Poll: suspension from work

[porushinobu]

Was this a disciplinary hearing? Sounds a bit suspect with having a note taker in the room also.

If it was indeed a disciplinary hearing then you should have had notice in writing beforehand to give you enough time to prepare and bring a union rep or colleague along.

true, it does indeed sound suspect, if they dismiss you then you can appeal stating that you had no advanced warning before the hearing,

the signing of the notes also sounds like a hearing to me,

 

[James J]

Formal interviews before disciplinary action is fairly common. It's often used to gather evidence and ask for explanations of what happened. You sign after reading what's been written down as a testimony basically. If the manager records what you say, never sign the form.

 

[dowie]

the company simply shouldnt have allowed giftcards to be purchased at below market value, thats what opens up the potential for abuse in the first place

Nah it is good of them to do that - just as you can buy a gift for a relative it is legitimate to also buy a gift card for them

The issue is that their system obviously doesn't flag up the fact a gift card had a discount applied to it already and so prevent a discount being applied a second time. The fact that they can apply the discount twice/that the system doesn't prevent them doesn't necessarily mean they are allowed to - there may or may not be a specific rule covering this scenario but the staff discount rate is stated and so helping yourself to a larger discount than you're entitled to breaches that anyway.

I wouldn't be surprised if he could technically buy another gift card at a discount using this discounted gift card... the system could allow the transaction to take place allowing for multiple discounts of discounts of discounts etc.. Just because something isn't explicitly prevented doesn't mean it is against the rule - if the staff discount is 20% then circumventing this and applying larger discounts will get you in trouble

 

[Begbie]

3 pages and no OP respsonse!

 

[cainer]

Nah it is good of them to do that - just as you can buy a gift for a relative it is legitimate to also buy a gift card for them

well, if its ok and allowed then id convert all my wages every month into gift cards at 80% of face value and list them cash on collection on gumtree at 90%+ face value = win, then use that cash to buy more = double win.. and keep going...

 

[div0]

From the work's point of view, the OP would appear to have been deliberately exploiting the system to receive additional benefit for which it should have been obvious he wasn't entitled to.

Being told that you can use your staff discount to buy a voucher, is not the same as being told that you can get discount on the voucher and then also claim a secondary discount when you redeem the voucher.

It is obvious that the discount is given on the voucher in the assumption that it is given to someone else who then can't claim the discount. In much the same way, if he cashes in a voucher, he is also given a discount on the assumption that the voucher was given to him by someone who had paid full price.

It may be true that the company should do more to prevent this 'double discount' from being physically possible. But that doesn't mean that they cannot proceed with disciplinary action.

In his own words, the OP has basically bought a voucher 'as a present'.
He then admits that it was actually him who used the voucher to buy the real present.
Why? Because it meant he could get a second discount. Nowhere had he been told that this was allowed and it should have been patently obvious that it probably wasn't.

It is quite probable that the system would allow something like this to occur:

Buy £100 voucher, receive 20% discount.
Use £100 voucher to buy £120 of vouchers (with additional 20% discount they only cost £100).
Use £100 of those vouchers to buy another £120 of vouchers (and pocket the extra £20)
Repeat, pocketing £20 in vouchers each time.

How can anyone be surprised when they end up suspended for such behaviour.

 

[MooMoo444]

3 pages and no OP respsonse!

Jobcentre queue is long

 

[div0]

well, if its ok and allowed then id convert all my wages every month into gift cards at 80% of face value and list them cash on collection on gumtree at 90%+ face value = win, then use that cash to buy more = double win.. and keep going...

Buying a voucher to give away as a gift, is not the same as buying a voucher and selling it for profit.

Do people really think that if such details are not explicitly explained, then it somehow makes it ok?

 

[Domi]

7 pages of discussion over what is clearly gross misconduct.

he may get to keep his job if he is well liked but unlikely.

For me this is almost a stupidity test like leaving a £20 note on a desk with a hidden camera.

I simply do not believe the OP can have done this for over a year without realising that it is essentially theft.

 

[ubersonic]

since I’ve worked for the company, have only had good appraisals and the current manager suggested that I should apply for the supervisor training programme at my last appraisal.

In that case I doubt you're incompetent enough to genuinely believe you were doing nothing wrong

 

[Third Opinion]

My gut feeling is the company knew it was going on but it was at a volume where they were prepared to turn a blind eye. As the loophole/scam started getting out of control they have had a crackdown.

I worked in a high street DIY store in my teens. We use to get builders etc, approach us out of work asking for us to purchase stuff on a good staff discount. Thankfully although I was tempted my common sense said no.

A few of the others did it. Discreetly at first sharing buying power tools etc. After a while it became plain obvious what was going and the security firm was called an the inevitable happened.

Staff discount is a perk and should not be used for any gain other than personally saving you money on purchases for yourself.

 

[doofer]

If you'd done the 20%*20%*20%*20% trick enough times you would have accumulated enough cash to purchase the Company and you could now fire those who are going to dismiss you. You just didn't think big enough.

 

[One More Solo]

If you'd done the 20%*20%*20%*20% trick enough times you would have accumulated enough cash to purchase the Company and you could now fire those who are going to dismiss you. You just didn't think big enough.

I don't think companies accept gift cards for acquisitions.

 

[teenwolf]

maybe the OP has been jailed

 

[dowie]

well, if its ok and allowed then id convert all my wages every month into gift cards at 80% of face value and list them cash on collection on gumtree at 90%+ face value = win, then use that cash to buy more = double win.. and keep going...

You could do that with merchandise too...

It would be an abuse of the staff discount in either case... I still don't see the issue in principle with applying a staff discount to a gift card as it isn't any different in principle to applying it to an item you're buying as a gift for someone... it is just the way it allows for the discount system to be abused that is an issue

 

[Rroff]

Nah it is good of them to do that - just as you can buy a gift for a relative it is legitimate to also buy a gift card for them

The issue is that their system obviously doesn't flag up the fact a gift card had a discount applied to it already and so prevent a discount being applied a second time. The fact that they can apply the discount twice/that the system doesn't prevent them doesn't necessarily mean they are allowed to - there may or may not be a specific rule covering this scenario but the staff discount rate is stated and so helping yourself to a larger discount than you're entitled to breaches that anyway.

I wouldn't be surprised if he could technically buy another gift card at a discount using this discounted gift card... the system could allow the transaction to take place allowing for multiple discounts of discounts of discounts etc.. Just because something isn't explicitly prevented doesn't mean it is against the rule - if the staff discount is 20% then circumventing this and applying larger discounts will get you in trouble

System shouldn't let you buy a gift card with a gift card or other voucher though some staff force it through but that does give you a prompt unlike adding staff discount and a gift card.

As I said no idea why its not dealt with better as its not a new issue and plenty of staff innocently fall foul of it the odd 1-2 times, not heard of anyone so far who did it regularly and wasn't knowingly abusing the system.

 

[:(Rhodri:)]

I don't think companies accept gift cards for acquisitions.

You could buy all their stock with them though

 

[Rroff]

My gut feeling is the company knew it was going on but it was at a volume where they were prepared to turn a blind eye. As the loophole/scam started getting out of control they have had a crackdown.

I worked in a high street DIY store in my teens. We use to get builders etc, approach us out of work asking for us to purchase stuff on a good staff discount. Thankfully although I was tempted my common sense said no.

A few of the others did it. Discreetly at first sharing buying power tools etc. After a while it became plain obvious what was going and the security firm was called an the inevitable happened.

Staff discount is a perk and should not be used for any gain other than personally saving you money on purchases for yourself.

There are trigger conditions at the 2 companies I know of how it works which then result in an investigation of that person's use of the discount, I doubt they knew of his double dipping before that investigation.

 

[cainer]

need update from OP, but he's probably learning how to say "would you like fries with that" right about now :/

 

[rubberduck]

Either OP clearly knew what he was doing was effectively stealing and should be sacked. Or OP didn't realise what he was doing was wrong and should be sacked for being a thicko.

Take your choice really...