Should I quit or wait to be fired?

So I did something (clocking in with my belongings) and it was apparently gross misconduct, now I have a meeting in a few weeks, the disciplinary hearing. But should I just quit before so that if I am fired I won't have to have this on my record or in my reference?
I had no idea this was such a bad thing and keep kicking myself, do you think they will definitely fire me because I am ridiculously remorseful about it :/

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Reply 1

Tabzqt

wait what? clocking in with your belongings? what do you mean by that?

Reply 2

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

like clocking into my shift with my coat and bag before going to the locker because i was going to be late

Reply 3

Tabzqt

why does it matter that much? o.O

Reply 4

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

yes because they class it as gross misconduct which you can be immediately fired for, that's what i'm wondering whether at this hearing they will hear me out and realise how sorry i am, or just fire me regardless

Reply 5

username854791

Look I only read the title and I think you should quite smoking before you set your self on fire.

Reply 6

RaHiNa

I think you should quit, because if they were going to hear you out wouldn't they have done it before taking it to a hearing?

Reply 7

Mattywooda

Depends: if you knew it was gross-misconduct or not. If not I would explain and see what happens. But if you quit theyre not going to give you a reference, and if you're fired you wouldn't ask them. So does it make much difference?

Reply 8

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

They don't give references if you quit? I thought they did :/ so if i quit then what happens when i apply for another job if I wanted to put them down as a reference?

Reply 9

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

Original post by RaHiNa

I think you should quit, because if they were going to hear you out wouldn't they have done it before taking it to a hearing?

They talked to me before and wrote down what I said (i was sorry etc) and they said something about possibly being called for a hearing so does having the hearing just means they will fire me? I thought I was allowed to 'make my last plea' as it were, in this thing, are they allowed to make a final decision before hearing me out again?

Reply 10

zara55

Have you ever had written notification that it's gross misconduct? That might make a difference - if it was only ever verbal, you could say they never made it quite clear.

Would an employment tribunal see it as the sort of thing you should be sacked for? That would depend on the context. If you work in a clean lab or you are a bank teller or something. What type of work is it?

Reply 11

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

Also tbh I didn't really remember what gross misconduct was/that it was that a fireable offence but thats my fault because I didn't memorize the handbook and never had a real job before

Reply 12

Mattywooda

Original post by gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

They don't give references if you quit? I thought they did :/ so if i quit then what happens when i apply for another job if I wanted to put them down as a reference?

Well they would, but if they were going to fire you anyway would it be a good one?

Reply 13

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

Original post by zara55

I'm not sure, I didn't think it was a fireable offence because it seemed like such a small thing, its retail (not a lab or anything) so no ones getting hurt or anything, and I just hope they can see that I was scared of being late and it didn't click in my head that clocking in like that was worse than being late

Reply 14

Matthew_Lowson

Original post by gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

Not necessarily.

Are you aware of your employer's disciplinary procedures, such as what actions that they may take other than dismissal?

I echo what a poster said above, if you knew that it was gross misconduct then I think you should offer your resignation unless you can think of any underlying circumstances that you feel should be borne in mind by the disciplinary panel.

If you weren't aware then I'd go there, state your case, and accept their ruling whether it be the one you hope for or not.

Reply 15

FloydRix

I always did it and never got caught / in trouble.

Reply 16

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

Original post by Mattywooda

Well they would, but if they were going to fire you anyway would it be a good one?

I'm not sure, I think someone said that big companies just give out general description ones or something? so if i quit before i don't know if they'll include that (or whether i have to include that in my reason why i quit (both in my resignation and new applications))

Reply 17

Michaelj

You can get a reference and I think by law they can't give a bad reference. But realistically speaking if you quit or get fired WOULD you ask for one? I think you should stick with this job for 3 weeks and look for a new one in the mean time. That way you have incoming funds for a while.

Btw, do you mean going on shift with your coat and bag? Because if you get fired for that then it's a retarded reason and they're prob looking for reasons to fire people..

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 18

Palatial Veranda

Bit of a pathetic reason to fire you.

If I were you I would wait and if I did get fired I would have a good opportunity to completely lay into the person firing me. Even if it was gross misconduct, I would still find a way to lay into them. In fact, don't quit or wait to be fired. Lay into them on your next shift. No, in fact no, ring them now and lay into them.

Reply 19

gupta-mhm-mhm-mhm

Original post by Michaelj

Preferably I would like one so at least I can list skills and experience I've had here for another job, yeah I will look for more work but i suppose will have to resign before the hearing, is that allowed?
would they just let me quit or look into my resignation before and say I have to state gross misconduct or anything?