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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Disiplinery

102 replies

Bazmum · 05/12/2019 17:26

So to cut a long story short I'm a cleaner and my managers came in today saying they were doing an investigation cos a customer complained I'd stolen something from her obviously I had no idea what they were talking about but they said they had me on cctv which showed me picking what i thought was rubbish up off the floor and putting it in my pocket til I was near a bin turns out the rubish was in fact a packet of cigs that belonged to a customer I don't remember doing this as I work in a busy supermarket and I'm forever picking things up now ive got to have a disciplinary surly I can't get sacked for something as trivia as this please help

OP posts:
safariboot · 05/12/2019 20:44

Your employer could well throw you under the bus here to appease the customer. If you've been working less than 2 years they can just dismiss you for no particular reason.

If the employer is decent then in my view it should come down to whether you followed the store's policies and procedures. There will be how you're supposed to deal with rubbish, and there will be how you're supposed to deal with lost+found items. If your only mistake was to have treated a dropped cigarette packet as rubbish rather than lost+found, then this should not be considered misconduct, unless you've been specifically asked to do stuff like check whether cigarette packets are empty. It's a mistake, no more.

Bazmum · 05/12/2019 20:50

I've been working there over 6 years and nothing like this has ever happened if valuables are found they are handed in straight away and as I have said before I don't remember picking any cigarretes up this is a genuine mistake and certainly not one I should lose my job over

OP posts:
Eggies · 05/12/2019 21:03

What a bloody petty reason to potentially get someone fired for. Sorry OP some people are just pathetic and vile. I hope it goes alright for you. Cake

Mishfit0819 · 05/12/2019 21:05

Disciplinary doesn't = being sacked, it may just be a warning or come to nothing once you explain yourself. It's unlikely that it would be a dismissal if this is your first offence in 6 years and its as you've said. Just stay calm, answer their questions and explain it as best you can.

Bazmum · 05/12/2019 21:06

Thank you I totally agree it is pathetic

OP posts:
Rosielily · 05/12/2019 21:12

Is the cigarette packet easily identifiable as such on the CCTV?

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 06/12/2019 07:25

Someone with legal knowledge will be able to say... But I think the theft definition includes intentionally, permanently depriving the owner of the item. Which you didn't.

This is why people don't get done for shoplifting until they're outside the store. I frequently put stuff in my own reusable carrier in the supermarket, and empty it out at the tils to pay.

So... Your arguments should be:

A) If its custom and practise for cleaners to shove odd bits of rubbish in their unforms, when there aren't bins close by, say this. (usual). And pockets are emptied at end of shift/week whenever... And don't leave the premises... Say this.

B) Point out you're honest and you really don't recall the incident as its x number of shifts ago. .. Point out all the times you've put items in lost and found.
If you didn't realise what it was, this was pure oversight. (not being a smoker and used to weight of full fag packet).

C) That you're a non smoker ( so why on earth would you wander off with them!).

It all sounds shit.

Please get union /cab advice

Bazmum · 06/12/2019 09:20

Thanks everyone for your messages I am going to seek legal advice about it

OP posts:
custardbear · 07/12/2019 04:35

How did you get on @Bazmum ?

AJPTaylor · 07/12/2019 10:20

Who the he'll do these cigs belong to? The head of MI5??

helpmum2003 · 07/12/2019 10:26

Good luck OP. It sounds ridiculous.

Snowman123 · 07/12/2019 10:31

You picked up rubbish on the floor. It's your job.

Calmly defend yourself with the facts.

The fact you don't smoke will also aid your defence.

Armadillostoes · 07/12/2019 10:50

Accusing you of committing a criminal offence is defamatory, and it is there problem to prove the statement is true
You go take an aggressive line and about the defamatory statement, both against the person who made and the person who repeated it. Given it might cost you hour employment it would be taken seriously if you claimed.

Armadillostoes · 07/12/2019 10:50

Their problem! Sorry!

Bazmum · 10/12/2019 06:55

Hi guys I've seeked legal advice and they think this will go My way but now I've just found out everybody at my work place knows about me being under investigation which I was told it would be confidential I'm a contracted cleaner to a busy supermarket and was promised it would be confidential is there anything I can do about this as I think it is totally unfair tia

OP posts:
custardbear · 11/12/2019 13:00

Report that to your solicitor - it's leaked somehow and needs investigating as that should be highly confidential - may be a good bargaining tool for the solicitor

Mia1415 · 11/12/2019 13:06

I'm an HR Manager and have just seen your update.

Who is your actual employer?

What actual stage of the process are you in? Are they still doing the investigation? Has it been forwarded to disciplinary? And if so are they accusing you of misconduct or gross misconduct.

AnnieOH1 · 11/12/2019 13:24

Possibly not what you want to hear, but specifically now you've said you're a contract cleaner, I would say this stinks and smacks of the supermarket wanting to either renegotiate the contract or go elsewhere and they are attempting to either gain leverage for renegotiation and/or don't want to TUPE employees like yourself who may quite easily be on much better terms than they desire in 2019.

Speak with your legal adviser about the information being disseminated. Unfortunately some of that could be that they've gone on a fact finding mission (rightly or wrongly) about your conduct. It could also simply be that someone has added two and two together based on what they've seen and started the gossip chain or simply told you in order to wind you up.

Please be very careful how you handle this. Be professional and be very clear that you were doing your job, you have no recollection of the event and anything of intrinsic value would be passed to Customer Services/whatever the company directs. It might be helpful to compile (for your future use) a list of times you have handed in things with an obvious value - wallets, phones, cash, jewellery.

For what it's worth, if the packet wasn't sealed, it would not occur to me to do anything other than bin it in your position. In fact I would probably have binned it as a supermarket customer unless it was obviously new. If I had found it on the street whether sealed or not, I would have binned it regardless.

Thinking on, do you have any contact with colleagues in other stores assuming they work for the same contractor as you? I just wonder if there's others that this might apply to, particularly if they've been long-standing members of staff. It may not as it may simply be that individual store is embarking on an attempted cost cutting exercise, it depends on the supermarket chain how localised they are about things like contract cleaners/security.

Bazmum · 12/12/2019 20:12

Just wanted to update everyone had my disciplinary meeting today and the alligation against me has been dropped due to new evidence proving I did not steal anything thank you all for your advice

OP posts:
TroysMammy · 12/12/2019 20:17

That's good news. I bet a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. However they should have looked for evidence before putting you through that.

purplecorkheart · 12/12/2019 20:21

So glad for you.

Mydogmylife · 12/12/2019 20:59

Have they apologised for letting other staff know about the allegations before your meeting? That was quite disgraceful.
So glad for you that it's all over now

BlankTimes · 12/12/2019 22:50

That's a great outcome, although they shouldn't have put you in that position in the first place. Flowers

KnightandDay · 12/12/2019 22:55

Good news! Glad it went your way.

Happysummer2020 · 13/12/2019 01:20

So pleased for you. You sounded so genuine and honest. I hope this hasn't been too stressful for you.