Suspension Showdown: Director vs. Employee

Transcript

Host1:Good evening, Lauren. Please find attached a letter confirming your suspension from duties, along with details of the investigation that is taking place. A copy is being posted to you but, due to timing, will arrive on Friday. I will follow up to confirm details for the Investigation Meeting on Friday.

Host2:Harry, I do not recognise the legitimacy of this disciplinary process, particularly while my grievance remains unresolved. It is procedurally unfair to proceed under these circumstances. Regarding the MacBook,

Host2:I can prove its use was reasonably expected to be authorised. You, and countless others, saw me use it openly on numerous occasions, with work clearly displayed. There are emails referencing its use! Are you now denying this? If so, it constitutes an intentional misrepresentation of the facts. I am prepared to call witnesses to confirm this.

Host1:Lauren, the subject matter of this investigation is completely separate to the grievance you have raised. Therefore, there will not be a postponement. The investigation meeting will go ahead tomorrow, and you will be given adequate time to respond to questions, and comfort breaks will be scheduled in. You have already begun setting out your responses via email.

Host1:I will not be entering into email back and forth as part of the investigative process.

Host2:But it's not separate! The matters raised in my grievance are directly relevant to this disciplinary investigation, and it would be procedurally unfair to continue without first addressing the outstanding grievance. Furthermore, my requests for reasonable adjustments due to my ADHD are being ignored. I need more time to prepare for this meeting; the short notice and the complex nature of the issues involved make it difficult for me to adequately respond. And you've explicitly prohibited any recording of it, which is necessary as a reasonable adjustment for my ADHD!

Host1:The meeting will consist of short, specific, and factual questions. Time to respond will be provided, and there will be breaks. Lisa may be present as your safeguarding support, I will invite her to attend if this is your wish. However, she will have no involvement in the investigation itself and cannot communicate about any matters related to it on the company's behalf.

Host2:That severely limits her ability to provide meaningful support! The request that I cannot discuss my suspension with colleagues, particularly when I was only informed about it almost three hours after losing access to my accounts, is unreasonable! Given the situation I have disclosed with my dad and the severe limitations placed on Lisa's safeguarding support, I am left extremely isolated and stripped of any meaningful support network!

Host1:Due to unforeseen circumstances, Christine is not able to take notes today, so we will reschedule for Tuesday midday. I understand that you have requested to cancel your annual leave next week – aside your Birthday – so if you confirm that is still the case, we can go ahead then.

Host2:Thank you for rescheduling and for ensuring the meeting won't fall on my birthday on Monday; I appreciate that consideration. And for cancelling my annual leave. But I need policy clarity for transparency. Please confirm the exact date when both the unauthorised devices policy and any disciplinary updates – specifically, the classification of 'covert recordings' as gross misconduct – were implemented. And I need evidence of how and when these updates were directly communicated to me in a way that led you to reasonably believe that I intentionally breached these company policies.

Host1:With regards to the policies in question: the ban on covert recordings has been in place since before you started and was sent to you, along with your contract, as part of the staff handbook. The personal device policy is reaffirmed via the IT User Security document that is signed by all staff, which you first signed when you started with us in May 2022.

Host2:I signed that two years ago! The policy you're suspending me with wasn't even introduced until August of this year, after I put in my grievance, and during my work-from-home period! My MacBook use was necessary because the company laptop did not support key tasks, and it was known within the office! Punishing me for using it under these circumstances would be unfair and potentially discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010. And if you want to discuss alleged 'covert recordings' of Susan Pope, then formally raise it, with all the relevant context, including her retaliatory complaint, her conflict of interest, and my whistleblowing disclosure!

Host1:Lauren, the purpose of the meeting is purely to ask some questions. If there is further information or any evidence you need to prepare or provide afterwards, you will be given an opportunity to do so. I can confirm Sarah Osborne will be joining the meeting tomorrow as your support.

Host1:We will discuss the allegations then. This is your opportunity to respond.

Host2:This is not a fair process, Harry. Not fair at all. I am formally requesting genuine safeguarding support for all future interactions.