What can I do if wrongly accused of something at work?

Think for a minute how you would feel if wrongly accused of theft by your employer…and it will give a good idea of how Faith felt when it happened to her.

Faith, a fashion stylist for a clothing wholesaler, was accused of stealing expensive clothing items.

She was seen on CCTV leaving work with an ‘unusually large bag’ said to contain the stolen stock.

Faith, who had worked for her employer for three years, was on a day off when it was discovered the items were missing. A colleague mentioned seeing her leave with the bag.

The matter was reported to the loss prevention team. An investigator reviewed CCTV and raised a concern about Faith’s suspicious behaviour when leaving work.

She was confronted by her manager the following day.  Faith categorically denied theft and explained she had loose unwanted clothing items of her own in the bag, which she had sold online and had brought them into work so she could wrap and post them to the buyers after work.

Her manager and a loss prevention officer, present at the time, rubbished the explanation. Faith was suspended from work.

When Faith contacted our Employee Support Centre for advice and help with her situation, she had been on suspension for about six weeks.

Distraught Faith discussed her case with one of our  trade union representatives. She explained she was angry at the allegation and frustrated by how long the process was taking.

Our trade union rep contacted the employer via email for an update and expressed concern at the unreasonable length of time he believed the process was taking.

The employer responded, apologised for the delay, said it had concluded its disciplinary investigation and would write to Faith the following week with the outcome.

Faith was hopeful it would end her ordeal – but she was left disappointed.

Shocked Faith received a letter inviting her to a disciplinary hearing to face an allegation of theft, which if considered proven could lead to her dismissal.

Faith was provided with the evidence to support the allegation. It included an investigation report from the loss prevention officer, a statement from a colleague who said they saw Faith leaving with the bag and a description of the CCTV footage.

Faith was invited to review the CCTV with our rep ahead of the hearing, which they did. The footage was not long and it showed Faith looking around before walking quickly out of the shop just after 5pm.

Our trade union rep felt the limited footage showed the investigation was flawed and unfair and certainly not in line with ACAS Code of Practice guidance considering the seriousness of the allegation. Rather than raise this prior to the hearing, he opted to use it at the meeting instead to undermine the case against Faith.

Our trade union rep was aware that the manner in which Faith sold the items online would mean she would have been given a postage receipt, which would include the date and time of postage.

Faith still had the postage receipts, which our trade union rep requested from her along with screenshots of the items she had advertised online.

He presented the information  at the disciplinary hearing in order to prove Faith had sold and posted a number of items on the day in question.

It was explained Faith brought the items into work hoping to wrap them during her break, but she took a shorter break, which could be checked, and was unable to do it. It was added that Faith left in a hurry at 5pm to get to the local Post Office to wrap the items and post them before it closed at 5.30pm.

Our trade union rep told the hearing the investigation was flawed, limited and unfair. He pointed out it only focused and fixated on Faith, did not look at her arriving carrying the bag and he questioned why no other alternative appeared not to have been considered.

Faith was later cleared of the allegation.

If you have been wrongly accused of something at work, you can get assistance from of one of our experienced, dedicated and skilled trade union reps to help you to fight any allegation. Contact our Employee Support Centre or call us today for a free initial consultation on 0333 772 0611.