A case of smoke and luckily no fire

Going outside of a pub for a quick cigarette would trigger a chain of events that left Spencer fearing he could go to jail and lose his job.

While smoking and speaking to three male drinkers, who he did not know, outside the pub, a police car pulled up.

An officer shouted the name of one of the men.  He quickly ran off through the pub car park, climbed a fence and fled.

One officer gave chase while the other one approached Spencer and the other men who were smoking. More officers quickly arrived on the scene.

A quantity of a Class A drug and cash discarded by the man who ran off was discovered in the car park.

Spencer and the other two men were arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply.

Spencer protested his innocence, said he did not know any of the men, and it was the first time he had met them.

He was kept overnight at a police station, missed work the following day, before being released on bail.

Spencer called his boss straightaway to apologise and explain. He was told to take the day off.

Later the same day Spencer, who had worked for his employer for three years, received a surprise phone call.

Shocked Spencer was informed he was suspended from work as a result of his arrest for a serious offence.

He explained he had not done anything wrong, and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Spencer was reassured he would get a chance to explain himself once the disciplinary investigation took place.

His fear, understandably, was that he was going to lose his job and would spend years in prison for something he had not done.

Spencer was invited to attend a fact-finding meeting at work just a couple of weeks after being suspended. He was still on police bail at the time.

He attended, explained what had happened, how he did not know the men or anything about the drugs, and how he was confident he would be cleared.

Spencer was told the fact he was a suspected drug dealer could harm the business and customers would be concerned about him visiting their homes.

The HR advisor who was present invited Spencer to have an off- the-record protected conversation.

It was explained to Spencer he could resign with immediate effect and he would be guaranteed a standard reference to help him secure a new job.

He was told if he refused, he would be invited to a disciplinary hearing  and dismissed given the seriousness of the matter.

Spencer rejected the offer, left the meeting and contacted our Employee Support Centre for help.

After speaking to our representative and discussing his options, Spencer decided he wanted to wait to see what his employer would do next.

But Spencer heard nothing from his employer and remained suspended on full pay.

After being informed by the police that no action would be taken against him, he told his employer immediately.

However, Spencer still remained on suspension for another month before he contacted us again.

Our representative suggested raising a grievance about the unfair manner in which he was being treated.

Spencer was invited to attend a grievance hearing at which our representative presented his case, detailed and evidenced the range of unfair treatment and explained the harmful impact it had on Spencer.

He made it clear that Spencer had not done anything wrong, wanted to return to  work and should be allowed to do so immediately with confirmation no disciplinary action would be taken against him.  This was exactly what happened following the conclusion of the hearing