A lasting impression that made a real difference when it mattered most

The nature of the job means our advisors take some surprising calls - but the circumstances that led to one from Colleen was completely unexpected.

Colleen, a chief executive (CEO) of a charitable organisation,  was facing serious disciplinary allegations, which led her to contact our Employee Support Centre in need of urgent help.

She had worked for the charity for just over two years when allegations of gross misconduct were levelled against her.

Colleen naturally discussed the case with her husband, who she said was keen to ensure she got the best support possible – and he knew exactly where to get it.

Her husband, a NHS facilities manager, had just a few months earlier, chaired a disciplinary appeal hearing at which the employee was accompanied by one of our representatives.

The employee had been dismissed prior to the appeal, was claiming unfair dismissal and wanted to be reinstated.

The appeal was successful, and  our representative’s skill and work obviously made a very good and lasting impression.

When Colleen’s husband heard of her disciplinary problem, he sought out the employee whose appeal he had upheld, and asked for details of our representative.

Colleen explained her husband got the contact details, gave them to her and was glowing in his praise for our representative’s work and expertise.

This led Colleen to contact us after she was suspended from work and later invited to a disciplinary hearing.

The allegations she face were of financial wrongdoing and unethical decision-making.

The serious allegations emerged when a disgruntled female member of staff, who would later make an unsuccessful claim for constructive dismissal, resigned and made a series of allegations against Colleen.

It was a complex case and our representative was diligent and meticulous as always  in his preparation.

There was a vast amount of documentation to review. In addition to this, and after reviewing the case and discussing it with Colleen, our representative requested further information from the employer that he believed could also help her case.

He also supported Colleen in requesting access to her laptop, which was taken from her when she was suspended.

Colleen felt it would allow her to obtain emails and documents that could help to prove the allegations were unfounded. She was allowed supervised access to her laptop to enable her to prepare for the hearing.

The gravity of the allegations meant the charity appointed an independent panel of experienced professionals to hear the case.

At the disciplinary hearing our representative presented a robust case on behalf of Colleen in response to each allegation,

Financial records, documents, emails, text and WhatsApp messages were presented to the panel in support of her case.

Our representative also highlighted concerns about the disciplinary process. In particular the fact the charity did not interview the ex-employee who made the allegations, or question or explore anything she said and simply accepted her claims as fact.

He told the panel the investigation was flawed and manner in which it was conducted did not adhere with the extensive good practice guidance provided with the ACAS Code of Practice.

The guidance advises that when allegations are serious an investigation should be thorough and fair.

Colleen was asked a number of questions in relation to the allegations. Following some of her answers, our representative was able to reiterate many points in support of her case.

The original hearing lasted a full working day before it was adjourned and reconvened the following week.

Following the conclusion of the hearing, the panel said it had a lot to review and there were aspects of the case that it wished to investigate further.

Colleen was given weekly updates on the progress of the investigation before an outcome to her disciplinary case was provided five weeks later.

She was cleared of all of the allegations.