Employment advice/suspension

[seriousone]

Hi am after some advice please, a couple of mnths ago I was suspended from work as an investigation was started,a colleague of mine was reported too nspcc lots about her children and the police investigated and said my internet ip adress came up(I knew nothing of the allegations),so a summons was issued for court etc and as it got near by it was dropped because the police offered no evidence as there wasn't any so im cleared of all charges ,however my work wont reinstate me or offer me the reasons why just said they have too investigate harrasment of a colleague so where do I stand because there is no case too answer innocent(but am now becoming a victim as this is affecting my mental health)

[daisychain01]

This is a terrible situation.

If you don't know what the allegations were, but you have been suspended, then you need to have a formal meeting at your workplace either with your manager or HR, because they clearly do know what the allegations were so they need to explain their reason for not reinstating you.

Have they actually sacked you? Are they still paying you? How long have you been working there, is it more than 2years?

[seriousone]

Ive been there for 9years, I got a phone call from the police re the allegations as my ip address had come up(meaning they suspected I had reported person)but I didn't report her and they couldn't provide evidence so cps dropped it,im on suspension but now the case has been dropped I thought I could go back too work but they haven't reinstated me because they say they are investigating whether I harrased a colleague so wi need to be disaplined but there's no evidence too suggest it was me(and they are aware the case has been dropped,I wanted to go back to work so.I told them),they know of the allegations because my colleague told them.

[seriousone]

I have contacted hr who said they will get back to me and I contact manager but she isn't allowed to reply,im not allowed on the work premises while im suspended.

[Mxyzptlk]

Do they think you may have harrassed your colleague in some other way, besides the reporting thing?
Surely they should tell you what it is they are investigating, though.

[Mxyzptlk]

Your employer should have a specific procedure for this type of thing, including meeting with you to say what they have found out and what action, if any, they are going to take.
You could ask HR to give you info on the steps involved in their investigation process.

[seriousone]

Ive got a copy of the disciplinary procedure and it does say an investigating meeting will be carried out but if there is nothing too investigate why would they need to carry a meeting out and ill have it unfairly on my records,they will not tell me what needs investigating(or reasons for it)I thought once the case was dropped I could return too my duties, if it came too it would I have a claim for unfair treatment/constructive dismissal due too stress,I actually only want too return to work and put all this behind me they are making it very difficult

[Mxyzptlk]

Does the procedure give an indication of a timescale?
If the investigation finds nothing then that is what should be said at the meeting and it should also be written in your records that nothing was found.

[daisychain01]

it does say an investigating meeting will be carried out but if there is nothing too investigate why would they need to carry a meeting out

You've worked there for 9 years, they can't just leave you suspended indefinitely, that's one thing you can be certain of!

The meeting will need to take place, you need to check back with the person who has said they are not reinstating you and insist they can a meeting to comply with the disciplinary procedure. They should also clarify your rights regarding having a companion to join you at the meeting, to give you support and take notes for you, but not speak on your behalf.

They cannot keep you in the dark about your rights, nor can they keep pushing back.

Have they continued to pay you? If they stop your pay during this suspension, they would be in breach of contract and that could well constitute constructive dismissal, but you need to seek legal advice or if you are in a union, you need them to help you navigate through this situation.

Stay strong and keep talking on here if we can be of moral support to you as you must feel very alone.

[seriousone]

Im in the union and they told the union rep that they need too carry out an.investigation into an harassment Charge(though the case was dropped),they didn't reply when I asked about it,they have said they will let me know by mon what happening regarding my suspension(I am being paid)but they may move me to another dept and I was going to go off sick if they did(as I wouldn't want to work there)then resign and if I resigned could I claim for constructive dismissal ,that I had to resign to due to.my work causing me stress?
I feel very alone and scared and a victim

[Mxyzptlk]

They should have a proper meeting where they tell you whether or not they have found any proof that you did anything wrong. Ask for a written copy of their findings, whatever the result is.
I don't think it would be constructive dismissal if they moved you to another department, unless it was something that was impossible for you to do, or a demotion.

[daisychain01]

and if I resigned could I claim for constructive dismissal ,that I had to resign to due to.my work causing me stress?

No you would be ill-advised to resign based on your latest update OP, please don't do that because they are continuing to pay you, so their argument would be "our employee resigned even though we continue to pay their salary and we were carrying out an internal investigation, plus we offered the employee a different role elsewhere in the company".

I know it is very distressing for you, but you need to hold tight and not take any action other than to contact your Union as they should provide legal cover as part of your subs, so you need to consult with a solicitor and they can give you support.

What you have now described does not constitute constructive dismissal, as they are currently continuing to pay you and they are trying to sort things out internally, so even though it's distressing you need to allow them to go through their procedure.

[seriousone]

What im wondering is though why are they investigating,what case if there isnt one

[Appraiser]

I know it is very distressing for you, but you need to hold tight and not take any action other than to contact your Union as they should provide legal cover as part of your subs, so you need to consult with a solicitor and they can give you support

I agree with @daisychain01, hold tight.

The organisation you work for need to pull together the information (evidence) that they have so far and work out if there is anything that you have potentially done wrong. If, like you say, you haven't done anything wrong, then the investigation will prove that.

Whilst suspended, they should be keeping you up to date on the investigations, and if not, you should request an approximate time line on when they think it will conclude.

Do not resign. Let the process continue.

[TittyGolightly]

What im wondering is though why are they investigating,what case if there isnt one

An employment investigation isn’t the same as a police investigation.

[seriousone]

No I know tittygolightly but if these allegations hadnt been made then I wouldn't be subject to an internal investigation

[daisychain01]

An investigation involves pulling together all relevant facts relating to this case.

Even if you've done nothing wrong, they have somehow created a link between you and the other person, for whatever reason unbeknownst to you. That will be mentioned in their report.

You should have a right to reply but you cannot give that response until they call a meeting. It feels like you're in limbo and these formalities seem senseless from the outside, so it's pointless trying to figure it out - it doesn't make sense without all the pieces of the jigsaw.

[seriousone]

Thanks for all the replies, I understand what you are saying but now the police investigation is finished do they not need to give me a return to work date/meeting date because as is ive heard nothing and they promised I would have an update on when I could return by today(I work shifts and have no rota just paid leave this wk then nothing)

[Mxyzptlk]

Phone your personnel manager, as you were told you'd hear by today. Ask what's happening.

Have they said that the work investigation is solely to do with the police case? Or might they also be investigating whether you harrassed your colleague while at work?

[seriousone]

I emailed her today and had no response,left voicemail as well,the allegations were harrasing by reporting to ss(not work related) unless colleague has invented something else

[daisychain01]

It's very difficult to advise you what to do - apart from making sure you keep yourself available for them to get in touch with you. As you are still, arguably being employed by them even though you are not able to actually report for duty, you'll need to listen out for the phone and look for emails from them that might tell you what's happening.

Can you keep emailing every day from now on, as this keeps an audit trail of how often you've tried to keep in touch. Just a one liner politely saying you would appreciate some guidance from them on the next steps in this process.

I hope you are keep well, as it must be a worrying time for you. We're here to help, if only a hand hold.

[seriousone]

Thank you,what you've done so far has helped and yes I will email daily good idea

[Appraiser]

It’s poor that no one has updated you as promised. Sorry you’re still going through this. If it is any consolation, suspension isn’t a punishment or a set in stone that they think you’re guilty (although it can sometimes feel like that), they will (hopefully) closing off the investigation and getting their ducks in a row before getting you back to work.

If you have done nothing wrong, it’s in there best interests to get you back!

[seriousone]

Im a bit upset after nine yrs service that ive been treated like this (,but they do say you are just a number)but I.met the union lady today who said she will contact hr as best too many people dont,so the wait continues

[seriousone]

Thought I would update,the person in question has raised a grievance against me stating harrasment so I now have to go through an investigation and hearing if it goes to it so im being redeployed elsewhere temporarily but im losing out on the extra pay as its mon-fri and usually we do wknds/nights and get enhanced pay (quite a bit extra)so im actually losing out and I can't afford too really but not sure they will care,am trying too seek.alternative employment so I don't lose pay.have asked on what grounds she is stating ive harrased her when the evidence showed I didnt,but had no reply from hr.

[Cavelady67]

Sorry this has happened to you.

I'm wondering if the explanation is that the employer isn't relying solely on the police case, (which sounds like it went pretty far if you got summonsed to court). The CPS in a criminal case have to prove their case "beyond a reasonable doubt"which makes it quite difficult for you - even though it was your IP address, they don't seem to have been able to prove it was you at the computer at the time, so wouldn't meet the burden of proof required in court. This doesn't necessarily get you off the hook - they're not saying it wasn't you , they're saying they had insufficient evidence to bring the case.

However your employer can determine a grievance on the lower burden of proof required in the civil courts - which is "on balance of probability". Basically, that when looking at the evidence, a reasonable person would believe there is a 51% or more chance you were the responsible person. This may be much, much easier for them.

If it comes to it, I would expect them to show you a list of times when these complaints were made, and you in turn to provide some account of what you were doing at these times. If you can't account for your time, or you can't account for enough of those incidents, you might have a problem. How would they find this info? At my work The IT dept can give reports of who was logged on when, what applications they used, keystrokes they made and websites they accessed at any given time. Or your employer might try to demonstrate that, on balance, only you had access to that IP address. The allegation of a colleague purely on the basis that the police identified your IP address wouldn't be good enough for me to determine it was you without further evidence.

By the way my job involves investigating and preparing civil cases against people.