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.

Do you have a heating? Are you a union member ?

This may not be your fault entirely and not gross misconduct if you can prove the correct processes weren’t in place. Should they have someone checking this before it goes through if it has such a big impact ?

Not gross misconduct based on that information, OP @RidetheT.

Even if the financial consequence is hundreds of thousands, there was quite obviously an operational risk with no review process in place, which management would have been the owner of.

I'd absolutely be fighting this in your position. For your families sake.

If you're not convinced please do go and get some professional advice.

OP, you are feeling guilty and you know you made a mistake, which is why you think you deserve to lose your job.
But take the advice you gave been given here, get proper legal advice or go to ACAS . If you are in a union speak to them.
One mistake is not gross negligence, it is a mistake, and your employer may well bear some responsibility for this. You are clearly trying to accept responsibility for your mistake, and whilst you can freely admit to making the mistake, it doesn’t mean you should bear the whole responsibility for it , if for example the right systems and checks weren’t in place.
I worked for a firm years ago where one of the partners made an error costing the firm millions. His partners did everything they could to support him, and all of them acknowledged that it could have been any one of them who made the error, that we all mistakes. In that case, there was insurance in place, as there probably will be in your work place.
You can’t afford not to fight this.

It did have significant financial consequences for the client (receiving less than they should have done rather than more). My company had to make a big pay out to the client.

And yes there are insurances in place but for a small company it will still have a significant impact

this is not your problem

The company has insurance in place for this.

The company should have better guardrails in place to ensure what you did doesnt happen.

The company, it seems, have been negligent and not appreciative of the level of risk involved - poor risk register management.

The company has let you down and is scapegoating you.

Unless this is the latest in a long line of errors, and you have been on a long pip that you havent given a shit about, and have a poor attitude, this is way over the top and actually disgusting.

Fight back, please.

I work for a financial advisors and I've made 2 mistakes while being there, both meant the client was financially impacted. I basically misread and put them in the wrong funds.

My company took responsibility. I held my hands up, they paid the amount the client had been impacted by. Having been there over 20yrs they understand mistakes happen occasionally. It wasn't done maliciously.

OP I work in financial services and have done for 20 years. I’ve made mistakes, some costly, we all have. I feel that after 10 years you’ve been treated badly, and should have been a written warning. I would appeal, and get some legal advice and take them to a tribunal. In the least you might get some money to last your family a bit longer.

I think one of the earlier suggestions about re-training as a maths teacher is a great idea!

I thoroughly sympathise. Some years ago, I went through the menopause and my brain was addled. I made some errors and was not reliable.

Unsurprisingly, I was told that I would be subject to a disciplinary. This put me into such a bad state of depression that I was immediately signed off and was told to go to hospital. The doctor phoned ahead and the hospital was aware of the state I was in.

Why am I telling you this? Because I changed track and found a new career and so can you. Everything seems bleak now but you can turn this around and perhaps find something more fulfilling. We're all rooting for you.

That's not relevant to whether or not it was gross misconduct or not.

Option 1: The risks of the process were so high that one honest mistake would have a huge impact.
Option 2: The risks of the process were sufficiently low that one honest mistake would not have a huge impact.

Only one of those can be true, not both.

If Option 1 is true then the company should have had appropriate insurance, double-checks and safeguards. They are at fault if those were not in place, not you. You cannot be held liable for their failure to implement appropriate procedure.

If Option 2 is true then the company cannot now argue that the impact of your mistake was so great that it warrants a gross misconduct dismissal.

Both cannot be true. They cannot have a system with no checks and balances, and then argue that the impact of one error warrants firing a long-term employee. It's not possible to make that argument on the facts you've given.

You made a mistake, you messed up, you got it wrong - but your employer has an obligation to put in place systems where humans can make mistakes because humans do make mistakes. That's not gross misconduct. In essence, people can almost never commit gross misconduct without knowing they're doing it at the time.

OP

Print this out and stick it to your bedroom wall so its the first thing you see.

I am outraged on your behalf - fight this all the way

So much good advice on here - please seek that employment law specialist.

Anger is never a legally valid reason to dismiss a person. (Unless there is more to this story...)

Op I'm so so sorry

Please don't catastrophise

Is there a way of getting a job in another field ?
Do you have savings?

Sending lots of good wishes
We all make mistakes at work

I have made so many 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

I’ve been sacked for gross misconduct before, I’ve only ever told my Mum.
It was half my fault, half somebody else’s but I’d just suffered my first miscarriage so I was too heartbroken to fight my corner.
It wasn’t as important of a job as what yours sounds but I’ve never needed to explain it or admit to it to other employers.
You’ll be okay OP, take some time to allow the guilt to leave, it doesn’t need to hang over your head forever. We learn from these things 💛

write an appeal against your dismissal and send it to them. Point out your 10 years of unblemished work, any mitigating factors (eg stress due to family disabilities), and say the penalty was disproportionate and you will get advice from ACAS. Its worth a shot.
Use a benefits checker to see what benefits, if any, you can get.
Update your CV and LinkedIn. Apply for anything and everything.
Sign up to agencies for temporary work.
Check all the job websites there are - indeed, civil service jobs, charity jobs, jobs.ac.uk, guardian jobs, and facebook groups for local jobs too.

1. Have a good cry, go somewhere remote and have a scream.

1. Play a really violent video game pretending that your ex bosses are on the receiving end.

1. Dredge up every fantasy you've ever had about yourself, and...

1. Start retraining as an opera singer/brain surgeon/elephant whisperer.

Go for it OP, this is your chance!

Brilliant post!

Does your company not bear some responsibility for what happened OP? For example, with something so crucial, why wasn’t there second checks or an approval process by someone else?

I once made a mistake at my company which cost them a lot of money to fix but they were very understanding and acknowledged I’d been asked to do something I’d not been formally trained in. As a result training is now a big focus for the company and they’ve put processes in place so that important docs have to go through several ‘gates’ before being sent out publicly.

It’s very normal and easy to beat yourself up but on something so important, you’d think there would be a second set of eyes on it.

OP - take proper advice re whether to appeal etc. ACAS is the best starting point. Posters on here are giving their opinions which may not necessarily be factually correct.

Apply for all benefits you think you may be entitled to. They wont pay you if you are not entitled.

Get your CV up to date. Get applying now..treat job search as your new “job”. Register with agencies if you can.

Talk to your mortgage company.

It’s ok to lick your wounds over this but dont let that stand in the way of taking positive steps. Maybe even do something like write up an action plan, with key steps and dates etc? Might help focus your mind on the future , not how upset you are ( naturally).

Good luck

Loads of good advice on the gross misconduct thing and it sounds very harsh to me.

But the OP is worried about losing her house so on that, can I suggest that you contact the mortgage provider. Tell them. Lenders hate surprises. You will be the 984,458th person to have made this sort of call and they will go straight into their procedures. Then, bills. What can be given up without penalty, what can be transferred to low interest payments and so on. Maybe means no Netflix for a bit.

Then, cv. You have worked there for 10 years so you have a good track record. The law on references etc is really tight now so it won't follow you around. Then, recruiters. Some suggestions above.

Then, anything in your area that could start straight away. Supermarkets need any help?

It's tough and horrible - but take a deep breath and you can manage this.

Don't know what to suggest but I hope things won't be as bad as you're thinking x

When applying for new work should I tell future employers at interview stage what has happened? I don’t want to be dishonest but also don’t want to be written off.

I will also speak to ACAS. I want to run and hide and the idea of working there ever again is upsetting but I see now it is the sensible thing to do.

I wouldn't want to work there again in your shoes,

what I suggest is a tribunal, and rinse the fuckers.

I agree with all the other PPs.

For something so serious there should be some kind of review or quality assurance check in place because literally all humans make mistakes.

I’m shocked that there was not.

Well, you dont need to worry about that right now, but if you are asked directly say something like. “ They let me go because I made one mistake. It was very distressing at the time, but Ive learnt from it and I’m back on my feet again”

So you are being honest, acknowledging it happened, but clearly putting it behind you. Don’t slag off your former employer, or go into details. They dont need to know all of that.