HELP Fired for Gross Misconduct, can anyone help?

[Henrysgone]

NC because I am going to be recognisable with all my other comments and threads.
Well, I've been a bit stupid, naive, flippant etc.

Trying not to give too much identifiable information but I work in an area when one main employer is paying your salary by "leasing" you to different projects. Usually, you are always employed but occasionally, you might find yourself with no work but you still get paid and wait for the next project to arrive. By being employed like that you don't get paid as much as working alone but for those moment with no work, it's godsend to have a steady income.

I found myself in december in such a position. No work. This took over 7 months to find me something to do and in the meantime, I was connected to both the internet and having my emails so I didn't think it was necessary to go to the office every day and sit around for 9 hours doing nothing. I thought if something comes up, I will get a call/email and go in the office. I used to go in the office every other day for a few hours just to be seen.

And this is where the gross misconduct comes. According to my contract I should have been in the office for the whole 8 hours and they have gotten proof via the log-in/out system it exists at work that was not the case. Since this has been going on for months, it is classed as gross misconduct. Their argument was I didn't ask for work and was not proactive therefore I fell under their radar. My argument is they did it on purpose as it was said in a meeting that they "were surprised I had not left yet". My work has meet standards (and a few of them I exceed the standards) all the 10 years I worked for this company.

Now, my hearing with HR and my representative is for this week. I was caught of guard so I asked if I resign to have a clean record to find another job and not be unemployable. They can't guarantee that. But when I check online, poor timekeeping is not gross misconduct and it's their fault, nobody stopped me earlier.

What could I do. While this chance has been truly screwed, I want to preserve my name. I have a decent career and a family to feed and can't throw it all away if I become unemployable.
I am distraught right now as this is not how I envisage my life to turn.

I guess I don't understand why you didn't consider the contract terms earlier and agree a plan with management for what they wanted from you when they had no work for you.

The work pattern you describe is quite common in consultancy work and also TV.

Between the lines they don't have enough work for you and are looking for a way to get rid. That may be why they haven't bothered to alert you to the fact your absences were an issue.

Senior IT support, particularly disaster recovery, is the one I know of. If a big corporation's computer system fails the costs can be multi-million-pounds, and the support techs will be working round the clock (as a group, not necessarily individually) to get it resolved

Thanks, every day's a school day

Surely you should have a warning before dismissal?

M4Dad I haven't had a job yet where I've not signed away my rights under the Working Time directive. Some jobs you just do have to put in long hours...

OP can only echo PPs - please get yourself a good employment lawyer ASAP.

Another one who thinks the company is trying to get rid of staff without having to pay redundancy (though they have screwed up in leaving OP without work for seven months - if they paid redundancy at the start of the year it would have cost them rather less).

As others have said, see an employment lawyer and good luck.

@Henrysgone have PMed you

Before you go to that meeting, get advice so that you know exactly what line to be taking with them in the meeting.
The lawyer will advise you with regards to whether they have a case against you. If so, they will advise if the best way to minimise the damage - if it might be possible to negotiate a resignation with reasonable reference.
The will be able to tell you if the company is unable to claim gross misconduct because they didn't raise the issue with you earlier. They will be able to tell you if this is just an attempt to get rid of you without redundancy.

So, speculation by the OP and all of us isn't terribly helpful. It still isn't clear from the OP what her contract said, if people have been in contact with her to challenge her not coming in previously and exactly what has been written down and communicated through all this. A lawyer needs to see all communication and paper work and establish with the Op exactly what has happened. Then it will be possible to advise and OP can act accordingly.

So OP, don't just resign. Don't just go to that meeting to apologise or to justify your actions. Get some advice, so you can go to that meeting and secure the best outcome for yourself in this unpleasant situation.

In the end, the morality is irrelevant. The key thing is for the OP to know if they do have a legal case against her or not and to minimise the damage so that she can be in the strongest position moving forward to the next job. It is simply a legal issue and so OP needs to really get on with this.

OP, start gathering all the paper work - contracts, any communications over the last period of time and any communications with outside parties you were working with. Gather records of having logged in etc. Gather everything and get to that lawyer with all the paperwork.

It sounds to me like this isn't a simple gross midsconduct case. The OP may have been foolish, but there maybe a way through this so its not a disaster. You need advice quickly. Get on the case.

^^this^^

(In case of cross post, what chocolatewombat said)

So, they clearly want you out. They very obviously have no work for you and your area is in decline and want to get shot of you, preferably without having to pay you anything. You haven't exactly covered yourself in glory here but then neither have they. So they are looking to use this as their out.

You need specialist advice from an employment lawyer who is used to dealing with higher end professional roles as this isn't a straightforward situation - you will need to pull together your contract, details of who you spoke to, what normal practice is, how you can evidence checking emails, what you've done to seek to get work etc.

Being sacked for gross misconduct is pretty much the worst employment outcome so in your shoes I'd be wanting the employment lawyer to be sending them a stiffly worded letter and then seek to open channels to negotiate an agreed exit. If you still have system access then you need to get hold of the policies on disciplinary, capability and redundancy etc.

What types of roles are they?

IT certainly as mentioned by PP but also roles in engineering and utilities, some areas of law, event management, sales/contracting etc. Many more I won't be aware of as well!

Some of them will be longer term projects with bursts of very intense activity, then the project ends and people move onto a bench pending next project.

Is there more to this op? You say they have proof via the log in system at work, is this the computer system? So it's more that you weren't in the office you weren't even on line and working? logging in is very different to having the internet and reading emails, as both those can be obtained on other devices.

Were you not in the office and also not logged into Your computer either from home? Can you log on from home or do you need to be in the office and that's why you need to go in?

Did they try to contact you? you say you assume you would get a call or email, could they have attempted to contact you and as you were not logging in didn't know?

some people have the misconception that an employee always has to be given staged warnings before dismissal. This is incorrect. Gross misconduct can be instant dismissal.
E.g. If an employee steals from the workplace, or is found to have made a fraudulent claim in their job application, they don't need to be told they shouldn't do that and given a 'slap on the wrist'- it can be instant dismissal.

I'm not getting into the ins and outs of this case because we don't have all the facts, but if it is judged to be gross misconduct than the op doesn't have a leg to stand on.

No one has said you can't instantly dismiss someone Babbity. It is that this case seems odd for instant dismissal. And what do you mean "if it is judged"? The only way to find that out properly is if it went to tribunal, not just the company declaring gross misconduct. If the OP has no leg to stand on then their legal advisor will tell them as such and it wouldn't get to that point.

Er- yes, that's obviously what I mean by judged.
From what the OP says though, s/he was deliberately failing to meet the contractual obligation, and even went out of his way to try to look visible in the workplace to try to remain under the radar. Doesn't look great.
Best bet is legal advice to try to get the optimum outcome and then don't take the piss in any future employment

You say not to leap to conclusions then leap to a whole lot yourself.

Not at all. Just going by what the OP has written

Between the lines they don't have enough work for you and are looking for a way to get rid. That may be why they haven't bothered to alert you to the fact your absences were an issue

^this

Lawyer up. Try and agree an exit with reference

I'm really horrified at the quasi-legal advice on this thread. I know some of the posters who've posted have legal credentials but some of the other advice isn't sound.

Get proper legal advice NOW.

Posting to see if the OP returns and answers some of the points made by numerous posters

namechangedforthisreply I'm so glad you announced that to the thread.

OP, the only good advice you've been given here is to see a good employment lawyer. Good luck.

Posting to see if the OP returns and answers some of the points made by numerous posters

I sincerely hope she doesn't. OP asked for advice, not an interrogation. The only person's questions she should be answering, are those of an employment lawyer.

I'm really horrified at the quasi-legal advice on this thread. I know some of the posters who've posted have legal credentials but some of the other advice isn't sound

To be fair, you'd hope that anyone in such a difficult situation as the OP seemingly finds themselves in would have the sense to get proper legal advice rather than following unqualified advice from the internet.

Then again, you'd kind of hope that people would be familiar with the terms of their employment contract and fulfil their office-presence obligations, so who knows?