The Cycling pianist

The ****ing bith fired me. It was obvious from about two minutes in that she had made her mind up. I didn't get a written reason for dismissal, I also didn't get a chance to read the minutes before leaving the meeting. Apparently, as I'm "no longer an employee", I'm not entitled to read the minutes. We discussed things "off-record" that weren't related to the accusations that led to my disciplinary, and it was pretty obvious that what we discussed there influenced her decision. She said she"ll email me the minutes once they're transcribed onto a computer, as well as the number of a guy from head office I can talk to. I'm gonna talk to him and see what he has to say about it, but to be honest I don't know if I'll bother appealing. First of all, I probably won't win as zero-contract employees aren't protected from unfair dismissal and secondly, I don't think I could bare working with her after this. I may spill some dirt on her when I call the guy from head office just cause I can, but I don't know about appealing

gugleguy

sorry for your situation. fair dues for supplying update though.