Why you might a good case for a personal grievance if dismissed for misconduct
Or some of the most common mistakes your employer might make. These are a things to key an eye out for, and then object to in the meeting- it makes for a stronger case for you if you point these out at the time, but preferably after they have occurred and it’s too late for the employer to walk it back.
They didn’t give you enough time to bring someone
Bringing a support person (see here) is an integral right of the process, and often the biggest challenge of the logistics. You have the right to bring someone with you to help you through the process, and they have to give you a fair opportunity to bring that person and enough time to arrange one. How much is enough time is subjective, but if you’ve not had enough time to arrange someone, you should say so.
The employer can make such an error in two ways; first by not giving you enough notice- if the meeting is today or tomorrow, that’s probably not enough time for you to get someone IF you want someone from outside the business. If it’s a co-worker, that’s probably enough.
Secondly by not agreeing to the reasonable request for a different time so your support person can’t make it. If you want a lawyer, advocate, friend, aunt, uncle, parent etc to come along, but they can’t make that day at that time, then request a change of time with a range of alternative times that are reasonably soon. If the employer says no, that’s not fair- it’s your job, so it’s not all about their timetable.
It was an ambush
It’s very common, if not human nature, to want to control the information. Your employer, whether it’s your manager, your manager’s manager, or the HR person, will be very tempted want to be sparing with the detail, even holding details back until later in the process. See here for more detail. But this is a trap, and traps are not fair. There are two types of trap, the ‘going in blind’ trap, and ‘ace in the sleeve’ trap.
The ‘going in blind’ trap is where you walk into the meeting not knowing entirely what’s going on. This is either a) the problem, and b) the evidence. This isn’t quite a court of law, but it’s not that far off; and in court of law the defence get to see all the evidence first. You need to know everything that will count against you in the meeting, and enough time to think about it. If you don’t get the information until meeting, I recommend you ask for an adjournment, so you read, think, and discuss with your support person. If they don’t give you time, that’s a problem for them.
The ‘ace in the sleeve’ trap is also a tempting tactic for employers. It’s where the employer has information that rebuts your explanation, but they withhold it so they can use to dispute your explanation, in a ‘gotcha’ play. But this is unfair; they can’t withhold information they know from you that they know is relevant. This area can get a little grey because what is information, and what is logic, and whether they knew it or suspected it can get a little grey. But to keep it simple, if its new information to you AFTER you give your side of the story, that may be unfair.
They ignored trails of evidence
Here’s an odd thing, and it typifies how mistakes are made due to bad process, not bad decisions (see here and here) for how process is more important. The employer gets to decide how important information at hand is. But if it’s not to hand, that’s a problem. They need to be thorough (see here for the investigation process) and if they aren’t, that’s a problem for them, even if the information was minor. They need to look under every rock, even its very unlikely there is a crab underneath.
You didn’t get to tell your side
You get your day in court. You get to tell your side of the story, even if there is not much to tell, you need to be heard. This could be because either the employer finishes their side with a very clear conclusion that their mind is already made up. Or it could be that the boss talks over you- either due to nerves, or because that’s their nature, and they are used to employees who just listen. If you didn’t get a fair chance to have your say, that’s a problem for them.
The decision maker wasn’t there
This is a common mistake- the person you are talking to needs to be the decision maker. If their boss has too much say in the decision, and actually makes the decision, they you weren’t heard. You need to speak to the decision maker, so they can hear your side of the story. If they have to recount the meeting and your explanation to the decision maker, that’s a problem for them.
