To think this is disgusting behaviour in the work place?

[itsjumanji]

So a colleague has been sacked because of a serious crime he committed (the trial is on going at crown court) and he’s even pleaded guilty to one of the charges.

There has been zero announcement from management regarding this and today they forwarded us an email he’d sent saying goodbye to all of us and then he’s decided to leave for a fresh start (no he’s been sacked)

Aibu to think this is disgusting and he should not be allowed to control the narrative and pretend he’s no wrong and management should not facilitate him in doing so?

I don’t think management should have forwarded the email. They should have kept completely out of this.

How do you know he was sacked and didn't resign? Without knowing what he did it's hard to say but it's not necessarily a sackable offence to be on trial.

I can understand your feelings if it was a 'nasty' crime. It's giving a perpetrator control.

However the company are just playing safe, so there are no repercussions on their part.

Pleading guilty doesn't mean that you are, it can be done for a plea bargain, or out of other reasons. I'm not saying that for this case, but even pleading guilty always doesn't mean that they are. But usually they are and are going for the lesser charge.

May all have been part of a compromised agreement iro his departure. We’ve had something similar where employee under compromise agreement even had the text of her departing email to all colleagues etc agreed as part of the compromise agreement!

Christ I thought this was going to be about me picking my nose. Saved again!

That's just really weird OP that management would allow that tbh especially with the one count pleading guilty. Does anyone in your Company know why? What are other colleagues saying/thinking?

They can't forward an email telling others if has been dismissed.

Unless he has breached his contract they can't sack him.

If he has behaved well with other employees and done his job then why should be not say good bye.

Frankly unless the crime was work related the reason for his exit has nothing to do with the rest of you. All you need to know is that he doesn't work there anymore

Yea it’s a bit crap but not that big a deal really .
Presumably the guy has some good points as well as bad

Frankly unless the crime was work related the reason for his exit has nothing to do with the rest of you. All you need to know is that he doesn't work there anymore

Exactly - so why did management forward an email from him? That is precisely the OP's issue.

I can't see why anyone would plead guilty if they are, in fact, innocent?
Especially not to a “disgusting “ crime

Because as he hadn't been convicted (yes I know he pled guilty you one charge) they likely compromised him out - often with an agreed communication plan/wording as part of the contract.

I think if I was management, I'd probably forward the email. You're all adults. Take from it what you want. It's not the managements job to filter things like that and no one can say he or she withheld anything or got involved in the gossiping.
If he's done a disgusting crime, he's probably back peddling. So it makes him more gross as everyone can see the bull for themselves. So does him no favours.
If I was management I would also think it would stop me getting loads of questions I'm not allowed to answer and I could just saw well you've seen the email.

Draw a line under it and take it as a finale to him being in the work place (and what sounds like good riddance), don't let him have any of your mental space

Unless he is not available to work (ie in custody) or the charges are related to work (eg fraud for someone that works in Finance) it's actually not quite so simple to just 'sack them' so a lot of companies would end employment through the mutual agreement route for ease and speed. It's not great, but it gets them out of the business much faster

Because as he hadn't been convicted (yes I know he pled guilty you one charge) they likely compromised him out - often with an agreed communication plan/wording as part of the contract

That would usually be sent out by the company and often just a bland statement that Jim Smith has left the business and goes with our thanks/best wishes for his future endeavours (for example) than an actual email from the employee

I understand why you feel this way if it was an especially unpleasant crime. I am guessing this is the case when you say it was 'disgusting'.

Why should he be able to gloss over his circumstances?

Perhaps he resigned and maybe what happened isn't his ex- colleagues' business but I think the company should have stayed out of it. It feels like they have enabled him to behave cynically and disingenuously in pretending to be leaving in happy circumstances.

However, the nature of the crime carries a lot of weight here for me. If it was a stupid or greedy act with no individual victims I think I would feel less irked than if it was, say, a violent crime as I would see that as more like tying up the ends optimistically to start afresh once his punishment was over.

See what happens when he's convicted.
A guy left my work, then a couple months later, preseumably after the end of possible appeals etc, we were told he'd been fired for claiming to be sick when he wasn't (he'd had multiple periods of many months off on sick leave after 'surgery').

YABU
Your response is rather extreme. Mind your business. Why are you so bothered by a simple email ? Genuine question.

I think I see what you're saying. It's that mgmt circulated his 'goodbye' as if he'd retired or moved on to another job.

I think if anyone has been sacked 'for reason' there is no need to circulate a 'goodbye' email to the entire staff. In fact, I'd find it quite odd. Let them leave quietly with no fanfare. If they have workplace friends to whom they wish to bid adieu, the 'firee' can send an email directly to those people.

That would usually be sent out by the company and often just a bland statement that Jim Smith has left the business and goes with our thanks/best wishes for his future endeavours (for example) than an actual email from the employee

Not necessarily - depends on whether the comms is a sticking point in the negotiation. We would always suggest something bland but sometimes you end up agreeing to something different just to get the settlement agreement signed and the individual out of the business.

At the end of the day it's an email, it's not like they've thrown him a leaving do and done a big 'sorry to see you go' presentation!

It is odd they've let him pretend he left of his own will. HR cock up I'd suspect. My work 10yrs back had a guy whose court case made national press. There was no announcement off HR or goodbye email. He's still very unwell, but as one of the big cheeses had given him what was widely acknowledged as an unduly harsh bollocking the day before, which tipped him over the edge when he'd been very obv not right for a while, it was hushed up. He was well liked, it's really sad.

Not necessarily - depends on whether the comms is a sticking point in the negotiation. We would always suggest something bland but sometimes you end up agreeing to something different just to get the settlement agreement signed and the individual out of the business.

I’ve drafted thousands of settlement agreements and never come across one where it’s been agreed the employee can draft his own email and have it forwarded round by management. It’s not impossible of course but I’d be very surprised. Not least because the employee will have taken legal advice on the agreement and not many lawyers would advise an employee to do this with the risk they could fuck things up for themselves depending on what they send.

It was inappropriate for them to circulate a lie at the severed employees request.
Now you know something about management that will inform your relationship with them.