What should I do if my workplace is investigating allegations of gross misconduct & i
To elaborate further, I work for a supermarket, yesterday they called me up to the office to announce that there is alleged £2000 worth of shopping spanning across the last year that has been delivered to my address but not paid for. I admit on occasion I have noticed that the money has not come out of my account, but they are supposed to monitor payment and not deliver until payment is successful.
They have said its not an issue they are escalating to the police, but are investigating internally and I am on paid suspension until they do so.
They also said it will be completely private, though a colleague of mine told me today that less than 24 hours since the meeting, everyone is aware of the fact & the amount.
I will receive an email during the next week to invite me down to the store to hold a second meeting, where they will no doubt try getting me to sign up to a repayment plan or, if I show hesitation or do not attend, they will threaten collections.
Am I wrong for believing they are at fault here?
They have said its not an issue they are escalating to the police, but are investigating internally and I am on paid suspension until they do so.
They also said it will be completely private, though a colleague of mine told me today that less than 24 hours since the meeting, everyone is aware of the fact & the amount.
I will receive an email during the next week to invite me down to the store to hold a second meeting, where they will no doubt try getting me to sign up to a repayment plan or, if I show hesitation or do not attend, they will threaten collections.
Am I wrong for believing they are at fault here?
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Original post by Anonymous
To elaborate further, I work for a supermarket, yesterday they called me up to the office to announce that there is alleged £2000 worth of shopping spanning across the last year that has been delivered to my address but not paid for. I admit on occasion I have noticed that the money has not come out of my account, but they are supposed to monitor payment and not deliver until payment is successful.
They have said its not an issue they are escalating to the police, but are investigating internally and I am on paid suspension until they do so.
They also said it will be completely private, though a colleague of mine told me today that less than 24 hours since the meeting, everyone is aware of the fact & the amount.
I will receive an email during the next week to invite me down to the store to hold a second meeting, where they will no doubt try getting me to sign up to a repayment plan or, if I show hesitation or do not attend, they will threaten collections.
Am I wrong for believing they are at fault here?
They have said its not an issue they are escalating to the police, but are investigating internally and I am on paid suspension until they do so.
They also said it will be completely private, though a colleague of mine told me today that less than 24 hours since the meeting, everyone is aware of the fact & the amount.
I will receive an email during the next week to invite me down to the store to hold a second meeting, where they will no doubt try getting me to sign up to a repayment plan or, if I show hesitation or do not attend, they will threaten collections.
Am I wrong for believing they are at fault here?
What am I missing here. You have been getting stuff delivered to your house and not paying for it, in other words stealing, but you think they are at fault?
How would they be at fault for you not paying them?
If it was an error in the system then nobody would be at fault, but you will have to pay them for the goods delivered.
If it is only an issue with payments to your address, then they are going to be very suspicious and you should not attempt to blame them for you getting free shopping for a year.
You said that you noticed payments not going through, so you have essentially exploited a known weakness in their system which doesn't look good for you keeping your job/ getting a good reference from them.
If it was an error in the system then nobody would be at fault, but you will have to pay them for the goods delivered.
If it is only an issue with payments to your address, then they are going to be very suspicious and you should not attempt to blame them for you getting free shopping for a year.
You said that you noticed payments not going through, so you have essentially exploited a known weakness in their system which doesn't look good for you keeping your job/ getting a good reference from them.
Original post by HannahPoppy
How would they be at fault for you not paying them?
If it was an error in the system then nobody would be at fault, but you will have to pay them for the goods delivered.
If it is only an issue with payments to your address, then they are going to be very suspicious and you should not attempt to blame them for you getting free shopping for a year.
You said that you noticed payments not going through, so you have essentially exploited a known weakness in their system which doesn't look good for you keeping your job/ getting a good reference from them.
If it was an error in the system then nobody would be at fault, but you will have to pay them for the goods delivered.
If it is only an issue with payments to your address, then they are going to be very suspicious and you should not attempt to blame them for you getting free shopping for a year.
You said that you noticed payments not going through, so you have essentially exploited a known weakness in their system which doesn't look good for you keeping your job/ getting a good reference from them.
I was more referencing the systems error, I am not at all saying I'm not willing to repay them as I 100% am, just wondered what my outcomes were despite who is to blame. Either way I am in my notice period as I handed in my 4 weeks just last week due to finding a better opportunity so keeping the job isn't the problem, wondered if anyone on here had a similar experience & what to expect as my outcomes
Original post by Anonymous
What am I missing here. You have been getting stuff delivered to your house and not paying for it, in other words stealing, but you think they are at fault?
When you shop online and select an order for a specific date, they are supposed to take payment from provided card issued 24h before delivery date. Clearly even when payment hasnt been successful, they've delivered nonetheless from human error. I am not wholly passing blame onto them, it happens. I just wondered what my outcomes were despite who is to blame. Either way I am in my notice period as I handed in my 4 weeks just last week due to finding a better opportunity so keeping the job isn't the problem, wondered if anyone on here had a similar experience & what to expect as my outcomes
Original post by Anonymous
When you shop online and select an order for a specific date, they are supposed to take payment from provided card issued 24h before delivery date. Clearly even when payment hasnt been successful, they've delivered nonetheless from human error. I am not wholly passing blame onto them, it happens. I just wondered what my outcomes were despite who is to blame. Either way I am in my notice period as I handed in my 4 weeks just last week due to finding a better opportunity so keeping the job isn't the problem, wondered if anyone on here had a similar experience & what to expect as my outcomes
If they offer you a repayment plan, whether for the full amount owed or a proportion of it, and if they don’t involve the police, that would be a good outcome for you in my opinion.
Original post by Anonymous
When you shop online and select an order for a specific date, they are supposed to take payment from provided card issued 24h before delivery date. Clearly even when payment hasnt been successful, they've delivered nonetheless from human error. I am not wholly passing blame onto them, it happens. I just wondered what my outcomes were despite who is to blame. Either way I am in my notice period as I handed in my 4 weeks just last week due to finding a better opportunity so keeping the job isn't the problem, wondered if anyone on here had a similar experience & what to expect as my outcomes
The best outcome, if you co-operate, is that they pursue you for the money. Other than that, for £2000 over a year, is about 20 weekly shops, which is beyond accidental, I'd expect they might well take legal action to recover or go to the police. It's not really credible that £2000 in groceries over a year is accidental.
Original post by Anonymous
If they offer you a repayment plan, whether for the full amount owed or a proportion of it, and if they don’t involve the police, that would be a good outcome for you in my opinion.
100% I agree entirely, I have a law degree & would definitely stress over police involvement to which they reassured there won't be any. In regards to privacy though, they instructed me not to inform anyone of the investigation & that they won't either as it'll be fully private during investigation (also not allowed on premises) but literally every colleague at the store knows about it (my colleague texted me) so would you recommend asking for a repayment plan & stating I will not return or to attend regardless despite the breach
Original post by threeportdrift
The best outcome, if you co-operate, is that they pursue you for the money. Other than that, for £2000 over a year, is about 20 weekly shops, which is beyond accidental, I'd expect they might well take legal action to recover or go to the police. It's not really credible that £2000 in groceries over a year is accidental.
£2000/12 is £166. I'd do my shopping monthly and it'd always amount to £150-£200 per month which I find normal, I had never purposely placed extra items or orders to exploit this issue. I am more than happy to organise a repayment plan with them, though they breached the investigation in regards to privacy by stating nobody will be aware, though every individual at work is now aware and talking about it & the numbers (close colleague texted me to hear what they heard)
Original post by Anonymous
£2000/12 is £166. I'd do my shopping monthly and it'd always amount to £150-£200 per month which I find normal, I had never purposely placed extra items or orders to exploit this issue. I am more than happy to organise a repayment plan with them, though they breached the investigation in regards to privacy by stating nobody will be aware, though every individual at work is now aware and talking about it & the numbers (close colleague texted me to hear what they heard)
You can justify all you like, but you won't win. The fact you 'never purposely placed extra items or orders to exploit this issue' simply demonstrates that you were aware of the issue and didn't take steps to correct the obvious error. Blustering about privacy won't get you anywhere, it's fraud.
Get your story straight/credible and pay up, or expect legal action.
Original post by threeportdrift
You can justify all you like, but you won't win. The fact you 'never purposely placed extra items or orders to exploit this issue' simply demonstrates that you were aware of the issue and didn't take steps to correct the obvious error. Blustering about privacy won't get you anywhere, it's fraud.
Get your story straight/credible and pay up, or expect legal action.
Get your story straight/credible and pay up, or expect legal action.
Again, was never a concern about not wanting to pay as I've said since the start I am more than happy to arrange a repayment plan, nor did I ever say I wasn't aware of the issue, so yes we're still on the same page & I am still unaware of all options, so I can't say I've learnt too much from this reply
Original post by Anonymous
I was more referencing the systems error, I am not at all saying I'm not willing to repay them as I 100% am, just wondered what my outcomes were despite who is to blame. Either way I am in my notice period as I handed in my 4 weeks just last week due to finding a better opportunity so keeping the job isn't the problem, wondered if anyone on here had a similar experience & what to expect as my outcomes
Unfortunately I have heard of the police being called on employees for much less. It really depends on your managers, but I think the fact they are keeping it internal could be a good sign. Be careful not to incriminate yourself in an apparently informal meeting though.
You said here that you did notice the payments weren't going through. The best outcome is that they believe you had no knowledge, set up a repayment plan and don't push it any further. Just be careful what you say to them as you are in a very suspicious position.
Original post by HannahPoppy
Unfortunately I have heard of the police being called on employees for much less. It really depends on your managers, but I think the fact they are keeping it internal could be a good sign. Be careful not to incriminate yourself in an apparently informal meeting though.
You said here that you did notice the payments weren't going through. The best outcome is that they believe you had no knowledge, set up a repayment plan and don't push it any further. Just be careful what you say to them as you are in a very suspicious position.
You said here that you did notice the payments weren't going through. The best outcome is that they believe you had no knowledge, set up a repayment plan and don't push it any further. Just be careful what you say to them as you are in a very suspicious position.
I appreciate the feedback & I think this will be the approach I will end up taking, It would be far too costly for all parties involved for them to escalate it legally or reach out to a collections agency so repayment plan is the best option for all & less hassle for all too... Hoping it goes well & thanks again
Original post by Anonymous
I admit on occasion I have noticed that the money has not come out of my account
Did you on any of those occasions flag this to your employer?
You have admitted here that you knew money had not been taken but did not raise it. Did you tell your employer this? As above, 'get your story straight'.
If you want to, you could raise it as a concern that you had been told it would be confidential but that colleagues know about it. I certainly would not make a big thing of it but you could raise it if you want to. I don't think that you should focus on it.
There are people in the world that don't check their accounts and wouldn't necessarily notice that money wasn't being paid for shopping, even over an extended time. This doesn't seem to be the case here but such people do exist.
If you want to, you could raise it as a concern that you had been told it would be confidential but that colleagues know about it. I certainly would not make a big thing of it but you could raise it if you want to. I don't think that you should focus on it.
There are people in the world that don't check their accounts and wouldn't necessarily notice that money wasn't being paid for shopping, even over an extended time. This doesn't seem to be the case here but such people do exist.
(edited 7 months ago)
Tbh if one of my supermarket shops did not take the payment I might keep quiet,but a second time I would query it.If it were my employer even more so.
You have a Law degree so knew what you were risking.Very silly.As above have said be careful what you say in meetings.No one is your friend in this situation.
You have a Law degree so knew what you were risking.Very silly.As above have said be careful what you say in meetings.No one is your friend in this situation.
Original post by hannychica
Did you on any of those occasions flag this to your employer?
From the information provided here, the answer is no.
Nah, you're at fault and trying to be sneaky about it. The decent thing to do if you notice you're getting stuff and the money isn't coming out of your account is to contact the supermarket and let them know. So you just have to pay it back now I'm afraid.
Original post by Cote1
I think the OP accepts this but is looking for information on whether the police will be involved as well as the OP being unhappy that the details of why the suspension has occurred are known by colleagues.
OP has already said they told him the police won't be involved, for now. That may change if OP refuses to admit he knew and/or pay what he owes. Concerning other employees knowing, that's not too relevant really. Sure, the managers said it would be private but someone accidentally letting something slip or another employee overhearing something and telling others isn't a crime and has no bearing on his fraud and the investigation. Using this supposed breach as some kind of excuse for why he shouldn't face the consequences or expect some kind of reduction in the amount he has to pay (though he may not have explicitly said this) is silly.
(edited 7 months ago)
I’d recommend reading your contract (both for the orders and your employment) thoroughly. I would also recommend strongly that you consider joining the union and taking a union rep along to any further discussions.
Distance selling /delivery law is quite different in terms of liability for payment if a company delivers something without taking payment. It may well be that you aren’t obligated to repay anything. Note that they’re pursuing this as an employment matter and not the way they would if you were a customer. That says a lot about how they consider the law stands.
In which case it’s more about whether there’s anything in your employment contract about liability for costs incurred through your employer’s error. And then about how much you are willing to pay to retain good relations with your (soon to be) former employer.
I would say focus on negotiating the smallest possible repayment required to guarantee that you will be found not at fault with no record of the investigation to be kept on file or mentioned in any reference.
Distance selling /delivery law is quite different in terms of liability for payment if a company delivers something without taking payment. It may well be that you aren’t obligated to repay anything. Note that they’re pursuing this as an employment matter and not the way they would if you were a customer. That says a lot about how they consider the law stands.
In which case it’s more about whether there’s anything in your employment contract about liability for costs incurred through your employer’s error. And then about how much you are willing to pay to retain good relations with your (soon to be) former employer.
I would say focus on negotiating the smallest possible repayment required to guarantee that you will be found not at fault with no record of the investigation to be kept on file or mentioned in any reference.
(edited 7 months ago)
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