Company Deciplinary Procedings - a short story on the stupidity of Prime!

[Prime]

evening chaps, i've got quite a big problem.
i'm not looking for a way out or any sort of 'backing' but i just wanted to ask those who have the legal knowledge in these proceedings just to clarify that the information i am reading is correct.

The back story
basically i wont try to sugar coat that at times my stupidity has no bounds and today was a prime example. I work for Xerox in house for another company (our Studio was absolved by a TUPE scheme in Feb 08) its no secret that this company payed us buttons for the job we do and Xerox have to honor that contract by the TUPE, im constantly annoyed at how little we are payed - last week we received an email from the company MD's 'acting' PA basically saying that the MD has a 'Blog' containing her day to day work and what she is doing, with a link to click and read or a link to 'Ask the MD a question'
i personally thought it was ridiculous considering that A. we don't work for this company anymore and B. i really don't care, neither do the people who will come to light now. i made a forward of this email to a few friends of mine with the following image:
(i've put the link as it contains a swear word and didn't want it to directly show up in the thread)
http://www.hotcupofrant.com/wp-conte...wsfromdomo.jpg
today i was dragged into the office and was showed a printout of this email and my head just sank, whats worse is: someone has sent it to the MD.
straight off the bat i was sent off site and told not to come in work tomorrow and to wait for a phone call to come in and have a disciplinary at Xerox Head office. as i was leaving the Xerox manager pulled the department into a meeting and told them what had happened and said i had sent it to the wrong email of somebody who showed the MD - yet i wasn't privy to this when i was just basically told the MD had seen it. calling a spade a spade i know i shouldn't have done it and i know i dont have a leg to stand on but wanted to just read some policies on disciplinary actions and company email policies which are as follows and make sure they are correct:
Disciplinary
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/...tribunal_claim

Email policy
http://www.yourprivacy.co.uk/YourPri...htsAtWork.html

any other information or advice on this would be greatly appreciated, the sooner the better as i don't know when i am going to get a call in the morning. if i can provide anymore info to anyone that needs it for an answer then please ask!
also is their anything i should or shouldn't say in the meeting tomorrow, i was basically going to go in and be straight with them - tell them how stupid it was, apologize and ask to apologize the the MD

Thanks in advance, and go easy on the mockery!

Prime!

[MadduckUK]

almost as bad as telling the world where you work, and where the ****s going down tomorrow - im sure nobody at all will see this and have a bit of a jape with the information

[Prime]

im not bothered to be honest - its not a thread cursing the company or any individual so its not like i've dug an already deep hole deeper - i just want a 'whats what'

[TAKTAK]

I'd edit out personal details TBH, the internetz is full of weirdos...

Remember it's not just registered users that can see this thread, anyone can, it also makes finding info about you much easier if one was that way inclined...

[Terbinator]

Just hope Saracen graces you with his presence and knowledge before the phone call. *dead tone noise*

[Prime]

i've removed the personal parts (ish) i've left in xerox as there are a lot of company branches and it doesn't specify which anymore

[Flibb]

You might want to look at the rules regarding gross misconduct, theres a bit on this linked page
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=919

If you can get them to go down the route of a writtern warning, maybe offer to apologise to the customer, you need them to believe you are sorry early on in the conversation.

To be honest, although you dont work for the original company, they are customers of Xerox, and service companys tend to deal with this kind of problem harsher than if it was internal.

[abaxas]

Two options.

1) the nice person way - just go with the flow and take the hit
2) the council workers way - go through the deciplinary scheme, then find some fault in their procedures and attack for that, go on gardening leave for 2-3 years and expect a monster payout.

I'd go with option 1.

[Flibb]

Forgot to say, good luck with the phonecall.

[Lucio]

To be honest, I think they've got you bang to rights on this one, I'd be shocked if a large company like Xerox doesn't have an email policy that you'd have violated by use of an offensive image.

It sucks, but your best bet to get through this with your job intact is to go in remorsful and appologetic, make it clear you meant it as a joke but now realise that some people may be offended.

[Prime]

yeah thats the general picture ive got on whats going to happen.
the manager just came round and dropped off a letter and policy for dicipliary, ive got a further 5 day suspension and a hearing at the end of it.

the things that annoy me are - something similar happened last year with a woman who sent pics of her models on her desk in sex positions and accidentally sent it to the VMD and she got a slapped wrist even though he was furious - AND i also know that it was taken to the MD by someone who wasnt listed on the emails so how that person got hold of it i don't know.
im going to give CAB a call and find out what i should do from here.

[jim]

It's no use finding people to blame, or trying to compare other people's cases to see who got off lightly and so on, it'll only serve to piss you off in the long run.

Purely on a personal opinion level, I think you might be okay if you do as Lucio suggested, but you never know really. It's all about catching the right person at the right time with a lot of these things - not that those are in your control.

[Prime]

no no, don't get me wrong im not trying to ease the burden by mentioning other people i am just concerned that their email containing sexual imagery - isnt that also gross misconduct?
i am going to be totally apologetic and basically try to facilitate all i can to make the company MD aware of how sorry i am. my manager told me not to contact her so i haven't, even a simple apology is forbidden. im basically in a corner with alot to say but dont want to upset the apple cart!

[BobF64]

It's no use finding people to blame, or trying to compare other people's cases to see who got off lightly and so on, it'll only serve to piss you off in the long run.

Whilst true, *sometimes* it is useful.

For example if people have done it before and just had a slap on the wrist, whilst you get a much more severe punishment, you might be able to use that in a claim later.

[scaryjim]

...i also know that it was taken to the MD by someone who wasnt listed on the emails so how that person got hold of it i don't know. ...

Almost all large employers are able to pull emails - don't forget that before going to your handful of friends your email goes through the company's email servers! I'm pretty sure, however, that if they're randomly snooping without any suspicion of wrong-doing they're on dodgy ground: similarly if an individual has come across this and decided to cause mischeif they are probably just as guilty of misconduct as you are.

I think taking the contrite approach is the right way to go at this point (because it was frankly a dim thing to do ), but if the worst comes you need to be asking all these questions somewhat strongly. What you did was dim, yes, but if other people have overstepped the bounds in trying to persecute you for your dimness (e.g. if the email did end up in the MDs inbox who put it there?) they could be in a sticky legal position. You retains certain basic human rights even when you're in work (no, honestly, you do!)

Saracenesque disclaimer: I'm not a legal expert, the above is simply my opinion and understanding of the way the law works

[dave87]

Prime, I think you've admitted that you were a bit dim in your indiscretion regarding the email, and who it was sent to, but also who it ended up with, rightly or wrongly.

Your best step is to write a decently constructed letter that itemises how you regret your moment of indiscretion, and that it is something that is truly out of character. Emphasis should be placed on your appreciation for the difficult position it places your employer in, and that you are truly sorry for it, and that you enjoy working within the particular firm you are currently employed by.

Now the important bit - once you've written it, don't do anything with it. At least, not for the moment. Once you've written it, leave it on the side for two/three days, then go back to it, and re-read it. Edit it if you feel that is suitable, and then keep hold of it.

Once you've been informed about how your disciplinary proceedures are carried out, it is worth familiarising yourself with what you can and can't do. Whilst I wouldn't be looking at the unfair dismissal route just yet, if you know how things work, you can be more comfortable with the process, and more aware of the possible consequences. This is where I would feel a letter is important, as they will likely not make their decision known to you there and then. If you can provide them with some form of remorse whilst having done everything asked of you during the process, then there is little they can pick apart on that front.

Do you know what they are seeking to achieve from this? If they are going down the gross missconduct route it may be worth seeking legal advice, as IANAL.

Hope this helps,