Is this a sackable offence?

[moodymoo]

My dh has been warned 'off the record' by his boss that he is being investigated and if any evidence found he will be sacked for gross mis-conduct. It is apparantly because he has been in contact with a colleague who had been sacked by the company.Whilst they have been on contact with each other it was nothing to do with work and at no point was her situation discussed as she was appealing her dismissal. The reason for them being in contact was that she was buying a car from us, we obvioulsy have the dvla documents to support this. My dh's boss has not been in touch with him since, however the colleague who bought the car has contacted us to say that she had reached a compromise agreement with the company earlier in the week but she has today received a varied agreement to include the wording ' they believe that she has been receiving advice from someone currently emplyed by the firm'. She felt my husband should know about this as he is the only person she has had any sort of contact with since she left. There is obviously no 'evidence' for the company to find but i'm worried that if she signs the agreement with this wording left in they will take it as an admission from her and use it to sack him. He is a week away from moving to a new company under TUPE so they only have a week to do their investigations and have a disciplinary hearing if thats what they decide to do.
Surely he can't be sacked for talking to her? It's not as though she was under investigation at the time - they had already sacked her. In any event what could he possibly have told her to help her case - he didn't know that much about it in the 1st place. To be honest I don't even know how they know he has been on touch with her, strongly believe that there is more to this as why would they even bother investigating him when he only has a week left of being employed by them - obviously he would appeal if they sacked him and that could cost them money. I just don't get it!
Sorry for ranting but i'm so angry and worried at the same time :(

[Grevling]

No. Work can't tell you who you talk to outside of the hours they pay you for.

[BerylStreep]

I don't think they can do this. They would need to have evidence, on the balance of probabilities, that he has been disclosing information to the former employee.

[moodymoo]

I don't think they have any evidence other than mobile phone call log that he has spoken to her, which we have explained - and can back up with the dvla docs. His own boss has said she is happy with his explanation & believes him but her boss is still wanting to push it further, he has asked that i.t now check his computer, there is nothing to find so that shouldn't worry us but it just feels as though this guy is determined to get something on him. I have searched through all the staff handbooks etc and cannot find anywhere that says they cannot talk to each other. It's just a waiting game now :(

[plupervert]

And add that work cannot expect you to act against your own economic interests by refusing to sell your car to a buyer. Perhaps work would have stepped in to buy the car for you because their interference caused your sale to fall through? Thought not.

It would be outrageous to try to insist everyone adjust their private lives to suit the company's dictate.

It's also pretty outrageous to not give your DH a chance to clear himself. They shouldn't just be sacking someone on the basis of "evidence" which he hasn't had a chance to see or respond to. Is that the way they handled this other person's dismissal? If so, you are right to be wary of this company. Thank goodness that his boss is, presumably, trying to do the right thing by giving him an off the record warning!

Your DH needs to speak to his union, right now.

[CharlieMc]

Hi I am a nurse in a nursing home and my employer told me that I was not allowed to receive any phonecalls from my childminder whilst at work, I wondered if this is right or if there is any employment law regarding this as surely I should be able to be contactable at all times?

[BerylStreep]

CharlieMc - you would probably be better starting a new thread on this. For what it's worth, I think your employer is a bit in enforcing this - are they suggesting that you can't take calls on your own personal phone, or on their phone? Do you get many calls from your CM? Is this a policy decision relating to all personal calls, or have they singled you out? If so, why? In the absence of details, I suppose it could be argued that any policy which restricts the receipt of personal calls, including CMs, could be indirectly discriminatory, as it has a bigger impact on working mothers.

OP good luck.

[sweetpb]

not sure if this is too late but i believe that if you are being investigated then you must be formally told, especially if it can lead to disciplinary action.

HTH