Been sacked for gross misconduct

[RidetheT]

I have been sacked. I made a mistake in work that could have had wide reaching implications for a client.

I hate myself. The mistake was through sheer stupidity and carelessness and rushing to get work done by a deadline.

I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I keep crying. I’m terrified for the future. How am I going to ever work again? Who would trust me? I don’t trust me.

We have about a months savings and then we are going to struggle to pay the bills/ mortgage so my kids are going to lose their home on top of everything.

I just don’t know what to do. My DH keeps telling me he has faith in me and he knows I’ll make it all ok. I don’t know how.

Seems very harsh for you to be fired for this. I once made a mistake at work that cost my client £10k (which my company paid out to them), and all I got was lots of people being very kind and reassuring to me and telling me I'd handled it well when I discovered the mistake.

From what you've said you've been treated very harshly. I hope things are better for you soon <3

Oh OP, this is so awful for you. It sounds extreme that you had been sacked given you’re an admin assistant - accountability for that stuff usually lies far higher up the food chain. Particularly because you’d been there 10 years. Definitely appeal - this is what their insurance is for (plus a strong word, retraining and QA processes). Gross misconduct is extremely harsh.

From my understanding Gross Misconduct is when you are doing something deliberately and wilfully i.e. stealing etc. Making a mistake on a form is a systems error i.e. if they do not have a failsafe for human error which is a known risk then thats on the organisation. I am only saying this because I think this is an unreasonable expectation that they are placing on you and you are probably better outside the system.

Please get some professional help from someone who is trained. You have a lot of pressure on your self and you need a human to talk to . Even if it is the Samaritains. You will feel a lot more settled and will be able to get to sleep and recover, which is what you need at the moment.

Long term (because that it was anixety wants to know), you will be OK and after a difficult period you will grow and thrive. Realistically you might have to plan for 5 years of discomfort, your DH will have to pick up some slack, he is an adult and has children.

With what the OP has explained, I too am wondering if she's been made the sacrificial lamb to cover up for someone more senior - their mistake in not checking the paperwork that OP had completed.

Oh OP how awful for you. It sounds like you are a very diligent worker and employee and you made a one-off mistake?? How were there not checks in place to avoid situations like this?? There's a lot I don't know about other industries, but I know that in my company, we always check others work a lot because we are all capable of overlooking information.

Please don't beat yourself up... you are a good person and employee and this is a very unfortunate situation but you do NOT deserve any punishment. Be kind to yourself.

Echoing PPs - what you’ve described isn’t gross misconduct. It would be worthwhile speaking to an employment lawyer (but don’t expect free advice) with a view to negotiating a payout for wrongful dismissal; and explore the union option.

I'm in a regulated profession too, OP, and in a far more senior role than you.

I'm terrified of making costly fuckups and, touch wood, haven't yet - though it does come at an efficiency cost. I've certainly known colleagues, junior and senior, make costly fuckups and "gross misconduct" has never even entered the conversation.

My most senior colleagues have actually tried to steer me away from my tendency to triple-check, for the sake of efficiency, noting that mistakes are bound to happen occasionally and thats what insurance is for.

Notwithstanding that it sounds very likely you have been treated very unfairly and I suspect you very likely have a good claim against your employer, you really shouldn't be beating yourself up like you are (and fuck them for making you feel as you do).

Don't dally with contacting a lawyer. If you're going the Tribunal route, I believe the timing is relatively tight.

My money is on after employing you for 10 years, you are costing them too much and they decided to sack you.
Check your home insurance for legal cover and get a case going. Making a mistake like that where there’s no process in place and the pressure of deadlines are all due to mismanagement.

Still not gross misconduct. Plus they should have processes in place, double checks for anything with consequences like this. Humans make mistakes. That’s why you need robust processes in the right places.

This. I’ve worked in financial services for years as does my DH. We’ve both seen loads of people fuck up and cost the company money. It literally happens all the time in financial services (to varying degrees of course). No one has ever lost their job for one mistake. And the only person I know ever fired for gross misconduct stole thousands.

Honestly you need to speak to ACAS and get some legal advice.

It might not be for everyone but if the OP needs a new job desperately they're always advertising for carers, I've noticed. It might not be the best job in the world but sometimes you just have to do whatever to pay the mortgage and bills! I think finding a new job should be the OP's priority rather than wasting time appealing being sacked.

It’d be useful to get in touch with your local Citizens Advice too

Why is it a waste of time?

What an unhelpful contribution. You are just one of those posters that like to kick people when they are down.

Luckily experts in the same field as OP, employment solicitors and HR consultants on this thread have all told OP that she should appeal against the decision.

Also worked in FS industry for years (decades) and you’re right.., many have cocked up and vast majority not lost job.

Those that have (3 I can recall…. The cock up was much more weighted against the individual rather than the company and the consequence was far reaching and substantial (both financially and more importantly reputationally for the company).

So presuming this is the first time the company has sacked an employee in this way… I’d be inclined to think the cock up was as above

Are you in a Union ,as they should be able to attend meetings with you .It does sound like you have been treated badly.

in my opinion, the OP’s hands are tied and she HAS to appeal this as she has been dismissed for gross misconduct after 10 years employment. This will severely harm any job search as gross misconduct is normally theft/sexual or racial harassment/violence ie very serious misconduct that will prejudice future employment. Yes there is a chance a new employer won’t ask or follow up references but equally they may and then the OP looks dishonest on top of everything else. You suggest becoming a carer but who would want a carer who committed any one of the misdemeanours that would fall under gross misconduct? I am glad this thread has given the OP the strength and confidence to challenge this dismissal or at least the grounds for dismissal.

If the facts are as described here (and I can't see why they wouldn't be) then I think an appeal may well shake loose an offer to settle with a neutral reference and PILON with a bit on top.

In the decade preceding this, what has your relationship been like with management? You have enjoyed your job? No issues to date?

To be fair - a lot of employers use the term gross misconduct to sack people when they haven't committed gross misconduct and haven't racially abused anyone or stolen something. As the OP said she made a mistake - she has the right to tell a new employer her side of the story as well.

But if it's OP vs a candidate that doesn't have gross misconduct against their name they will almost certainly go for the other candidate. Especially in a job like caring where working with vulnerable people.

The point is that OP's past employer will probably not specify, even if asked, what the 'gross misconduct' consisted of, but will probably include 'fired for gross misconduct' in any reference so any potential new employer is risking that it is one of the worst types of offences and they only have OP's word for it that it isn't. She should absolutely challenge this - she needs to secure a neutral reference.

They have been wrong to say it's gross misconduct. Yes, I'm sure loads of companies have policies that name gross misconduct as minor things that aren't really and fall in the realm of normal expected human error, which is what OP's mistake is, but as the ACAS information posted upthread shows, this is not fair or reasonable (and if taken to a court of law they'd lose).

It also says that if it was a junior employee making a mistake who was inadequately supervised or with inadequate procedures in place to mitigate against normal human error then the dismissal could also be challenged.

Honestly, I wouldn't want to work for this company anymore. I suspect the situation here is that senior management are happy to throw junior staff under the bus to save their own skin, but OP does need to challenge the label of 'gross misconduct'.

Good luck OP.

Something has caught my eye due to a previous post and some personal experience.

Even if this mistake came at the tail end of a long string of mistakes, it's not the end of the world unless you have been on the capability program, had warnings in place etc.

Find an employment lawyer to speak to ASAP.

Sending hugs. This is very tough.

Can you get a loan with your last paycheck? It will buy you a bit of breathing space until you start earning again. In the long run, it's probably cheaper than mortgage holiday. I believe mortgage holiday goes on your credit file

You need to contact ACAS as a matter of urgency. Carelessness , even negligence, doesn’t constitute gross misconduct, which as PP have stated is usually theft, racial/sexual abuse etc

I think ACAS will inform you that you have a claim for unfair dismissal which can be VERY costly for the employer, but you need to get in touch with them NOW.

It’s a free service.

The clock is ticking as you only have 3 months to bring a claim in the Tribunal but the “clock” is paused once you’ve contacted ACAS.

@RidetheT, how are things now😘