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.

@housethatbuiltme The NHS is notorious for behaving like this though, for many reasons including desperate staff shortages. Not many industries are like this!

Were you overworked? If yes, I’d speak to a lawyer.

Sometimes it can be a ticking time bomb when employees are under unfair pressure.

Don’t think of it as fighting back, but standing up for yourself.

It’s one step at a time, getting advice is one step, even if you choose not to pursue your rights.

I'm no expert but as PPs have said, that doesn't sound like gross misconduct to me at all. It was a clerical error that would be easy to make. When the stakes are so high and the mistake is so easy to make, why don't they have a better process in place to guard against it?

Your employer will want to avoid a tribunal and you won’t need to jump to that step. You do need to calmly explore with them the reason for your dismissal and dispute gross negligence as that affects your reemployment prospects. You need to affirm you’re due any notice payments and continuation of benefits til this is resolved.
You might give them opportunity to concede this was human error and either reinstate your employment or come up with a fair exit plan.

I am in a regulated role so I understand I might not be able to hop back into finance and might need to build a career up from scratch again. That’s a really scary prospect. I think it’s why I feel overwhelmed

Human error happens, there was no control in place to prevent it which is your employer’s responsibility. Presumably the customer’s signature was required at some part of the application process and to confirm all information was correct. Even incredibly rich and important people have to sign things occasionally!

I also think this might not be gross misconduct. You made a mistake.

if you don’t want to work there it’s fair, then you need to focus on challenging gross misconduct but getting a huge settlement for several months worth of salary allowing you to look for another job. You don’t have to disclose this as it was a mistake not gross misconduct (as you were explained gross misconduct would be knowing that you made a mistake but continuing anyway).
don’t take this without a fight, it was covered by insurance (small business or not), they didn’t have any checks or proper processes in place and it was an honest mistake - it’s unbelievable they are pinning this on you whereas it is clearly oversight and management gap. How fucking dare they

This is not gross misconduct in reality and you weren’t barred from holding a regulated role. Fight back

this is not the time to say you aren’t used to it, there are situations in life when you have to pull yourself together and overcome what is your usual mode of operating is and it is critical you do this, especially if you are the main bread winner and your whole career is on the line. Get a friend who usually fights back to help you and encourage you, a counsellor or get a lawyer, they will do the fighting for you.

you can do this this one time

This is fear mongering when OP is clearly already overly fearful and full of self blame and feeding in that isn’t helpful.

Majority on here are also with OP this is unfair and does not fit gross misconduct, based on facts presented.

It’s better for OP if they have a good awareness from a legal perspective of their error, legal rights and options. Nothing to be lost from doing that and likely will help their shattered self esteem.

Please don’t be so disheartened.

As a pp said, they should have a process.

In my work, we have an approval system where senior leaders have to sign off on things according to their value.

It sounds like you are being scapegoated by the company for their poor processes.

Find your anger.

Do you have access to en employee line offering legal advice?

Don’t think big picture for now- think small. How can you and your husband pay the bills in the short term.

Make a budget together for everything you absolutely need to keep the wheels on the bus- mortgage, bills etc. Then take a job or multiple jobs to get by for now. It really doesn’t matter what it is- literally anything you can pick up quickly.

Id also make sure you have a credit card ready to go just in case you need it to tide you over.

You should be appealing to appeal your dismissal, if you can do as has been suggested and contact ACAS as a starting point. It will at least give you something more concrete to consider. Even if you choose not to go back there if you're successful in your appeal, you won't have dismissal in your employment history.

Is see

Tight deadlines
No review process in place
Pure mistake - no gain or pre meditated plan
Hiring humans
Good history of quality work on your part
If the level of money involved is high this just ups the ante on management to have an independent review process for anything over £x.

I can't see its gross misconduct on your part. The processes were not sufficiently robust.

To be fair I would employ you. You will not make the same mistake again. You were unlucky that the mistake mattered. Alot of us I am sure make mistakes daily. Its just luck as to whether the mistake matters. In this case it did. Don't be too hard on yourself. You will recover. The company has insurance which will cover the losses.

Small companies often think they can do whatever because they don’t have big HR teams guiding them.

It’s not going to get to the tribunal, most likely here will be a settlement way before this. Don’t fear monger the OP.

I think id challenge the gross misconduct. They and force them to agree leaving on mutual terms

As many have said, this sounds very harsh. If you can find the strength to challenge the decision, you will find lots of helpful advice both here and elsewhere online

i have been sacked four times ( 6 if you include teenage jobs , twice I deserved it as I made bad choices , twice it was totally unfair but they obviously wanted me gone as my face did not fit the “brand” and my mistake gave them that opportunity to get rid of me

if you met me you would never know as i present as together and capable professional ( I like to think )

never disclose a sacking unless legally obligated to . you always say you left to either “further your career “or “gain valuable experience elsewhere “

each time I have shat my pants and maxed out the overdraft and c card but got a new job in Knick of time

sell anything you can , clothes on vinted , bikes kids toys you will surprised how all that crap adds up to a gas bill or

can you move home and rent out your home ?
can you take in foreign students ?
tell your bank and get a mortgage break if you can
tell all your utility companies for payment adjustment / breaks
they hear everyday that people have lost a job and there is no shame

recently I was contemplating only fans but luckily got job in time

you would be surprised how many people get sacked but don’t talk about it

lastly ditch the shame , it serves no purpose, you clearly have accepted your responsibility and won’t make that mistake again, if I was an employee I’d employ you as you’d be grateful and diligent more so than others !

learn from this move on and grow but stop the self loathing you didn’t kill anyone. All will be ok xx

Aaaw bless you. Of course it is hugely upsetting for you, but like all of us, you are human, and we all make mistakes, some with far bigger implications. Nothing was intentional.

Everyone deserves a second chance, and I am sure there will be an employer out there who would be willing to offer this.
I have a family member who went through similar, and after the initial shock and upset, it actually all turned out for the better 💐

@housethatbuiltme I doubt it was really that simple. Over the decades I have known of quite a few serious medical fuck ups. Yes, they can usually practice but as well as shifting them, the medical board usually imposes conditions on them for whatever period of time is determined. Usually the conditions involve a level of oversight they are subject to, and if they are consultant level, that would be approved peer oversight (a number of peers who would be available for coverage are approved to sign off on the colleagues decisions, physically oversee them or whatever the board determinations are). So, while the person still works there are usually ramifications and it’s on their board record.

Same as Dr’s who have been caught out with a drink/drug problem, if the board determines it’s appropriate, they still work but with restrictions such as alcohol/drug testing, appropriate oversight etc.

Someone has to exhaust the appeal process before they can go to tribunal - so she'll have to appeal the sacking.

You could make a data subject access request to see all the docs about you relating to the gross misconduct. They have a month to respond and the results may inform you as to whether you want to pursue the matter.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-make-a-subject-access-request-sar-a6axO2u2RKof

Another one who doesn’t think this sounds like gross misconduct.

yes, I agree fighting is hard/may not get your job back or may label you a trouble maker however, you may wish to challenge this simply because of the impact on you staying in the profession. I work for a huge multinational that plays by the rules. References sticks to facts; dates of employment and reason for leaving. Even with this minimalist information the gross misconduct part would be shared. As it normally refers to stealing or something of equivalent significance, new employers will fear the worst.

re: being dismissed. I only know of one person who was in the position. Instantly dismissed as they were judged a poor team
fit. They were utterly honest and went on to secure other roles.