hi all

speaking with a friend at the weekend who had decided that on the previous fri nite, when drunk!, to go back to the office to pick up his house keys. security let him in, but he then fell asleep at his desk (smirnoff ice moment? anyhow, he woke up a few hours later and left.

back in work on monday and HR called him up. security must have told them even though they let him in!? he was told that the security guard had now been fired, my friend was given a final written warning and docked a weeks pay!!

he works for a very large IT company.

does that seem fair/reasonable/legal?

cheers
steven

 

He'd need to have a look at his employee handbook. If it says that falling asleep is serious misconduct, then they can punish him. However, he ought to be invited to a disciplinary hearing first, and given a chance to explain himself and consider the cahrges against him. It sounds like the boss has jumped the gun a bit. As for docking a week's wages - i can't see how that is fair. Exactly what are they saying that his misconduct was?

 

Sounds perfectly reasonable, he was drunk on company premises. Most companies I have worked for have an instant dismissal policy for that.

 

Kiwi - where's the proof that he was drunk? It appears that the proper disciplinary procedure hasn't been followed, therefore any disciplinary action resulting is automatically unfair. Does it specifically state in his handbook that being drunk on company premises is misconduct? I would suggest that he writes a polite letter to his boss saying that he does not feel that he has been given the chance to explain his actions in a properly convened disciplinary hearing, and he therefore would like to appeal against the disciplinary action that has been taken.

 

Bit hard on the security guard too.

Les

 

Was he drunk/asleep inside or outside of his contracted hours?

 

I always choose to go to work for a kip on Friday Nights and always when perfectly sober

 

thanks for the replies.

it was outside of contracted hours.

i just thought it was a bit harsh docking a weeks wages and final written. i guess he could have been fired on the spot - but it was outside working hours and therefore all he did was fall asleep on the premises when not working.

he wont do that again

 

SiPie - of course it is obvious to everyone that he was drunk, but that doesn't amount to *proof*.

midget - i would say he has got a reasonable chance of getting his wages back if he writes some kind of leter as per my suggestion. the company cannot deny the right to appeal disciplinary matters. As i said before, the co. is on dodgy ground because they did not convene a proper disciplinary hearing in accordance with recent legislation on resolving disputes.

see www.dti.gov.uk/resolvingdisputes

 

As only the guard met him, there is little if no proof he was drunk, all they can prove, (unless they have him staggering about on camera) is that he went to sleep. ..

See an employment lawyer .........

 

Looks like they havent heard of the new disciplinary procedures that came in on Oct 1st... Have been following the bloody things to the letter recently, and this sound NOTHING like the procedure...

 

I didn't realise falling asleep at work could get you fired. I do it on most days - but usually in the toilet for about 10-15 minutes.

 

When I worked as a student for British Steel, years ago, it was almost MANDATORY to gobble your lunch, then sleep the next 50 minutes of lunch hour.:


Otherwise, how the hell could we have worked those hours and still gone out until after midnite every nite?

Alcazar:

 

midget1500,

If you want, pm the name of the company.
I work for one of the said company's and could easily find out what's going on.
Or always check the employee handbook myself