Resign now or wait to possibly be fired ?

[christinaaaa]

Hey all,

I have been at my job for just over a year and love it. However they recently launched an investigation into me and my colleague. I have the final dissaplinary hearing next week to give my side where I will either be fired or given a warning. They have given no indication of what the decision will be and think it’s very 50/50.

I have also been offered another job in the meantime at my old retail place in the meantime. Which leaves the question...

Do you think I should have the meeting and see what the outcome is, running the risk of officially being “fired” and having that on my reference. But might end up keeping my job,

Or resign now on my terms, do the retail job for a bit and apply again for another job. ?

Thanks,

Even if you resign now, they can state on your reference that you resigned whilst under disciplinary investigation, so it may not be as easy as that.
Also, if you make yourself voluntarily unemployed and the other job falls through, I don’t think you would be eligible for the Jobseeker’s Allowance part of UC.
What are you being investigated for? If the option is a warning or dismissal then it must be serious?

I think it kind of depends on what the investigation is for before anyone can judge!?
And did you do it or not?

If I knew I was innocent I would say and fight. If I knew I had done wrong I would resign and back out quietly.

That’s what I was worried about, that reference.

I struggled mentally to work from home during the lockdown so I used to enter the office a few times and carry out the work as the workload increased. They then found out and started the investigation for breaking health and safety regulations.

I struggled mentally working from home, serious anxiety and depression, so used to enter the office unauthorised to carry out the work. Then I got authorisation but they found out about the times before, so the Investigation started.

Have you not got legal advice around this? Spoken to a union rep?

If they are just being pedantic then take the warning but Jesus getting sacked for working 🤨

Ah that it is difficult one. How long have you been suffering from anxiety and depression? Had you (or have you now) made work aware of this, or that you needed additional support?
Breaching H&S rules is usually considered a serious issue, and I’m not sure whether your mitigation is sufficient, if you haven’t been open with your employers about it.
Do you have a union rep who could support you?
If not, I would suggest you phone Acas for advice.
If you’ve been there for less than 2 years then they can dismiss you more easily, as you are not able to claim for unfair dismissal- however depending on the extent of your mental health condition, it may be that you are covered by the disability provisions of the equality act, which could give you some protection against dismissal if it would be seen to be discriminatory.
Acas would be able to give you some advice on that

I have always suffered from me, I showed them documents and appointments from previous therapist appointments during the investigation, but I did not mention this during the employment as I was scared of being looked down on or put on furlough/redundant for not coping. with new management coming in.

I have not got a union rep and have worked there less than 2 years, along with another 2 colleagues who has been done for the same thing. But I will ring ACAS today and see what they say.

Thanks

Definitely resign. They want you to do this, they will probably be happy to agree a reference for you if you resign. Trust me, fighting this won’t end well for you.

Hmm, well they certainly don’t sound like a very supportive organisation; and even if you do “just” get a warning, I’d probably reconsider whether I actually wanted to work for them in the long term anyway.

Was anyone else in? Why were the premises open? Did they not have any sort of monitoring for who was on site if it was evidently open? Or were you a key holder?