so there's a pretty strong possibility I'll be getting sacked today…

Yup looks like they are planning to be arseholes about things. I’d see a solicitor in the meantime as if you’ve had no prior warnings etc it’s great grounds for unfair dismissal. You could walk out of this with a lump sum for all the crap you’ve put up with. Spend 50 quid seeing a lawyer.

I suggest you draft a resignation letter to keep in your pocket. Better to resign than to be sacked…

Isn’t that unless you need jobseekers allowance?
To sack you (like t’otherjonv) I though they needed at least 1 verbal and 1 written warning unless they are going for gross misconduct.

Good luck OP!

They can’t get you out for GM in my opinion, best they can do is a final warning, you’ve got the upper hand in this situation if you go on the offensive I’d say. 17 years service goes a long way to proving competence in the eyes of a judge, you can say any underperformance is a result of excessive hours and stress. See an employment lawyer and get real, actual, legal advice. If you’re not in a union, perhaps you can have a lawyer present and for a couple of hundred notes invested you could end up with a nice windfall, proper pre- written reference and a new job down the line.

Get on the offence – It’s the best defence. I’d start by saying you’ll be bringing a legal representative/Employment Lawyer along to the meeting.

I’ve only skim read through this thread, but you said that you’ve been there 17 years so you must have enjoyed it once, have you been promoted into a role you no longer like, could you ask to go back to a role you did like and which didn’t have all the stress attached?

I did this a few years ago and it was great, I had a stress free job for a couple of months while I looked for a new job!

They can’t get you out for GM in my opinion, best they can do is a final warning, you’ve got the upper hand in this situation if you go on the offensive I’d say 17 years service goes a long way to proving competence. See an employment lawyer and get real, actual, legal advice. If you’re not in a union, perhaps you can have a lawyer present for and couple of hundred notes invested you could end up with a nice windfall, proper pre- written reference and a new job down the line.

Get on the offence – It’s the best defence.

+10000000000000

What joolsburger says! good advice!

though I reckon you might be off sick for a while longer…

Read this and you might feel a bit less worried. You 100% have the upper hand here.

http://www.lawdonut.co.uk/law/employment-law/discipline-and-grievance/gross-misconduct-faqs#2

I’d be gunning for at least months pay for each year served on the basis that they’ve made you ill and now are trying to manage you out…

I think the key to this is looking and behaving ‘strong’ however weak you feel inside.

I agree with the above.

Make it clear you know what they’re doing, that you have knowledge of the law in this area but you are willing to negotiate ‘for the benefit of us all’.

Don’t appear intransigent but be firm and stick up for yourself.

It’s really important to get a legal representative. HR is basically theirs so you need one too. They will have you thinking they know best and you should do as your told, WFAT.

So… had the follow up meeting yesterday, now suspended on full pay..

Follow up meeting later this week to discuss additional concerns raised by my absence…

Have a browse through this to see what is legally required for dismissal or warnings….

Hope you get a break and come back stronger…

https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/redundancies-dismissals

Finally it’s over…

I have been dismissed, off down the job centre then off to seek legal advice.

Own them.

Own them.

That would be my intention.

Did you see a Solicitor? If not, now is the time in preparation for your Employment Tribunal. You should start with a letter from your Solicitor though in response to whatever the employer sends you. Companies mostly settle before it gets to ET. I’m assuming you want out with a decent golden boot BTW.

Unless you have two written warnings, and you are bing straight up with us, then what has happened wasn’t “gross misconduct”. Hitting someone, vebally abusing, bullying , racist behaviour is gross misconduct.

Dig out your contract now , and read throught it. If you were really working 10 hours with only a 30 minutes break, then take them to court.

But you have to be honest about you role in this. Was this mis-ordering the only reason.
Go for unfair dismissal – you will win the case and they will probably want to settle out of court.

BTW, if you were having to work all these hours, what are they going to do now they have got rid of you?

As they told me when I went back for my meetings, they’ve had people working til very late at night… & having to cancel days off.

Good luck. Sometimes companies/organisations are just crap and so crap the normal rules (logic, gravity) get lost in weird organisational cultures. It’s important to remember that sometimes everyone else can be wrong and you can be right. You are out which is part of the answer, no take the above advice and get some expert advice. After 17yrs it might be hard to see but other companies are out there with different cultures.

Ps sounds like you’ve been made the scapegoat for a systems failure to me.

That would be my intention.

Good man, and good luck, hope it works out for you. 🙂

And don’t sign anything until you have taken legal advice

As they told me when I went back for my meetings, they’ve had people working til very late at night… & having to cancel days off.

There is so much wrong with that logic. If not bs. They can’t have it both ways. You can’t be so important the organisation and sackable at same time. And anyway that’s their management issue, they can’t drive you out with stress and then blame you for the implications. How they maintained morale and productivity whilst you were there is their lookout.

It’s important to remember that sometimes everyone else can be wrong and you can be right.

Not to mention people above you are culpable too and they can and will attempt to make scapegoats so that the big questions about their own conduct cannot be fully answered. I went through this and could have sued my employer on intimidation, harrasement, bullying and out right lying, but I thought that they were such a bunch of **** I’d take the money and go. Their policy was not to go to ET as it would cost a min £11K in Fees and they would inevitably end up paying out something on top in my case a min 3 months salary.

Good luck my friend.

As they told me when I went back for my meetings, they’ve had people working til very late at night… & having to cancel days off.

that’s their problem, not yours. If they’re so badly organised that they don’t have cover in their buying department for the inevitable holidays & illnesses then I think you’re better off out. Now go see that lawyer

Any updates on this PrinceJohn? How you’re doing well.

Would this be the print industry you have just been dismissed from by any chance.