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.

Surely you just go back to the provider of the product and say you made a mistake and re-submit the paperwork - that might mean someone is not eligible, but they were never eligible, just a mistake, no one dies, in the grand scheme its totally unimportant. not negligence, not misconduct, just human error, oversight.

I've worked in finance 20+ years.
I understand that completing incorrect medical details for insurance could invalidate a claim so yes, far reaching consequences, but did it get to claim point? How was the error noticed? Any form completion would need to be checked and signed by the customer anyway surely. If the mistake was prior to claim then surely the error could be rectified with the insurer? It was just a human error, it happens, that is not gross misconduct. I'd speak to a union

As there were serious financial consequences because of your mistake surely this should have been seen as a potential risk and had processes in place to prevent it.

Question is were these consequences ever realised, as pp says, wrong details in an insurance policy could invalidate it, but that only counts if a claim was made.

In any case, with my business insurance and my mortgage, the company sends me a copy of the paperwork and it says I have to check for and report any errors or omissions, because presumably it happens enough they feel the need to do so, and its my responsibility ultimately to check.

No advice I’m afraid but just wanted to say that I’m really sorry this has happened to you. I hope everything works out in the end 💐 In the meantime, maybe ask your GP for some anti anxiety meds? Just to be able to do the basics life-wise…

Op, you are in a support role, you should not be able to make such a monumental mistake as there should be processes in place to stop this. There will always be human error and that is why companies should have controls and procedures to negate this. Are you in a union, have you had any legal advice?

Do an online benefits check on Turn2us to see what you might be able to claim now - and then make the applications to tide you over.

Ask your mortgage lender for a payment holiday.

Contact recruiters in your field and send them an up to date CV. Be honest about the circumstances of your departure from this job, they will know how to deal with it in future applications.

Be prepared to find a stop gap job - caring, supermarket, retail, hospitality etc

You will be fine once this initial shock dies down

It's not gross negligence or misconduct. It's a mistake. Gross is when you set off a fire alarm deliberately, steal or otherwise do something you knew to be actually deeply wrong but you did it anyway.

You have the right to appeal this. Get ACAS involved. Whoever is saying this is gross is wrong, you made a mistake when under pressure is all and we have all done that.

You must feel awful and it sounds like because it was a mistake that you made you believe yourself to be fully culpable. I highly doubt that to be the case. It sounds like stress due to the deadline and lack of review processes have also been at fault, nether of which is your fault. Please please get some independent advice - ACAS can mediate with your employer.

This doesn’t seem right op.

I once entered a wrong NHS number when processing a blood sample. Then when it brought up the wrong patient I still didn’t notice.
The wrong patient had leukaemia so when a new leukaemia patient was alerted via the lab test plus the name on the sample, the hospital were about to ring the gp urgently.
Fortunately a sensible senior manager checked the computer entry too and the mistake was rectified before any consequences occurred.
I however, quite rightly, got a major bollocking.
But I didn’t lose my job.

What I did was far worse surely.

Then I think you probably have a case - as someone who worked in a related field. In my firm every single thing that left the building was reviewed once - even fee chaser letters.... I think that your employer has been massively negligent in not having a review system in place and that failing to allow for human error is a fundamentally stupid mistake for them to have made at a business level. Absolutely everyone makes mistakes from time to time (as a trainee accountant I missed a zero off carrying a column of figures over an ended up misstating the tax liabilty by many millions. It was picked up by the partner in review and the person they bollocked was not me but the manager for not doing a commonsense review of the liability...).

Have a chat with ACAS and the chances are you will have a claim for some compensation for an unfair process (and tbh they will probably pay you to get you off their back).

Take care OP. I find these meditations very useful. Trust everything happens for a reason and hopefully you will get something else soon.

The mindful movement in YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LiNxnsPSrJg&pp=ygUcZm9yd2FyZCBmcm9tIGhlcmUgbWVkaXRhdGlvbg%3D%3D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tHljU5BKGsM&pp=ygUabGV0IGl0IGdvIG1pbmRmdWwgbW92ZW1lbnQ%3D

m.youtube.com/watch?v=-RA-ujq4F50

I can't comment on the employment rights side of things as I haven't a clue. All I can advise, after being in a similar position (dh, main earner, suddenly had his contract terminated leaving us in a terrible financial position) is to do the online benefits calculator, either entitled to or turn 2 us etc and apply for universal credit immediately. I'm so sorry this has happened to you, I worked in a bank years ago and they put the fear of God into us regarding making mistakes and I made plenty. Good luck to you.

@RidetheT that sounds very harsh. If it matters that much I don’t understand why the forms aren’t peer-reviewed for that info; processes don’t sound that robust. Plenty of others here have made good suggestions about checking that dsciplinary process was followed, and I am no expert so not much to add, but, please try not to beat yourself up over this. One mistake in 10 years does not define you!

@RidetheT I know you are probably exhausted, stressed and anxious. But a lot of the responses here are the same. Take a breath today but I would get up tomorrow and fight this dismissal with all I had.

I also think you should call ACAS. A 30 minute phone call could put you in a better position, it’s worth a shot. A meeting with a lawyer and a letter could get you a payoff which gives you breathing space.

Job&talent give jobs quickly. Get anything to feed your children. Use it for a reference. Any agencies. Good luck.

I had to fire someone for gross misconduct but when doing any references it was never mentioned why he lost his job – So this won't follow you around, we are human and we make mistakes – My staff member was stealing from the business, so please don't think this will be with you forever on your CV etc.

this cannot be right

one human error that is simple to make with no guardrails in place to prevent and yet consequences are instant dismissal?

no this can't be right and if it is take them to the cleaners because wtf

I too am surprised that human error like this could be considered gross misconduct. Sounds very harsh.

we’ve all made mistakes when under pressure

if it was the last in a line of error then that would be different

Ok OP, I have some advice.
I had to sack someone for gross misconduct, it was sad and painful but I had to do it as it was a directive from the ceo. It was for mistakes with customer data and the fact when we tried to speak to him about it he said he didnt care and got aggressive.
After we sacked the person, this is what they did and I recommend you do it too.
Document everything you can remember about being over worked, pressured and deadlines. Try and remember conversations, all meetings, try and put them on timelines.
Document any mental health or other health or personal issues you have been going through, again, dates, times etc.
Join a union, you dont have to be in a jib with official unions, there are unions that are for any job.
Request they support you and provide an advocate.
.
Speak to ELTAl, they will provide you with an overview of your case.
Raise a complaint and push back for unfair dismissal.
If they have been pressuring you and you made a mistake because of it you will probably have a case. Don't take it lying down.
Next get your cv up to date, linked in etc,
See if you can get some short term contracting work asap, and don't let this be the end of it.

Get an employment solicitor. 10 years, no previous errors or warnings, no review processes. The financial implications of this mistake to your employer is exactly what their professional insurance is meant for.

If they had reviewed the risk as low, then that's on your employers too.

Your former employer is unfairly looking to put all the blame on you (perhaps to keep the client). You should make sure you get a significant settlement payout from this (enough to take at least 6 months to build back your confidence), as well as a good reference from your former employer to enable you to get another job.

My X was fired for gross misconduct. He had various sit down chats before it got to that point. In the end he was told he would get fired, but they would allow him to resign so it wouldn't affect his job prospects.

Hi OP

Sorry you're going through this - it does sound to me that this was not gross misconduct and that you should not have been fired. In my experience (I work in a highly regulated professional services role), if you've made a genuine error on one occasion (no matter how big) and been upfront and honest about it, you wouldn't be fired (I've never seen it). Essentially, if the repercussions of one mistake are big enough to warrant you being fired then they're big enough to warrant someone else double-checking it - the employer messed up. Regardless, you've said you don't disagree with the decision to we'll move on.

Firstly, as others have said, get your CV worked up and sent out, get your LinkedIn fresh and with "open to work" on it.

How much does DH work? Can you put in a UC claim (the threshold is higher than you think)? How old are DCs (are you paying for childcare)?

How much were you earning before? What was your degree in?

You can request that your mortgage is switched to interest-only. This will massively reduce your payments whilst on that system and will mean you don't impact your credit score at all. It's not a default. Do this before taking out any credit card debts or personal loans.

Can you look into food banks? Even for a few weeks it could save a little bit.

You should be able to walk into a minimum wage job today to be honest (hospitality, retail, etc). Unless you were very highly paid before and mortgaged to the hilt, you should be able to tide you over for a couple of months given that you have some savings, potentially UC and can cut back. You won't lose the house in this market.

First deal with the immediate financial issues. Apply for benefits. Try to get payment breaks on mortgage and any loans. There is great advice on the MN money saving forums.