From time to time we tell you about a Birmingham employment law case we have recently dealt with. Our other stories are here. This is the story of Grace from Birmingham, her dismissal for gross misconduct and the lessons to be learned from it.
Grace worked for sixteen years as a PA at a well-known company. In January 2014 she was dismissed for gross misconduct after an investigation into the theft of £40,000. She was adamant that she was innocent and backed this by paying privately to challenge the employer’s decision to dismiss her. In terms of evidence the actual perpetrator had access to the petty cash tin and could make withdrawals using her name. All the withdrawals were logged in a petty cash book and nowhere else. We understand that the company has now tightened its petty cash procedures.
Digging deeper
The firm found her guilty of 30 thefts adding up to £40,000 and she was made subject to a dismissal for gross misconduct. Two junior colleagues gave statements saying that she had asked for petty cash on numerous occasions between 2013 and 2014. Grace strenuously denied the allegations but in face of two witnesses saying she was responsible for all the withdrawals it was always going to be an uphill struggle to win the case. The company’s only record of the transactions was in a cash book. Unfortunately Grace lost it when she took it home to see who had been forging her signature when withdrawing the cash, having been told that an audit had uncovered the financial irregularities. This led to the investigation into her involvement.
Understandably, Grace felt under immense pressure and became emotional during the investigatory and disciplinary meetings. She did not manage to properly explain her case to the best of her ability and had lost the key piece of evidence. The chances improved when she realised she could show that on some of the days when money had been withdrawn she was on holiday. The company however showed that some of these were half days off.
If Grace had kept better records and had not lost the book she would have stood a better chance of successfully answering to the allegations and ultimately winning her tribunal claim.
Her case highlights the importance of evidence and why employees should take care with petty cash records, especially when working a finance department. If the employer’s record-keeping is poor, employees should keep their own records. Confirming things by email means that there will always be a paper-trail, which may exhonerate you down the track.
By Naomi Vlad
Image used under CC courtesy of SuperRabbit