A real problem in failing to spot the warning in a message

Rene was sunning herself on a beach in Europe and blissfully unaware of the concern back home that would leave her facing a fight to save her career.

The business consultant was shocked to learn she had apparently sent scam messages to colleagues and at least one client while on annual leave.

The messages directed the recipients to click on a link, which it turned out was part of a con.

Coworkers and one female client reported receiving the same message that appeared to have been sent from Rene’s phone.

One colleague did message Rene directly to query the text, but she did not read it until a couple of days later because she had been determined to switch off from work while on a family holiday.

Rene discovered what had happened before her return to work, and prior to being quizzed by management about the messages.

She admitted being tricked by what appeared to be a genuine message from the service provider offering to upgrade her messaging account.

Rene said she only realised it was a scam when she later read the message from her colleague. After doing so she immediately alerted contacts and apologised.

Management at the company, where Rene had worked for three years, were not impressed, especially after being informed a client had received the message.

Rene was accused of being careless and irresponsible, and suspended from work.

She later attended a fact-finding meeting and admitted falling victim to the scam while on holiday, and not being as alert as usual.

Rene faced formal allegations of breaching the code of conduct and bringing the company into disrepute after the conclusion of the disciplinary investigation. She was warned dismissal was a potential outcome.

Worried Rene contacted our Employee Support Centre. She knew exactly where to turn for help having previously been supported by one of our representatives with a dispute about maternity pay and leave.

Rene explained to our representative she made a genuine mistake and had learnt from it.

Prior to the disciplinary hearing our representative sought clarification directly from the employer about if anyone fell victim to the intended scam. The company said it was not aware that anyone had.

Our representative also requested evidence of the business being brought into disrepute, and particularly any correspondence from the client.

The company confirmed there was no such evidence and that the client had only mentioned receiving and deleting the text during a phone call with another member of staff.

At the disciplinary hearing our representative argued the text was convincing; Rene fell victim to a believable looking scam; it was at a time when her guard was slightly lowered and she would have been distracted by caring for her two young children, both under five, during a family break; and she made a legitimate mistake.

It was added that Rene did not intend to cause any harm or damage.

The hearing was also told she had a clean disciplinary record, was a loyal and productive employee, was remorseful and apologetic and had taken significant and appropriate learning from what happened, which should provide an assurance it would not happen again.

Our representative added that thankfully no evident or serious harm was caused. He made the point that the ACAS Code also advises employers to use the discipline process to correct rather than punish and to encourage the employee rather than sanction them, which he maintained would be appropriate in Rene’s case.

It was asserted by our representative that there was mitigation, that should mean a formal disciplinary sanction is not an appropriate response.

This was supported by the fact there was no evidence that the employer had in fact been brought into disrepute, as alleged.

The disciplinary hearing chair quizzed Rene about why she opened the text and circumstances in which it happened.

He later cleared her of any deliberate wrongdoing and recommended she undertake further security awareness training