To not want to wake up tomorrow?

[AnotherStatistic21]

Blunt, to the point, don't beat around the bush advice please.

1. My daughter is poorly again. I know; children catch flu/virus'/coughs & colds and everything in between. I just feel really bad for her that she hasn't got the energy to play with the millions of toys around her and can only watch the television or read books. She had meningitis last year and hasn't ever really recovered from it.
2. Same horrible colleague at work keeps putting in benefit fraud referrals about me.
3. Now HB has stopped and I'm £40 pw down (again) until its been investiagted and quashed (again). Takes about 4 weeks to be sorted out apparently (although last time took six - fingers crossed this time will be quicker)
4. Now tax credits have been stopped and I'm £90 pw down (again) until its been investigated and quashed (again). (They told me will take 3 weeks - not holding out any hope tho :-/)
5. As a consequence; Can't pay childcare as have to pay rent. Had to cancel standing orders on both credit cards at the weekend as havent got enough money for shopping. Got £15 until Saturday, need petrol but also need nappies and wipes (have £7 worth of boots points tho - YAY!) Also need toothpaste (dammit).
6. Due to nature of my job (Government) my manager is threatening dismissal because of constant fraud accusations. She and other senior managers are treating me really unfairly (would list all the reasons but would be here until possibly mid October) since this has been going on. For the first 4 weeks I went in every day and did my job, working next to the woman that was doing this to me (I shouldn't know it was her, but I do and I don't feel bad that I do or how I got the information to be fair) but have been signed off of work for 3 weeks now and have just returned to the GP to get signed of for another 2. The guilt of letting a genuinely lovely team down by being off sick is really hurting me but being at work for them four weeks was killing me and I couldn't take any more.
7. I now stand to lose my job and basically my life.
8. I have applied for 16 other jobs, turned down for 7, interviewed for 2 and didnt get them and still waiting on thr others. loads of full time jobs on the market but part time ones are surprisingly more difficult to come by. I am literally up for any type if role and trying not to get down about being rejected but it's hard not to cry when so much other stuff is going on and so much counts on the bloody outcome.

It sounds heartless but I really do not want to wake up tomorrow. Arghh I do want to for my daughter but all I'm doing is letting her down. I'm a single parent, bit of a loner and family are no where to be seen. Help me..someone?

I don't understand the bit about your bosses having to be told. Who tells them? Do you have to report it?

If you tell the police can they access your files and find out who is doing it? Alternatively can you put in an FOI request?

If I hand in my notice my benefits will be sanctioned for 3
Months because I left my job voluntarily.
I think an option may be to wait it out and get sacked based on absences. I have honestly worked everyday since I was sixteen bar 4 months when I was 17 so I don't feel as bad being on income support until someone somewhere finally sees some potential in my application and hires me.
But that's something that I need to think about in the near future.
Need to get thru tomorro first. And Thursday. If I do that I will be pretty pleased with myself as it seems massive task at the moment :-(.

What is she alleging you've done? Have you been investigated for the same reason each time or is she coming up with different reasons?do you think the senior management know its her who made the referral?

What's her problem? Why do you think she's doing it?

I asked the fraud department at the council why my boss had to be told and they said because they could potentially lose an employee (because benefit fraud is gross misconduct where I work) they would need to be notified. I can kind of understand that but on the other hand 4 managers were told and not all of them in the same service area.
The fraud dept contacted my HR dept who then contacted my manager who then told other managers.
I then get given an opened envelope at my desk.
FOI protects the anonymity of the person who made the referal in order to promote fraud referrals being made :-(

The first one was a partner living with me. I did have a boyfriend a little while ago but we aren't together any more (has been about 4 months - relationship just ran its course). Initial checks were made - he made a statement of where he lived, they wanted to check with his council, then his mortgage provider blah blah as apparently the evidence we gave wasnt enough (letters etc - we were casual by the way!)
This time round it's that I've got undeclared capital. So they want all of my bank account statements from when I started claiming. Banks are charging for this. I honestly haven't got the money, they offered to get it direct from the banks and said it didn't take long so signed a bit of paper and just waiting now.

Another That's NOT the case. It's not a straight forward as that. Yes if you leave voluntarily benefits may be sanctioned but not necessarily. Each claim is taken on a case by case basis and you have the right to put your side across and a decision is made whether you had 'good cause'

The same applies if you are sacked. Your benefit can still be sanctioned due to misconduct. Both you and your employer submit reasons.

What about HR? Is it worth approaching them with regards to the managers? Surely they can't dimiss you on those grounds? As your GP has signed you off try and use the time to relax. Also keep phoning HB and TC to hurry them along.

Why the hell is everyone being told about the accusations? That's like being accused as guilty until proven to be innocent, ffs. They should only need to be notified if you were proven to be guilty. Why does the woman keep reporting you anyway?

Wrt the job situation, lots of stores have started looking for seasonal Christmas staff already. I know Boots and John Lewis are, if there's a branch of either near you?

Sorry things are so shit. Karma will get the stupid bint. You'll get a better job. Have faith.

Hopasholic - really? So I could resign and possibly claim? That's great news! Wow, thanks for that.
Thanks dear, I will try. Gonna try and sleep now, my daughter will probably be up in a few hours for a cuddle.
Thanks again everyone for all of your advice and if you have any more that would be great x

Leo you know why she is doing this!

Citizen's Advice and Union. Youre being bulled and harassed. If you have found out this informant's information on computer system, using your own login, this may be traceable and you could be identified. Last thing you need. Even if you just get advice on multiple spurious claims without letting on you know who is behind it all.
Don't give in. Lidl nappies excellent and good price. Your daughter needs you more than anything. can you put in for a transfer to another dept.?
Sorry this is haphazard but feel very sorry for your predicament. Hope your daughter feels better soon.

Bearing in mind that there are alleged targets for sanctions and that people are being sanctioned for ever more trivial things these days I'm not sure I'd count on that, tbh.

Join a union. I don't know why everyone needs to know this.

I'd just keep getting signed off sick in the meantime, it's not like this isn't work-related stress, and keep applying for jobs.

OK so you are not allowed to know but there must/should be some mechanism for investigating malicious info.

So you work in the council and your colleague is reporting you to the council's benefit fraud team? I can't see any legitimate reason for the investigation to be shared with so many managers, I would speak to your union and the council's data protection team about that. There is no way you would get your colleague's name through a data protection or FOI request though.

Can you put in a Data Protection Act Subject Access Request for your file? Her name might be (?inadvertently) included in the paperwork and then you have it legitimately. You then have better scope for legal action to shut her up.

Cheap crisis diet on my blog, by the way

Oh, actually I have thought of a possible way. Did she use email to report you?

I agree with Waffly though, join the union. Have you of a rep in your office? What does your own HR guidance say regarding benefit fraud?
Does it specify that management will be informed?
The difficult one to get round is the fact you know it's a colleague but can't do anything about it. I don't see why you should quit just because of her and you also have to think about how you'd explain your decision to your next employer.
There are no guarantees you'd get JSA just letting you know that you have the right to tell it from your side. As you currently have a med cert anyway, you'd have to claim ESA which would eliminate the need to explain your reasons for now but would depend how long your GP would sign you off for.
Hang on in there if you can and take advice from the union. They'll fight your corner.

Please double check this but I got called for a disciplinary (accused of gross misconduct-I'd made a mistake that was deffo my fault and knew I was going to get sacked) I rang ACAS for advice and also rang income support and the advise I got was that you can quit your job for ANY reason if you are a lone parent with a child under 5. (I was thinking of quiting rather than getting sacked for future application form etc. please check this out though as I'd hate to Mia inform you!

This will sound bogus but send me your home address via my inbox and Ill send you some groceries, nappies, wet wipes etc by home delivery. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Also speak to Citizens Advice Bureau and see if you can't get a crisis loan x

One thing crossed my mind. Every time someone at work is repeating an allegation without grounds (apart from people directly involved in the investigation) they are presumably slandering you. Protecting your reputation via the blunt instrument that is the law is impossibly expensive and difficult, but that doesn't get away from the fact that they still have committed a civil offence. Consequently it did occur to me that, with the help of the CAB, a formal (i.e. slightly scary) letter pointing out that if these allegations are repeated without any evidence by anyone but the people directly involved in any investigation that would constistute an offence, this might knock on the head the tendency your workplace seems to have to spread this around the entire managerial team without due cause. Might be worth talking to the CAB about.

BTW I also think it would be worth contacting the Information Commissioner's Office about this, as I am not sure the DWP or Local Authority are allowed to pass on personal information to your employers about matters under investigation like this. You mentioned FOI before but in actual fact I think it is the Data Protection Act that applies here. Personally I think this innocent-until-proven-guilty thing is very concerning and serious, and effectively means anyone with a bit of a personal beef can lay into someone with vexatious accusation after vexatious accusation. The ICO have a helpline, anyway, and I would imagine ringing that would be the next step forwards.

ICO helpline

DWP framework for information sharing in case of benefit fraud, etc.

Here

I would follow on from BoffinMum's post that you could ask who your Data Protection Officer in work is and ask them why this confidential information about you has been shared with so many managers.

I do think making a comment in passing about how the matter might have to be put into the hands of the police as it is beginning to look like harrassment could make your colleague think twice.

I am not sure it would be a police matter but it certainly would be a civil one and has the potential to involve the organisation being fined as well as the subject to be able to claim compensation for distress. These would both be difficult to follow up but as you say the threat of it might be enough.

Another I've PM'ed you