sacked or reinstated?
Discussion
Hey all, I hope someone can help with either the legal side or maybe from experience,
I have a friend who is a child protection officer, working in a school. my friend was suspended pending an investigation due to an incident where my friend made a decision based on the information they had at the time, which turns out was wrong. This has led to a drop in confidence in my friend to do their job properly.
They have had 1 meeting already stating the allegations and a second meeting due, but according to a letter received its not good news even though the employer is asking for past work references which are impeccable, my friend says from experience these things do not end well.
My friend has not worked for this employer for long, so I believe their rights are very limited.
What do you think will happen? And should the worst happen does my friend have any legal case of unfair dismissal or such?
In a career spanning nearly 35 years this is the only black mark my friend has got.
I am sorry if the explanation is vague but I do hope it made sense
cheers
I have a friend who is a child protection officer, working in a school. my friend was suspended pending an investigation due to an incident where my friend made a decision based on the information they had at the time, which turns out was wrong. This has led to a drop in confidence in my friend to do their job properly.
They have had 1 meeting already stating the allegations and a second meeting due, but according to a letter received its not good news even though the employer is asking for past work references which are impeccable, my friend says from experience these things do not end well.
My friend has not worked for this employer for long, so I believe their rights are very limited.
What do you think will happen? And should the worst happen does my friend have any legal case of unfair dismissal or such?
In a career spanning nearly 35 years this is the only black mark my friend has got.
I am sorry if the explanation is vague but I do hope it made sense
cheers
I'm a bit confused by that....
Your friend has been working in this job for some time and made a decision based on information later shown to be incorrect, so is now being asked for references as part of a review process?
Had the employer not already taken up references?
With regards to the wrong information, was it your friend's fault that it was wrong? If not, can this be demonstrated?
You say they've not been there long. How long is not long?
Your friend has been working in this job for some time and made a decision based on information later shown to be incorrect, so is now being asked for references as part of a review process?
Had the employer not already taken up references?
With regards to the wrong information, was it your friend's fault that it was wrong? If not, can this be demonstrated?
You say they've not been there long. How long is not long?
Kermit power said:
I'm a bit confused by that....
Your friend has been working in this job for some time and made a decision based on information later shown to be incorrect, so is now being asked for references as part of a review process?
Had the employer not already taken up references?
With regards to the wrong information, was it your friend's fault that it was wrong? If not, can this be demonstrated?
You say they've not been there long. How long is not long?
No the information was given by the pupil in question who said there wasn't a problem, so my friend decided they would keep an eye on said pupil but there was nothing to report to relevant authorities. Your friend has been working in this job for some time and made a decision based on information later shown to be incorrect, so is now being asked for references as part of a review process?
Had the employer not already taken up references?
With regards to the wrong information, was it your friend's fault that it was wrong? If not, can this be demonstrated?
You say they've not been there long. How long is not long?
My friend has worked this new job for about 2 weeks, if that
WolfAir said:
appreciate the replies 
.
sorry my friend was newly employed at another school because of public spending cuts. the new school decided to investigating my friends previous employment because of management (of which my friend was part of) at my friends previous school failing pupils.
So, just to clarify, your friend is being investigated in her current employment, for an incident that occurred in a previous employment?.sorry my friend was newly employed at another school because of public spending cuts. the new school decided to investigating my friends previous employment because of management (of which my friend was part of) at my friends previous school failing pupils.
davepoth said:
So, just to clarify, your friend is being investigated in her current employment, for an incident that occurred in a previous employment?
yes, and the incident in previous employment has caused new employers to lose confidence in my friends ability to do their job. Yet this is the only issue ever raised against my friend in a career spanning nearly 35 years. surely the new employers are simply looking for an excuse?If they have been confided in or been party to information which was a cause for concern and failed to share the information, it's very bad news I'm afraid. The school's child protection policy should state that all such information is recorded and shared amongst responsible persons. Failure to do so is probably classed as gross misconduct.
The Char said:
If they have been confided in or been party to information which was a cause for concern and failed to share the information, it's very bad news I'm afraid. The school's child protection policy should state that all such information is recorded and shared amongst responsible persons. Failure to do so is probably classed as gross misconduct.
I think you have just hit the nail on the head. As far as I know the circumstance was a child was at risk, when said child was asked about the potential risk they said there was no risk. This information was recorded. Said child unfortunately became a victim and so the case has escalated and my friend held responsible seeing as it was their job to protect said child. WolfAir said:
davepoth said:
So, just to clarify, your friend is being investigated in her current employment, for an incident that occurred in a previous employment?
yes, and the incident in previous employment has caused new employers to lose confidence in my friends ability to do their job. Yet this is the only issue ever raised against my friend in a career spanning nearly 35 years. surely the new employers are simply looking for an excuse?WolfAir said:
The Char said:
If they have been confided in or been party to information which was a cause for concern and failed to share the information, it's very bad news I'm afraid. The school's child protection policy should state that all such information is recorded and shared amongst responsible persons. Failure to do so is probably classed as gross misconduct.
I think you have just hit the nail on the head. As far as I know the circumstance was a child was at risk, when said child was asked about the potential risk they said there was no risk. This information was recorded. Said child unfortunately became a victim and so the case has escalated and my friend held responsible seeing as it was their job to protect said child. What was the risk?
Who reported it initially (how did you friend become aware)
Who else was aware?
Was the safeguarding policy followed?
How old is the child?
What were the grounds for not escalating?
What was the end outcome for the child?
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