Disciplinary meeting

[Kia123]

Hi, I have a disciplinary meeting for viewing my departments timetable for the next academic year. Firstly my HOD never logs out of their staff account and constantly leaves it logged into emails and confidential information. I have warned them before as they recently started at the school that another member of staff will send inappropriate emails on your account if they find you logged in. I saw two safeguarding captures on Impero (the management software the school uses to monitor PCs all over the school) on the HODs account. I clicked on them which brought me to the window of the timetable combing for our department. I told other members of the department that the HOD had left their computer logged into the timetable combing and they all tried to see it on Impero.

i am now being threatened with a written warning and my union has said to tell the truth and accept it. I am upset because the member of staff who has sent numerous inappropriate emails to other staff on other staff members accounts has never had a disciplinary and told me they only got a slap on the wrist.

i am so anxious and worried. I have a union rep at my meeting. The impero admin settings are set to any staff member can see other staff members devices. I feel I am now being made an example of. Advice would be appreciated.

It matters not one iota and - quite frankly - you saying "yeah but" isn't going to improve matters. Not only did you access someone else's account, you shared that information with other people. You knew that was wrong.

Admit what you did, apologise profusely and learn from it.

I'm a union rep.

Your department sounds unbelievably unprofessional.

Your union are advising you to take the disciplinary because they know that you do not have a leg to stand on and they cannot support or protect you if you try to fight this. Take their advice. You are free to make a formal complaint reporting your colleague’s behaviour as a separate issue if you wish. Your HOD’s laxity should probably be reported as a GDPR breach while you are at it.

What?

"Another member of staff will send in appropriate messages" if you forget to log out. For devilment and high jinx at work?

And you admitted this to your new boss this?

And you then used there log on to see the timetable? Because fair game. And called everyone round to see? And you knew you should not be privy to this info?

And you got caught

And you think this is unfair?

How old are you?

You're being advised to apologise and take the consequences because your union simply can't get you off of this one.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of colleagues leaving their emails open, you knowing accessed confidential information. Your biggest mistake was nonchalantly sharing this with others, as if there was nothing wrong with these actions. You've been caught acting inappropriately and need to face up to it.

Anything else going wrong in the department is a separate issue. Two wrongs don't make a right. Feel free to raise the issues, but it won't get you off your own offense and won't win you many friends if you do. Take it on the chin and perhaps consider applying elsewhere if your department is that unprofessional.

perhaps consider applying elsewhere if your department is that unprofessional

Given the OPs wildly unprofessional behaviour, I'd suggest they're in the correct place.

Op, you are a troll.

This is clearly someone who is bored at home and has nothing else to do that they fantasise over fictional situations.

You warned them before, but you proceeded to go and access the data?? You knew yourself it’d be misconduct. If it did happen, you should have just logged out.

I really hope you find some friends and get happiness in your life.

Why oh why did you do this? It's concerning that you don't seem to think you're at fault, and I'm surprised that other members of your department joined in. Are you all 12? The reasonable thing to do, if you noticed your HODs computer unlocked, was to be helpful and lock it. Mention that you found it unlocked if you feel the need to raise it, but do so in a professional manner. It's very immature behaviour for a group of teachers, if I was a parent at your school I would not be happy, and I'm not at all surprised that your Headteacher isn't.

Don’t be massively anxious and worried. Try to stay calm and keep your mind off it in the meantime. Go to the meeting, with the union rep. Don’t say more than you have to. Don’t babble or use it as an excuse to get things off your chest. It’s happening, so just accept it. Just apologise, and get it over with. You’ll get a warning or something.
The bit about a fellow staff member going on to people’s computers and sending emails is so bizarre though - that does make me wonder if you’re a troll. But in the Staffroom?

I don’t believe this is real. I’ve seen the sending email to computers in a police tv show. No one would do what you purport to have done.

Instead of seeing your colleague’s mistake and locking their screen you went snooping on their account and told other people about it! It does not matter what other people do, you did something very wrong. Now you need to take the consequences.