Urgent advice needed - potential gross misconduct

[Passe]

Looking for urgent advice on this situation.

DP works nights in a warehouse (9 months in, permanent contract)) on a forklift. Thankless backbreaking work where all the workers are treated appallingly.

6 months ago he accidentally clipped a pallet causing an immediate investigation and threats of gross negligence.

Last week, a similar thing happened, he was exhausted and must have taken his eye off the ball for a second.

He has been called to a disciplinary meeting on Friday afternoon (well after his last shift for the week) where he is convinced they are about to fire him. He has previously observed that a Friday afternoon seems to be the preferred date /time for firing as the company will have got a full week's work out of the employee.

If that is the case he thinks he should just resign up front rather than wait to be sacked.

I think that is a really bad thing to do, surely there are several steps to this process and he also says the whole place is a total H&S shambles.
We are also going through a really traumatic time at home with other issues.

What can he do? If he loses his job we will lose our house.

Thank you, difficult reading but necessary.

Do you know the process for retraining for the license? I can't find anything online regarding the regulations around reapplying after suspension.

Obviously I also will be pushing him to seek alternative work in the meantime

So it depends. In general most reputable employers would see having had a license suspended/revoked as a red flag and wouldn’t hire him anyway, none of the warehouses I work with would hire anyone who had previously had it revoked/suspended, too much of a risk for them.

Every area has different reinstatement processes, he can search your area for which apply to him, this typically can involve doing extra training (at his own cost), paying a fine, paying a fee to have it reinstated after further training, and put together his argument for reinstatement. To be completely honest though, 2 incidents in such a short space of time, he’d have a very hard job convincing anybody he can do the job reliably and safely and even if he can have his license reinstated, he’d pay the money and probably struggle to ever get another forklift job anyway, at least in this area he would, it’s not worth the risk.

Sorry, snoozy insomniac posting.

Ooof.

I need to take this through properly with him.

If he stands a chance of getting another forklift job it needs to be day shifts that's a definite. Nights haven't done him any favours.

I guess he needs to cling on to the slim chance they let him resign without revoking the licence.

TBH the H&S of the whole place is highly questionable but it's an easy win to take this action against DH (not that I'm under estimating the serious of the risk)

@SeatonCarew

Ooof!

I need to talk this through properly with him.

If he stands a chance of getting another forklift job it needs to be day shifts that's a definite. Nights haven't done him any favours.

I guess he needs to cling on to the slim chance they let him resign without revoking the licence.

TBH the H&S of the whole place is highly questionable but it's an easy win to take this action against DH (not that I'm under estimating the serious of the risk)

Your husband will know all about licences and training because he's a licensed operator and has been through the process. Let him deal with this, you can't solve these problems for him.

@FictionalCharacter you are absolutely right. I am always the fixer and I have enough of my own problems to worry about.

Obviously though this has a massive impact on me and our family so it has to be sorted asap

He's been dismissed - meeting was this morning. I am floored, I've had 2 days to process all this.

The union guy kindly did go in with him and tried his best to argue for DH.
DH told them the same thing happened with someone else on the same truck because of mechanical issues (which were reported) but they were having none of it.

They are now left with 5 forklift drivers in what should be a team of 10 due to dismissals and people walking out.

Strangely but luckily for DH they haven't suspended his license. After reading PPs I was convinced they would. They said it was purely an 'internal matter'

So it's terrifying but maybe it will work out ok as long as he manages to get work asap.

What happens now with even job applications even for temping in the first instance if he has been dismissed? Does he need to tell them? What happens about a reference?

Oh I'm sorry OP. It does sound unfair in that the trucks weren't top notch and another has done the same without consequence. It also sounds fair that he is a risk.

Reference should be fine - they're usually worked here x to y and had a sick days and nothing more. You don't have to ask them tho, you could ask a previous employer.

There will be plenty of jobs about I'm sure. Get to an agency straight away. Someone like staffline who is in with Tesco who have loads of DCs.

It doesn't feel like it now but it sounds like he is better off out of there. Think about if something did happen that lead to injury due to their lack of maintenance and they didn't have his back!

Also sounds like they wanted him out. He could have completed other duties, they've treated him differently and from what you said before (or my understanding) they've done it a day early?

Wrong thread!

Thank you. Yes they brought the meeting forward a day.

He's trying to get some sleep now but I need to know how it works with pay; if there is any notice paid. I'm guessing not
Also can't remember if he is paid a month in arrears

I didn't think to ask

Sorry... didn't think to ask what grounds he's been dismissed on. Head is spinning, I Will ask him.

Surely if it was gross misconduct they would've revoked his licence?

I don't imagine he will want to appeal, they have been appalling to work for start to finish

They haven't revoked the licence so that's a non issue now, concentrate on making sure he gets the correct final payment

Unless he wasn't paid up to date in his last wages he is due at least for the time he's worked since then, do you think he won't have been paid for work done in June?

Is he paid monthly or weekly?

Paid monthly. No reason to think he won't be paid for the work he has done thus far - can they even refuse to do that?

I was more wondering if he would be paid any notice

Paid monthly. No reason to think he won't be paid for the work he has done thus far - can they even refuse to do that?

I was more wondering if he would be paid any notice

He should be paid notice, I think - but what is his notice on probation period? Often it’s quite short

I don't know, I will find out

@Passe

It's a long while since I had anything to do with it but "unfair" dismissal has the two-year rule while "wrongful" dismissal has no such limit. There is the suggestion that you speak to a solicitor which he should if dismissed.

If tiredness came into it is there anything you/he could do about that? Decent sleeping arrangements for example

@Passe

Working nights requires an amazing amount of discipline and needs to treat sleeping as an absolute priority. So many think a nap on the sofa in the daytime as adequate. It is not, sadly. Come home, dinner at 800 am, shower and off to bed in a totally dark room. And so on