Employment disciplinary question
- Thread starter Shoza
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The thing is you still viewed these documents. You might just get a caution because from what you have said they won't / can't sack you for it. Unless there is more to the story than you have already said.
Wait to see what's said and if they take further action as you may need to join a union or even consult legal aid.
Most unions will not help until you have 3 months payments.
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is there a 'recognised' union at your workplace? if there is, I'd speak to the workplace rep and join up pronto. Companies really are sly when it comes to disciplinaries. Don't trust HR either, they are just a management tool that seem friendly.
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I'm a unite workplace rep and I have never heard this regarding disciplinaries. The Driver care add-on may have. (if you drive for a living) and that's just so you don't all of a sudden want driver care after being caught speeding for example.
Your company gives you full access and then tells you off for opening documents in areas they've given you permission for. I'd point out the person who failed to secure the documents in a safe location is in fact the person who has failed to comply with company procedures and not you.
MW
MW
I would take this higher. Also possibly go seek out the citizens advice office as they can offer you options you can compare with your employer options to see if they are foul playing. Its possible that those documents should have been secured and they are using you as a scape goat as it would be a senior manager possibly getting axed for letting it happen. Have they made claims you hacked the security somehow?
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I'm in Unison and they are really helpful and they allow instant advice and assistance once your a member.
You need to find your companies information policy - ask HR. This is usually made as part of an ISO(20k?) accreditation but some smaller companies have them too. In here will be the levels a document can be classed as along with their security requirements (watermarked, password etc...) "Secret" or documents marked as "secure for internal use only" typically have passwords or restricted control mechanisms because in the public they would be a liability. Also ask for the policy docs behind the item you supposedly breached from your manager / HR.
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Perhaps this is the time you can present this case to the higher powers in the company. Present to them your case and show them the security infrastructure of the SQL database (That there is none.)
This will present them with an ultimatum. Improve security and learn a lesson or don't improve it, and have further risks of information getting out to the wrong people.
This will present them with an ultimatum. Improve security and learn a lesson or don't improve it, and have further risks of information getting out to the wrong people.
It's also amazing how much it can be the other way though - employers treating employees like machines, thinking everyone should (or even can) be at 100% productivity 100% (and more, by 'expecting' free overtime) of the time, from 100% of employees. Never going to happen.
At the same time, expecting staff to "multitask" which is a fallacy, by expecting them to respond immediately to multiple interruptions like emails, phone calls and even just people walking up to their desks, and then demanding to know why their day-to-day work has not been completed on time, particularly in an industry where it is seemingly more important to know when something will be finished, than to actually have it finished (read: the number of times someone must stop working on something, so they can produce a report on the progress of the thing they just had to stop working on, and also a report on why the thing they just stopped working on will not be finished on time - with "because I have to keep writing these ****ing reports" as an invalid reason).
A balance between the two is the ideal. Trust your employees, and give them the resources to be productive, and you'll get productivity. Don't trust them, restrict their working practices, and you'll just have monkeys.
Granted you'll get some people who take the urine, but they'll be more than obvious and you should never, ever "punish" the whole because of a few.
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Soldato
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I can't see why you should have accepted a warning for their own slack-arsed IT security policy. 
I can't see why you should have accepted a warning for their own slack-arsed IT security policy.
if its a verbal warning its best just to accept it to avoid creating waves.
Verbal means nothing, your employer has to be seen to be doing something because no doubt somebody else complained and they want to see something happen.
6 months down the line nobody will even remember it.
