Sacked for GM

[BumpleLeeds]

I'm in a dilemma and just wanted some opinions, please...

My partner has been sacked for gross misconduct and I'm not sure how I should feel / what we should do. I don't want to talk to friends about this yet as I'm not sure how they will react, and I don't want this to impact on our children. Our parents do know the full situation and are being very supportive.

Without going into full details, I'm confident that the reason for his dismissal was a one-off mistake on his part - and his line manager has said that they think the HR department have been extremely hard on him. However, this situation has put our family in a dire situation. He's appealing his employer's decision, while at the same time actively looking for work. He's had one interview for a job so far, and explained what has happened during the interview (as it would have come out in a reference). He didn't hear anything back, even after approaching the company for feedback. I'm worried that this whole situation could mean he's unemployable. I'm working, but can't support our family on my own.

This is a mess, and I need to keep things together as he's very depressed that he's the cause of all this. Does anyone have any advice as to how he can approach looking for other work given the situation?

If he's appealed then they might agree a neutral reference/ pay off, especially if the employers are found to have not followed proper procedure.
So no need to tell potential employers yet.

Gross misconduct is extremely serious, and as others have pointed out, it's difficult for employers to fire somebody on these grounds, without sufficient evidence. The reasons for why somebody would be fired for gross misconduct are also usually stipulated in the contract of employment/employee handbook, so this outcome shouldn't come as a surprise, if somebody is guilty of GM - the whole "he made a mistake" wouldn't really wash in this instance. If dh is guilty of doing something that constitutes GM, I'm not sure how others in this thread are stating he could request a settlement agreement!

However, if DH feels that the disciplinary process was unfair, of course he can lodge an appeal. My advice is that most employers would have referred to legal reps before firing somebody for gross misconduct to ensure they haven't left themselves open to challenge.

Has he asked his employer what his reference will say? Can he get a written reference from a line manager?
It WILL come out in the wash so I think hedging the right thing bring honest but if he can mitigate that with decent references then he might stand a chance.
Admitting he did something silly and that he's absolutely learnt from it. I have clients who would give him a shot if he was honest.
Is the Union prepared to back him?

I'm sorry you're having to face such a stressful time. It will very much depend on what he did as to whether he can salvage his employability.

If/when asked for reason for leaving, could he just say wrongly dismissed for gross misconduct and then if they ask for further details explain in a cut down way?
This happened to me at the beginning of the year, at first I went in to great length as to what happened, but the more people I had to tell, the shorter the "story" got, I still stuck to the truth, but just kept to the brief facts. I have now got a job that I started a few weeks ago, I just told them that I was wrongly dismissed for gross misconduct that involved another now ex colleague and they didn't ask for further details, so I didn't tell them, they still don't know the details now.

Good luck op, I know how your DH must be feeling, it's horrendous having people think you are something you aren't 💐

I will also say, a lot of the employers I had interviews with did appreciate my honesty, some said that's one reason they offered me an interview.

He needs to find out whether a reference will include details of why he left. I wouldn't be volunteering the info, unless specifically asked why he left his last role.

His line manager is passing the buck. Or your husband is fibbing a bit and the line manager didn't say that. HR do not make the decision to fire someone, unless they chair the disciplinary hearing, which would be very unusual. Could he be minimising things to you? Ultimately it makes no difference to his getting another job, but it's a Waste of time for you both to be fretting over what happened, if actually it was a reasonable action.

Tbh OP in all my years only worked with a couple of people sacked for gross misconduct.

And what they did was really serious.

Are you only getting his side of the story?

I'm sorry you're in this position but it's the nuclear option for employers and if they have an HR dept it's not a small employer.

Having said that some employers are horrible.

But if you're only getting his version tbh you don't maybe know the full story.