Gross Misconduct

[Becky1905]

Hello,
Just looking for a bit of advice. I have worked in nurseries since I was 16. I have recently been dismissed from my role for gross misconduct. During a very difficult time separating from my husband I made very silly error and didn’t report that I had been arrested. I think I panicked and felt my whole world was crashing around me. I have since learnt from this moved on and trying to rebuild my life.
My question is where do I stand with getting a new job in a nursery? I have a conditional discharge for assault as I hit my husband. I loved my job in the nursery sector and have built myself up from nursery nurse to manager throughout the years. I’m just anxious about how i can get back into it 😢

Safeguarding is in place for a reason and you of all people should know this.

You have to face the fact you may not get back into it.

I’m sorry to hear this. The best approach is one that is as open and as honest as possible and doesn’t seek to excuse but equally you don’t need to indulge in self flagellation too much. I wish you well.

You won’t be able to work with children or vulnerable adults for a number of years, if at all. (HR Director)

You need to declare it when applying for jobs but it should be ok. Our local nursery manager came into her role with an unspent assault conviction on her ex & as she was open and honest about it and declared it on her dbs form the owner made the decision to employ her (after first checking that the other person involved wasn’t a parent / supplier / contractor). We were also told about it.

That is wrong. A DBS check isn’t pass or fail and a conditional discharge for assault is minor as you should know being an alleged HR Director 🤣

I would look at a medium to long term plan. When I review DBS I assess the time elapsed since conviction, the severity of the sentence and disposal period, whether any further incidents have occurred, whether the offender is sorry, whether they will work unsupervised and whether there is any possibility of reoffending.

I afraid that I don't generally take people with recent convictions for violence.

I might consider someone for a role where they will not be alone with vulnerable individuals, if they have a clean record for several years, was given a relatively minor sentence (indicating mitigation) and I consider them a low risk of reoffending.

I would look at a job in say retail so that your CV has no gaps, and start working your way back. Employers have to comply with the rehabilitation of offenders legislation but you might find large public sector organisations are better at this in reality, than smaller private ones.

It will depend on the employer. i work for a large organisation that supports children and families. When we recruited a member of staff, their DBS revealed a conviction for a violent crime which they had served a custodial sentence. Our policy is to find out more about the circumstances of the conviction. If we are minded to employ them, we complete a risk assessment that is then considered by a senior manager.

We took this person on, as the crime had been committed when they were much younger and there had been no more recent issues. Before coming to us, they had worked in two other organisations supporting children and families and their references were fine.

As you are looking to continue working with children, any future employer will want to contact your previous employer and will ask them about any disciplinary proceedings. I feel that to stand any chance, you would need to be upfront from the beginning about the conviction and the gross misconduct.

This fresh?

Plus being sacked for gross misconduct?

I’ll put a fiver on it.

I have actually gained a role working with children as a health visitor assistant. Assault is not a conviction for an automatic ban, yes I know it is raw and fresh and I was hoping in time I would be able to get back into the nursery sector in time. This is where my true passion lies.