How I Changed Jobs (Part 2)

So I got suspended. Truly that must make me some kind of villain or something, right?

The reasons given for my suspension (which I actually had to ask for as the so called letter I was given on the day I was suspended was intentionally vague) were thus: Using my work computer to write my blog (how ironic right?), using my work computer to send personal emails, using my mobile in work time, not supporting my work colleagues appropriately and leaving work without authorised permission.

Terrible stuff indeed, but let's go through these things one at a time so we can see just how much of a joke these charges actually were.

Using my work computer to write my blog - well I have been guilty of that, but only during my lunchbreaks when we do have permission to use the internet. What made this charge more interesting was the fact that my manager and ALL of my colleagues provided written statements saying they had seen me updating my blog through out the month of April this year. Interesting considering my last post on here, as anyone who visits regularly can attest, was done in 2011. Yes, my manager convinced my whole team to lie in order to get rid of me. Classy.

But it gets better. She also provided specific times and dates when she was supposed to have witnessed me doing said activity first hand. Interestingly our company has a signing in/out sheet for fire safety requirements. Guess what? On every single occasion and time she listed either I was out of the office (on work business) or she was. Thus the companies own policies prove me innocent. Neat huh? The fact she just made up a bunch of times and dates without even thinking to check whether I was actually present or not pretty much sums up how things were going to go.

She also produced some of my old appraisal notes (as we have a one to one with the manager every so often) to back up her claim that she had warned me about this before. You know what the problem is with old notes? If you are going to doctor them then do not go outside the lefthand margin and use a different pen. Yes - she ADDED extra lines to my old appraisal notes which were not there before. I called her on it and she said that was 'my opinion' but despite five requests for copies of the original notes (one a formal written one from my solicitor) they still failed to turn up. What a shocker.

Using my computer to send personal emails - this is the only one I would hold my hands up to, but again it was done (in the main) on my lunch. Plus, if I sent one or two personal emails a week then that would probably be a rush. The thing here is that we were actually allowed to send personal emails and my former manager was the one who had set up a separate folder on my computer for storing the bloody things. Everyone on the team has done this a fact my manager actually admitted to in my consequent meeting with her, and yet I'm the only one punished. If we are going to be picky then I would also point out that my former company had no specific legal policy about staff not using the work computer. I suspect they do now.......

Using my mobile in work time - Another good one that the majority of the team is far more guilty of than I am. My manager herself would take calls from her sons, family and partner almost every other day, most notably while just sitting at her desk and ignoring the work phone. Likewise other team members were constantly allowed to use their phone at their desks to call family and friends. Or to make urgent gym appointments and hairdressers bookings - you know, the stuff that absolutely could not wait. For my part my mobile usage was confined to my lunch break and I almost never received calls except for when I moved house earlier in the year - at which point I informed my manager I would receive some calls during work hours and specifically asked if that would be ok. I was told yes at the time but obviously that opinion changed when they wanted rid of me.

Not supporting my work colleagues - this is the best one really. As my supposed colleagues all wrote statements about how I would check their work and tell them what mistakes they had made, which would in turn make them feel uncomfortable. My job was to act as their supervisor, and part of that role was (shockingly) to check their work. If I did find mistakes then, yeah, I would tell them and let them know how it might be done. I'd never do this in a mean way and would often just make a joke out of it. The sad part is that the same mistakes would come up over and over again, and because my boss would never punish the perpetrators it was left to me to let them know what they'd done wrong. Guess what - if you stop making mistakes then I'll stop finding them while doing MY job.

Leaving work without authorisation - This one was just flat out petty. My manager had gone out to a meeting, so I was left in the office with three other people. Then my wife called, practically in tears, and said she was unwell. She could barely concentrate and had trouble just walking around at work. I offered to go and collect her and take her to the doctors. I let the other three members of the team know what was happening and they promised to let my boss know. I also tried to track down the senior manager and let him know, but he was out of the office too. So I went and got her anyway. On my way home my boss texted me and asked if anything was ok as the team had told her what happened. I apologised and explained the situation. However, in her so called witness statement my manager claimed she had no idea where I had gone, neither did ANY of the team. Luckily I kept the text as proof and she later admitted (on tape) that she had known where I went to boot. Stay classy.

So this was the supposed case against me, none of which amounts to anything worthy of a suspension especially considering my flawless disciplinary and attendance record prior to this. After this point it was really a chain of errors from my company resulting in the suspension being lifted, but here are some highlights.

Firstly, as soon as I was suspended I was invited to a disciplinary hearing which was going to be chaired by my manager. Both of which went against our own company policy as I was entitled to give my side of the story in an investigation meeting first, not to mention that. as the person bringing the complaint AND my direct line manager she should not have been anywhere near the meeting. I raised both points and the meeting was changed to an investigation, but she was still running it. More on that fubar later.

As the meeting I basically made them look like idiots. I provided evidence in my favour for every single accusation, not to mention the fact I actually recorded the whole thing using a dictaphone. I asked permission to do so (very important) and that made it all the sweeter when they provided me with their heavily doctored version of events. Seriously, why would you change what was said when I HAVE THE WHOLE CONVERSATION ON TAPE? It blows my mind. I remember my mother offered to type out the recording and spent the whole evening laughing at my managers statements and saying that it may as well have been me running the interview.

Knowing they didn't have a leg to stand on they actually went out of the meeting and tried to dig up more evidence to use against me. They broke into my desk drawer and computer, finding a cheque from a client and a small amount of cash that I had yet to pay into the bank. Please note that said items were locked securely in my drawer. This cheque/cash combo then became the main part of their case against me - yes, they changed the allegations AFTER my investigation meeting. Despite the fact that I have my manager on tape admitting she leaves cash/cheques in her desk for long periods of time which 'is not the point Lee' or so she claims. They also went back and acquired even more anonymous witness statements against my behaviour - meaning there were now nine witness statements from a team of five (not including me). Somehow that maths doesn't work out - oh, you got the same people to give statements twice. Of course that makes sense and is fair.

She unsurprisingly recommended that the investigation by turned into a full blown disciplinary proceeding, and sent me a letter saying how the decision had been reached. A letter dating two days BEFORE my investigation hearing. So she had decided to discipline me before hearing my side of the story effectively - seems unbiased and reasonable.

At this point it was clear that the whole thing was a witch hunt so I got a solicitor involved and proceeded to formally take apart their case one step at a time. I remained suspended for the better part of a month while my company tried to figure out what to do and then, all of a sudden, the suspension was lifted and I went back to work as if nothing had happened. I was still invited to a sham of a disciplinary meeting, where a different manager just sat there and listened to my side of the story. They presented no evidence against me (which they should), gave me no timescale for a decision (which they should) and would not answer any of my questions.

A couple of weeks later the manager from the disciplinary meeting said the decision letter was almost ready, but she didn't understand some of the details in it so was not prepared to sign it off just yet.

That's right......

She basically admitted that someone else had made the decision and she was just signing her name on the paperwork. Do ho ho!

Unsurprisingly, I was given a final written warning which was the worst they could do in the circumstances as they had botched the disciplinary to such an extent that sacking me would have led straight to a lawsuit. I appealed against said warning and cited all of the policies that they had broken along the way that led to my appeal. The letter I handed to my senior manager was over 14 pages long.........

Interestingly, the company policies stated that if the disciplinary procedure had been broken to a significant extent then my appeal should be upheld automatically. They had no way to duck that argument so instead the senior manager in question basically avoided me for the better part of a month until I finally found a new job and got the hell out of there. I sent him a final letter stating that I considered my disciplinary case still open as he should have found the time in a whole month to hear my appeal.

He then called me and said a couple of interesting things......

'Lee I've kept out of this since the start, as I knew it would go to appeal.'

YES - HE JUST ADMITTED THAT HE HAD MADE, OR KNOWN, THE DECISION FROM THE GET GO. Otherwise how would you 'know' it was going to appeal, the charges could have been dropped for all he knew - assuming he was actually neutral. His statement was a lie regardless, as multiple members of staff that had been involved had mentioned his involvement by name in terms of writing letters, getting a solicitor for the company etc. No one else could have signed these things off.

'Following written policies is not the be all and end all'

This was in response to the fact I had proven that I'd broken no company policies and done nothing illegal in any way, coupled with the countless admissions of similar acts from other staff (mobile use, personal emails etc). He basically just said that even though I'd done nothing wrong he FELT they should punish me anyway - what a true and just system, eh?

Through it all I kept a good sense of humour, as I'd been stagnating in the same place for years so this gave me the impetus to go out and find a good job that offered far more chance of advancement. Plus, my new role has way less aggravation and a far higher salary, so what's not to like. The real issue I had was with just how readily some people I'd thought of as friends had turned on me - one of them actually admitted that she hadn't written her 'witness' statement but it was more than her job was worth to say anything.

Quite why my manager would choose an underperforming, incompetent friend over someone that had been doing their best for years on end is beyond me, but such is the state of the world. The most satisfying thing was when I came back from suspension and checked on the online banking.

The company used to basically loan money to clients every day, track those loans on a spreadsheet and then transfer back the money owed at the end of the week from each individuals account. Pretty easy and a task I had been in charge of for a while. In my absence my manager had fucked up nearly a hundred transactions resulting in £15,000.00 of underpayments (clients that owed us money) and £12,000.00 of overpayment's (clients that hadn't owed anything but she'd taken money from anyway). Neither of these lists crossed over in terms of the same people either so the whole thing was a complete mess and no one but me knew it. I could have left it I suppose, but instead I spent three weeks correcting everything and saving spreadsheets, lists etc then on my final day I emailed it all to the senior manager with an explanation of what had happened. A bit of last minute proof that he had backed the lame horse.

After all of that I feel in a better place. I could have sued their asses, but it would have taken 10-12 months to get to court with me paying solicitors fees all the while. Frankly I would have probably just got back the money I put in and it didn't seem worth the effort. Justice may well be only for the rich it seems. I was already down £2k in solicitors fees as it was, but I still felt as though I had 'won' for want of a better word. I'd forced them to take me back to work when they had been trying for all the world to sack me, and I still have all the recordings, letters and evidence on file that makes then look like the spiteful idiots they were. I may have lost out financially, but I felt in a pretty good place.

So onwards and upwards - just don't let the bastards get you down.

Oh - I should also point out that I've barely scratched the surface of all the mistakes, lies and issues that came up as part of this process but figured people might start drooling a little at some point. Didn't want you to share my suffering literally, ha!