Gross misconduct disciplinary

[Chickelta]

Hello all,

I am responsible for conducting workplace inspections at work to ensure Health and Safety issues are all logged with the facilities manager. I do this for two split sites every couple of months. Both sites are very different and one site I am based in and the other I visit on a weekly basis. The site in question is managed by another organisation and they are responsible for running alarm tests etc. I just need to know they’ve been checked and working.

Between November 2017 and August 2018 I conducted 3 workplace inspections and in all three I ticked box that’s says ‘acceptable’ for ‘personal alarms and testing’. However, in January 2019 my manager called me to say if I had any knowledge they had not been working since October 2017. On 1st March my manager handed me a letter to say I was going to be investigated for dishonesty and failure to complete my job. Whilst investigation takes place I am required to work in a different post and different location. On 26th April the investigation report alleged this was gross misconduct and now waiting for hearing to take place.

I contested both allegations based on the following mitigating factors:

1.When I started my role my manager did a walk around with me and showed me how to complete a workplace inspection. She did not say I was required to check logs for fire alarms and would resort to misconduct if I didn’t. This walk around did not take place in the site in question. They both have very different recording systems

1. I conducted the workplace inspection with a senior manager from the other organisation, who is responsible for physically testing. She also marked the alarms as working. I took at face value and trusted her 20+ years of experience.

Once I found out the alarms had not been working I completed the necessary to resolve the issue

1. I have previous excellent performance and always shown I can be trusted and always go above and beyond

There is no collective system myself and the organisation can see outstanding jobs which need escalating

1. My manager claimed she sent me guidance but this was after all the inspections in question.

5.I was under a vast amount of pressure learning a new job and no satisfactory supervision or appraisals to identify training needs. Suffered severe work related stress in summer 2018. 6.Records show senior managers of the other organisation and my manager both were informed of the alarms not working in January 2018. Therefore systemic and organisational failure. 7.No formal training provided by the organisation although need was identified last year 9.Others in different divisions complete the assessment with senior managers 8.Formal guidance only launched in April 2019 Do you think with the above mitigating circumstances my case looks promising? I have email evidence and record logs for points apart from 1. which I will present at the hearing.

Also its important to note I do not have union representative however a colleague has agreed accompany me

So, someone else is responsible for physically testing the alarms. What form of check were you supposed to have done? Did the person who actually tested them confirm to you that they were working?

Would common sense not mean you would check the records to ensure the testing happened? Did you not do that?

Or were they marked as working?

Well I started in my role in 2017 and I conducted the check with the person who ran the panic alarms and they told me she had been working from what I recall. She had lots of experience and managed the building, she was really thorough so I didn’t go and check the logs because I trusted her word. I didn’t want to undermine her.

I think this misconduct interview will impact on all the senior managers who didn't do their jobs, falsified records of alarms working when not etc. Your senior colleagues will all find themselves under charges of gross misconduct too, when all the minutes are taken down in the meeting. They are more culpable and this has now opened a whole can of worms as to falsified records from the top down, about life-and-death alarm systems. This could go right up through your company.

I was required to go and check a book to see if the testing had been completed. But in my walk around with my manager I can’t recall she told me I need to physically check. I can’t recall the actual conversation that took place with the other person when I conducted the check but we both marked them as working.

Never trust someone on their word alone, if you're responsible for the final signing off should you have checked yourself that.everything was working. If it's a failure by several people then dont be their scapegoat. I would contact ACAS and think about whether you want to work for someone who might be looking for a fall guy

If you were told they were working on your check in 2017 that's reasonable, but what happened on the two further checks you conducted?

You say you weren't told you had to check the logs - but did you tick something on the second and third check to say the alarms were working?

You need to consider -

• whether you've provided false information (that the alarms were working) e.g. by ticking a box, filling in a spreadsheet, signing off a report.

and if so -

• what were your grounds for believing the alarms were still working on checks 2 and 3?

Have you been employed for less than two years?

It sounds like you're being made a scapegoat for a more senior person's ineptitude, but if you've signed something off without checking it yourself then unfortunately you've also set yourself up for the fall.

You sound very confused. I'm confused.

Is it your actual job to check whether the testing had been done? I'm assuming it is!!
Thus you should have checked the logs. (1)

"so I didn’t go and check the logs because I trusted her word. I didn’t want to undermine her." (2) this sounds VERY bad. Probably best not to say these words.

Screamingvalenta I conducted all those checks with the other organisation. And all times both her inspection and my inspection has marked the alarms working. I don’t know why inwould have marked the box as working because on all three inspections I’ve marked other things eg windows, exterior lighting, security panels not working but I don’t no why I’d mark the alarms working...

You did 3 inspections. At the last one you said it was working. But it had already been reported as to working in Jan 18.

Did the same woman 'tell you' she'd checked it?

Did you sign all 3 inspection reports confirming the alarms were working without checking them
Maybe everyone who signed them off without checking is equally responsible.

You are effectively saying there that you knew the alarms weren't working and made a mistake by marking them as working.

I think all you can do is provide evidence of the work-related stress you've mentioned and plead mitigating circumstances as a reason your performance wasn't up to standard. Also emphasise that you put the matter right as soon as you became aware of it. If you can evidence that you requested, but didn't receive, guidance or training that might also help your case.

As a pp has said, this sounds like a major cock-up with potentially serious implications - suppose there'd been a fire? Your company will be looking to identify all the failure points which led to it, and to plug the gaps and I'd be surprised if yours was the only disciplinary.

The whole place sounds completely unsafe, did mone of the safety features work. Maybe it's best to say you dontk or why you didnt check or signed them off without checking, like all said others are also responsible but that sadly isn't your concern.

From what you've said here OP, you reported that the alarms were working even when the company knew that they were not - so that's going to be hard to get round in any shape or form.

I doubt this will be the only disciplinary connected to this issue but it is a very serious matter. Was your period of work-related stress related to these inspections - was it after it was pointed out that you'd marked them working (Aug 18) when the company knew they were not (Jan 18)? Is the disciplinary happening now because you have returned to work?

What I’m saying is senior managers were told they were not working but no one ever informed me they hadn’t been. I have emails of the other organisation escalating outstanding job such as dishwasher and phones not working but no escalation of the alarm. Instead of coming to me the directly logged the alarm issue with my manager. So I was never informed.

However in all three inspections if I’d gone and checked the log book physically I would have known they are not working because tests were not completed. I did not check the log book and took someone’s word for it. Which was wrong of me. I had never received any training in this. I understand I could have used my common sense to physically go and check but I didn’t on three occasions I did not check the book and relied on someone else.

You've still not told us if you've been employed for two years or not, or how close to that two years you are.

Hi I started my employment in the organisation in 2016 been in my current post since September 2017

Why would you say something is working when it isn't? Even if someone else tells you it is, you shouldn't take their word on it, especially if you are the one to write the report.

I used to have similar responsibilities and it absolutely is misconduct to record this wrongly.

However in all three inspections if I’d gone and checked the log book physically I would have known they are not working because tests were not completed. I did not check the log book and took someone’s word for it. Which was wrong of me.

The thing is you do know this was wrong. It sounds quite a serious matter that alarms were not working for such a long time and three inspections did not pick it up, so of course they are going to investigate. I imagine others will get picked up on this too but you need to focus on yourself.

Unfortunately what others did or didnt do doesnt always get taken into consideration during a disciplinary even if it's relevant, I would be tempted to write your concerns to the Health And Safety Executive and head office and then get another job. It sounds like you know you were wrong but so were others and it wouldnt be somewhere I would want to work in where it sounds like safety is pretty slack and communication is poor.

You knew that your role was essentially an auditing one. You didn't audit, you just accepted a verbal report. Unfortunately, there is no way of dressing that up.

I hope it goes ok for you, try not to get too upset, it's a horrible situation to be in whatever the reasons. I would speak to ACAS if you can just to see if they can offer any advice.

I'm finding this all hard to comprehend. Only because I have a minor understanding of the importance of H&S because Dh runs a large site and has done Nebosh and H&S generally is crucial.

You sound out of your depth. Not qualified and inexperienced for the promotion given to you. These things are obvious. Even to common men (women) like me. It's just common sense. You shouldn't need training or to be told. For that.

And you sound not managed properly. The whole organisation sounds Mickey Mouse. And negligent.

And if it didn't occur to you at the time, 3 times, that you should have checked the log. Checked everything. Yourself. Then I'm sorry but clearly this wasn't the position for you.

Lesson Learned, never worry about how "nice" you need to come across or that you may be perceived as "undermining" someone for checking their work.

You can always say "I have no reason to doubt your work, but it is my duty to double check, thanks for working with me in this".

In any compliance role, you have to be determined, rigorous and accurate in anything that's your accountability to validate and sign off. Sounds like you've trusted where that isn't an appropriate approach for safety.