Making the right call for support when dismissal seems inevitable

Retail adviser Sian’s first thought was to quit when faced with a formal disciplinary allegation for the second time in one month.

Already on a final disciplinary written warning, she was accused of making offensive comments about the child of a customer she had served at the mobile phone shop where she worked.

It was alleged by a colleague Sian had made inappropriate comments to other employees, which were ‘borderline racist’ about the little child’s weight and unkempt appearance.

Distraught Sian, who had worked for her employer for three years, categorically denied the allegation.

She did, however, admit talking to a workmate and complaining how difficult and demanding the female customer had been, and describing her as a ‘pain’ in a particular part of the human anatomy.

When distraught Sian contacted our Employee Support Centre for advice, the first thing she did was apologise for wasting our time.

Sian was convinced she would be dismissed because she was on a final warning, issued because of the manner in which she spoke to her manager during a disagreement about her holiday entitlement.

But after speaking to one of our trade union representatives and discussing the case, Sian certainly felt a little more optimistic.

Our trade union rep reviewed the evidence and highlighted several points, which could support Sian’s assertion she was being treated unfairly.

A key factor in this was the male colleague, and only witness, who claimed to have heard what was said, he had a history with Sian.

Previously she had cause to raise a grievance against him for comments he made about her that she alleged amounted to discrimination because of her gender.

Sian’s grievance was rejected and a subsequent grievance appeal proved unsuccessful.

She was later told by colleagues that he boasted about getting away with it and vowed to make her pay.

Our representative enquired if those colleagues would provide evidence. Sian said no because they would be too scared.

It did not help our trade union rep, but he remained confident he could provide a strong response to the allegation based on the available evidence.

Sian agreed with our trade union rep that he would present her case at the disciplinary hearing.

To help him to do so he wrote a statement of case detailing Sian’s response to the allegations, which highlighted the key points to support her case.

The document was shared with Sian prior to the hearing. She later admitted reading it beforehand gave her confidence the outcome would be positive.

Our trade union rep told the disciplinary hearing about Sian’s history with the witness and how it was felt the allegation made was malicious and retaliation.

The fact no other witness evidence was provided to directly support the allegation was used to argue that as it was a case of Sian’s word against that of the witness, with no corroboration for either side, she should be given the benefit of the doubt. Our representative referred to an employment tribunal ruling to support this.

It was argued that although Sian did make a negative comment about the customer it was not worthy of any disciplinary sanction.

Our trade union rep pointed out, the conversation was private and not intended for the customer's ears or public consumption, and Sian is entitled to some degree of privacy in her interactions with colleagues.

It was accepted Sian was frustrated but made clear that any attempt to discipline her for showing it could be seen as infringing on her freedom to express herself in a manner that caused no harm to others or the business.

Our trade union rep said employment law requires any disciplinary action to be proportional to the issue. He was strong in his assertion that as anything Sian said did not affect the customer's experience or the business's reputation, any formal disciplinary sanction would be grossly unfair and excessive.

Sian was later cleared of the allegation.

If you are facing formal disciplinary action, you can get assistance from of one of our experienced, dedicated and skilled trade union reps. Contact our Employee Support Centre or call us today for a free initial consultation on 0333 772 0611.