Suspension policy

LegacyUser

Hi all,

A friend of mine is suspended from work for gross misconduct, he's stressed about it and he's not feeling well at all, he's dreading the meeting as he had previous bad experiences in the past, can the company take a final decision without his presence/hearing his version of the story if he has a sick cert and he sends it to the company stating that for health reasons he can't attend?

Stheno

Gross misconduct is considered grounds for instant dismissal, according to this Citizens Information link, so technically, yes he could be dismissed.

However he should probably seek legal advice, it's a murky area.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/dismissal/fair_grounds_for_dismissal.html

Gross misconduct may give rise to instant (summary) dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice. Examples of gross misconduct include assault, drunkenness, stealing, bullying or serious breach of your employer's policies and practices. Your contract of employment may contain further information concerning gross misconduct.

_Brian

He needs to read the situation for himself.
If he really was genuinely and correctly suspended for a gross misconduct act them his goose is cooked. He may as well walk away and let them run through the paperwork on their own, they will send out the paperwork in due corse and he can relax about it.

On the other hand if he wants to appeal or fight the decision he needs to act quickly and both send in his cert and a formal letter stating his intention to appeal and requesting the process be out on hold until his return.

My experience is that companies don't flippantly take this action and in all likelihood he needs to walk away and look after his health. He will have serious challenges ahead getting hired with no good reference from this employer though.

Stheno

_Brian wrote: »

He needs to read the situation for himself.
If he really was genuinely and correctly suspended for a gross misconduct act them his goose is cooked. He may as well walk away and let them run through the paperwork on their own, they will send out the paperwork in due corse and he can relax about it.

On the other hand if he wants to appeal or fight the decision he needs to act quickly and both send in his cert and a formal letter stating his intention to appeal and requesting the process be out on hold until his return.

My experience is that companies don't flippantly take this action and in all likelihood he needs to walk away and look after his health. He will have serious challenges ahead getting hired with no good reference from this employer though.

Good advice, I've seen people be let go immediately due to gross misconduct, but have no experience of suspension due to it.

QuinDixie

suspendedcolleague wrote: »

Hi all,

A friend of mine is suspended from work for gross misconduct, he's stressed about it and he's not feeling well at all, he's dreading the meeting as he had previous bad experiences in the past, can the company take a final decision without his presence/hearing his version of the story if he has a sick cert and he sends it to the company stating that for health reasons he can't attend?

tell your friend to get help from his union if possible.
An old work mate of mine was sacked for gross misconduct and it was a very serious thing he did and he was guilty.
He still appealed/ fought his case and though he lost his job he received compensation.
Its always worth fighting your case, sometimes a company does not follow correct procedures or may not want a court case.

Stheno

QuinDixie wrote: »

tell your friend to get help from his union if possible.
An old work mate of mine was sacked for gross misconduct and it was a very serious thing he did and he was guilty.
He still appealed/ fought his case and though he lost his job he received compensation.
Its always worth fighting your case, sometimes a company does not follow correct procedures or may not want a court case.

His friend may not be in a union, the vast majority of private sector workers are not.

OP what was your friend suspended for?

glued

Tell your friend to relax and compose a letter outlining his appeal. A friend of mine was called to a disciplinary meeting for gross misconduct. The first thing he did was go to a solicitor who outlined his appeal. At this point he/she should request the date of the hearing to be put back in order for him/her to prepare a fair appeal, assuming the date is looming. In his case the company was completely in the wrong and ended up jumping through hoops in order to rectify the situation.

In my opinion, companies are, more often than not, too quick to jump the gun in situations like this. Often, they hastily try to conclude the disciplinary process. Get propper representation and fight his/her case, assuming he/she has one.

Irish_Elect_Eng

Some good advice above, particularly if your friend thinks that the accusation is wrong or the punishment is excessive.

However.......

If the conduct was indeed gross and he has no real defense, then I may suggest an alternate path to minimize the impact and fall-out in future.

Companies like to avoid actually firing people as it can result in a hit to morale for the rest of the employees, it can come back to haunt them and they honestly don't like the conflict. So I would suggest that your friend picks op the phone, calls him HR contact and offers to hand in his notice to avoid getting fired. If he is feeling brave, he could also ask for a basic reference. This approach would at least take the sacking off the table and potentially allow him to get a basic, x worked here for y years reference.

Not nice, but maybe make the most of a bad situation.

Stheno

Irish_Elect_Eng wrote: »

Some good advice above, particularly if your friend thinks that the accusation is wrong or the punishment is excessive.

However.......

If the conduct was indeed gross and he has no real defense, then I may suggest an alternate path to minimize the impact and fall-out in future.

Companies like to avoid actually firing people as it can result in a hit to morale for the rest of the employees, it can come back to haunt them and they honestly don't like the conflict. So I would suggest that your friend picks op the phone, calls him HR contact and offers to hand in his notice to avoid getting fired. If he is feeling brave, he could also ask for a basic reference. This approach would at least take the sacking off the table and potentially allow him to get a basic, x worked here for y years reference.

Not nice, but maybe make the most of a bad situation.

Great reply, and sound advice.

In any of the places I worked in where people got disciplined for gross misconduct, the effect of their being let go, whether immediately or after a period of time on other staff, especially in IT where colleagues/friends had to suspend accounts was gruesome.

If it is the case that ops friend is guilty and knows such, resigning may offer them an out.

MarkAnthony

Stheno wrote: »

Gross misconduct is considered grounds for instant dismissal, according to this Citizens Information link, so technically, yes he could be dismissed.

However he should probably seek legal advice, it's a murky area.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/dismissal/fair_grounds_for_dismissal.html

That doesn't mean without a hearing or on the spot for the sake of clarity.

Meetings and decisions can, however, be made in absentia where the employee won't/can't attend.