I was fired for Gross Misconduct today.

[HoldingOnatoday]

Just need to talk to someone outside of my family really. It’s been a tough time recently, lost my mum and then I got Pneumonia and ended up in intensive care for six weeks.

I returned to work on Friday and had an investigation meeting where I was accused of submitting fraudulent expense mileage claims. I disputed some which were left on an agree to disagrees. Some id accidentally left in, where I’d been to visit clients homes, the clients had cancelled and I’d forgot to remove the mileage. Its auto done for us but alas I should’ve manually removed them. I accept responsibility and this is on me.

I’ve put in £10,000 (I do a lot of driving/stay in hotels) worth of expenses in the last year and £900 was found to be fraud. These were the cancelled ones I’d not deleted. They’re going to contact the police and I’m not sure if anything will come to it. It was done more job negligence (I’ve not been up to par) than maliciously. I’ve been scattered brained, driving 7 hours a day for work often and running on empty.

The thing is I’m good at my job, I’m a good person I’d like to think. But I’m so broken by this, I’ve finally got a good credit rating, which will now be damaged by mortgage repayments and bills being missed. I’m also scared at the prospect of going to prison/declaring this to future employers. I have offered to pay back and this was rejected.

Im not looking for Sympathy, just for a way forward because I really feel like ending it all today. I’ve applied for Christmas temp work today but not sure if anything will come from it.

They do if they don’t want issues down the line. Especially as discrimination could be brought up.

Just wanted to add as I haven't seen it suggested here yet, but would it be worth giving citizens advice a call? They seem to help with a broad range, they could either take on your case or guidepost you.

@HoldingOnatoday id be fighting this! They mentioned police so you wouldn’t question their actions .

The manger has to be countable for he sign off . I bet they knew if they did an audit they would be able to get rid of you as it sounds like most employees would have had an overpayment at some point.

Id take this further .

You sound exhausted OP - I really hope you get some support soon. Apologies if I've missed it but so you have any kind of support network in place? I would urge you to try and chat through with a friend IRL if possible, or the Samaritans if not, as others have suggested.

As an aside, I'm surprised at the many posts completely stonewalling the very idea of fraud just because the expenses system in place at the OP's company sounds a bit lacking. That's exactly where most fraud creeps in - when people exploit a weakness in an internal system (I'm not saying that's what the OP's done). The expenses system sound as though it essentially pre-populates an online claim form within SAP or similar, which then needs to be checked by the employee. I am almost certain that a declaration will then appear, asking the employee to confirm that all submitted info is correct. Just flagging in case anyone else with a similar system gets the wrong end of the stick, thinking they are absolved of responsibility.

What discrimination? Op has less than two years’ service and was off sick, but that in itself is not protected. She was struggling nine months’ ago so presumably performance review did not go well and now she has admitted over claiming expenses, even if not deliberately.

I agree with others that you must contact Acas. I cannot see how it is reasonable to dismiss you on the spot for gross misconduct when in fact this is human error. You did not input fraudulent claims, you simply didn't check that the auto input was correct due to your extremely pressing personal circumstances and overwork. Get strong OP because I think you have a fight here.

Didn’t want to read & run. They’re treating you horribly but it’s clear as an outsider this is not fraud but at worst negligence. You’ve been through a lot, you to bound forget non priority admin stuff.
They could have dealt with this in a better way but instead are choosing to waste police time and cause you distress.
I do actually think you’re going to be fine and this will work out fine
but do speak to ACAS. Just remember, this too shall pass. Soon enough you’ll have a new job and this will be in the past. It’s just one of life’s downs , but there will be an up again soon enough, just got to stay on the rollercoaster. Samaritans & MNers are here to support. Chat GPT might also offer some advice.Sending best wishes 🍀

I think it sounds like a stitch up too.

Definitely get some assistance/ advice. UCAS as suggested and also explain about your mum’s illness and your manager signing off without checking the figures.

@HoldingOnatoday - please read @timetochangethering's post.

This sounds like a try-on by your employer to get rid of you because they no longer need you but they don't want to go through a proper process which will likely end up with them having to pay you something. Sounds like they also wanted to get you out before you had 2 years of service (but certain claims are available to employees immediately). It's very nasty. If you can find the strength to push back, I strongly suggest you do it. It sounds like you made honest mistakes at a frantic and difficult time. You can apologise for your honest error but otherwise don't be sorry. Be indignant. Be furious. Their response has been to try to use it to bully you out of a job because the truth is they don't need you any more. This is why they deserve your anger, not your contrition.

To commit fraud, you would have to have had a dishonest intention - even in a civil claim, your employer would have to show on a balance of probabilities that you had a dishonest intention. It's very unlikely they will be able to do it - and legal costs mean that they would spend exponentially more trying to prove you had committed fraud.

Please speak to an employment lawyer. Do it ASAP because time lines for employment tribunal claims are very short indeed - just a few months. You should lodge an appeal now. They are bang out of order and trying to bully you out of getting your rights and your entitlements.

So why isn’t her boss getting the same treatment because he also checked and ticked the box that said everything was correct

I know you might not feel like doing anything about this but I can guarantee that if you don’t your life will be much harder and more exhausting

All it takes is a phone call to Acas stating everything. That has happened How you were put on a permanent contract which then turned into a maternity leave one. The mileage travelled each week, looking after your mum. The comments. About what you told your manager about being burnt out and bursting into tears. About your stay in hospital and the other woman returning from maternity leave and you having nothing to do and how when you returned to work you were immediately accused of fraud. Tell them about the system that pre calculates every bit of mileage and the manager who knew you were burning out not actually doing his job but then presiding over the meeting about your so called fraud. You offering to pay the money back and them refusing it but then claiming they were getting police involved

I would then get your home insurance documents out and look for who you call to get the list of solicitors they deal with who specialise in employment law

Once you have started the ball rolling with Acas and the solicitor you can sit back and let them deal with the company.

You don’t want any mention of Gross Misconduct for Fraud getting through to other potential employers as that alone will rule out any job that has handling payments as part of the job description

Dont worry about Police they are not interested.

op does not know whether they have or may also be disciplined for doing so. But most would just eyeball the figures to sense check them as they trust employee with the detail. They may not even see the individual entries or receipts.

Sounds like the mileage system isn’t fit for purpose.

its hit and miss when appointments are cancelled. Completely unreliable system.

meaning it’s harder for you to double check it has been removed because sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn’t.

and the.boss doesn’t check the mileage?? That’s a huge failure right there that could’ve prevented this. Y your boss doing their job.

it’s certainly worth talking to an employment lawyer here because the system isn’t working and it’s likely you’re not the only one who has made mistakes.

Reading through all the updates, I think the OP should focus on if the correct process was followed and if not, get the GM removed and she resigns instead and can request a standard reference.

With less than 2 years service, this would be the best outcome.

It does sound like they are a terrible company and up to no good on how you've been treated. You are better out of it.

Forget the 'flawed process' or what her mgr should have done. The business will just say the rest of the employees manage it OK and ultimately it's the responsibility of the employee to submit expenses correctly.

Please don't just accept this. Other posters have put this far more succinctly than I could, but please please don't take it lying down, I'm certain this would be laughed out of a tribunal in your favour. Rinse the fuckers

Maybe this is why no one ever gets fired in the public sector, no matter how useless.. we can’t claim any expenses! 😂

Please fight this OP, take up the generous offer of people on here who are willing to draft a letter for you. They are trying to scare you off. It isn't right. So many red flags on how they have treated you.

You’re not at all likely to be going to prison. They are full. Loads of people who should go to prison for serious crimes, don’t go.

It doesn’t sound like your employer has followed the correct procedures. I know you don’t want to go back etc but you should contact ACAS.
It wouldn’t be in public interest to prosecute you for £900 especially given your mental health and circumstances. I think they’ve managed you out by the sounds of it.