How to recover from being dismissed from dream job

[christmascanfuckoff]

Hello all,

Fairly certain that I will be dismissed from my dream role after a disciplinary hearing next week. I don't agree with the reasons and feel I was sat up to fail. However at this point, it's inevitable as they are clearly dotting the is and crossing the ts.
In post 21 months. I'm not sure how to recover from it- I've been suspended on full pay for just over a month. My mental health is not good and I worked so hard for this job. I've got a job to go to but it's essentially a job I did ten years ago so it's many steps down the career ladder, but I need to support my three children.
My confidence is shot, I feel a shell of who I was and I wasn't expecting it at all.
Has anyone any tips on how to come back? At 38 I feel now that is it for my career.
Thank you

Did something happen to trigger the disciplinary , or have you had issues with reliability or attendance and dropped productivity?

Ask if you can resign with immediate effect and find another job before it hits your record?

Suspended with pay since December. Investigation carried out decision to discipline hearing which is next week.

As I said was a total shock. None of what they are saying is true and first I'd heard of it. All positive etc until then.

I think it's excuse to get rid of before two years is up.

Obviously I don’t know the details of what has happened but it’s quite rare for an employer to carry on with a disciplinary if an employee has resigned with immediate effect. Because realistically the problem is solved by the resignation.

In my experience companies would only continue with a disciplinary in circumstances where it was beneficial to the organisation or they had a responsibility to do so. And only if the case was clear cut with no possibility of being found not to have happened etc.

Eg fraud or theft (like stealing money from the bank not eating a donut on the shop floor) where they might need to discipline for insurance to be valid. Or something safeguarding related which would affect your dbs. Or you work in an industry where you have a professional registration (eg doctor etc) and this might affect that registration.

If your case doesn’t fit into this box I would call acas back, speak to someone else and get a second opinion. It’s also worth noting that if you resign and they discipline afterwards you can still tell new employers that you resigned. although it’s possible they might include the disciplinary on a reference, most references nowadays are just employment dates.

I would start by stopping refering to it as your dream job.
It's too black and white a way of thinking. A dream job is one where we are thriving,.not one where.they are prepared to boot us out (however unjustly)

It clearly wasn't the right fit for you for some reason

Careers don't have to be linear anymore. You can go back to this non "dream job"..reflect, learn lessons, and then climb the ladder again when you are ready. Maybe in the same direction, maybe in a different one

Hi OP I work in HR and it's good you've spoken to ACAS, it sounds like you're aware that as rubbish as it is, they can dismiss you for whatever reason they like before you've been employed for 2 years (as long as it's not discriminatory and due to a protected characteristic.)

The timing is interesting given that you've been there just under 2 years, it does raise red flags for me that they're rushing a process through while they can do so relatively easily. However.....a month is a long time to be suspended pending an investigation if they were planning to dismiss you anyway. The organisation would normally want to move as quickly as reasonably possible so it does suggest they've actually been looking into your case.

It's also interesting that they immediately suspended you and that was the first you had heard about it. That suggests the allegation is reasonably serious. Have you asked to take a friend or colleague with you to the disciplinary meeting? You are within your rights to request it and it can be helpful to have someone else there to take notes for you as it's understandably an overwhelming situation so a second pair of ears can be helpful.

Ultimately, this is not the end of your career and you will recover from this. It's good you have something else lined up.

You seem to be certain that they're going to bin you off, and you say you wouldn't want to go back there if they didn't - so resign.

Is your new job an immediate start or are you relying on your notice period pay to tide you over (assuming you're not being fired for GM without pay)?

Offer to resign - it'll save them time/money and save you some stress. You may also to be able to avoid any mention of your sacking on future references.

Do they think you have started new job while suspended or absent? You are being very vague with circumstances which, if you have communicated with employer similarly, looks evasive and suspicious.

@LIZS I have to be vague because my job is quite unique and it would be very outing

But surely the reasoning cannot be that specific?

I remember your other thread… I thought you’d managed to prove the allegation was wrong?

I think it's excuse to get rid of before two years is up.

I doubt it op. Will be a lot of effort on their part. Why would they be so keen to get you out? How big is the company?

Of course it won’t be
I suspect it is very serious

Usual stellar advice from ACAS

if you resign and leave your employment they can’t dismiss you. How can you dismiss ssomeone who doesn’t work for you ?

I’m so confused…
They’ve taken a month to investigate - so for the company this is a really big deal.
Yet you are totally surprised by it all.
Really sorry, but this story just doesn’t add up.
Or they really want you out and someone has decided to ensure upmost due diligence in firing you through the disciplinary process.

It doesn’t make sense
and it will end up in op out with no redress

Exactly. Within two years' service they could just fire you. Why go to all this trouble and expense unless it was potentially disrepute for the company or criminal. Either of which the op would know.

I had a peek at the post mentioned by another poster. Did you follow procedure regarding absence? I used to be a TU steward and quite often people would think that stuff was ok, tell me their side and then management would throw in a complete curveball with evidence as to why the employee was being brought before a disciplinary.

If you're dismissed that could (if our employer wants to) be disclosed on your employment reference. As it's a fact.

Resignation sounds a lot better on a reference!

Is it worth having a conversation with your employer saying you'll resign with immediate effect and save them the hassle of carrying out a disciplinary process and appeal - and potentially going off sick with stress which would delay the process even more?

You past threads are contradictory. You say in one you have been dismissed. Yet here you are suspended on full pay.

In another that you have taken three weeks off, but you don't state whether you followed work's procedures for taking time off. You mention financial issues - was your sickness absence without pay/only SSP?

It will greatly help those people trying to help you on this thread if you give a full, frank account of what has happened, whether you followed policy and procedure.

If they just wanted to get rid of you, they'd pay you off with a settlement agreement. I.e. You've done nothing wrong, you just don't fit with their needs/plans. The fact they are not doing that suggests the disciplinary is for something else. You'd get nothing if sacked for gross misconduct. What has gone OP?

Either way, I imagine the company will breathe a huge sigh of relief when all this is over. Which will be soon. As the OP does t have a leg to stand on

@LoudRoseGuide you cannot possibly make such as assertion on the basis of the information the OP has provided thus far. Did it make you feel good to kick someone when they are down?

I once had to dismiss a team member who had massively dropped the ball with sensitive data on three occassions, said they didn't care and didn't want the job but carried on working then got aggressive in the disciplinary meetings. He came back with ACAs rep after and it was a huge load of eork for us all. It transpired after all this that he had a lot of personal issues going on that had caused him extreme stress. If be had been open about the issues we would have found a work around for him and tried hard to support him, but we didn't know. We just had the issues he had caused and his behaviour to go on. It did go to tribunal and he won a small payout and ended up out of work for a while. I would recommend making sure everything is documented, every conversation, dates of everything and all emails and correspondence documented. Write a full letter now with everything in, and also outlining all personal issues you are facing. Sign up to a union, there are unions that cover all professions and jobs for people that don't have an official union for their professions, they will assign you a representative to accompany you in meetings. Do not attend disciplinary meetings alone. I will post two links here to contact asap.

https://www.tuc.org.uk/joinunion