Disciplinary at work

Rosa11

Hi,

Wondering if anyone can help me out here. Is it possible to use a mystery shop report as a basis for disciplinary meeting/action? Working in retail as part of a team and am not the manager but was in charge that day. Our store failed the mystery shop - identity of assistant remains unknown but my company has decided to begin disciplinary procedures against me.


Appreciate any feedback, thanks.

Corruptedmorals

Does your contract/handbook state what constitutes undergoing disclipinary? Or is the lovely phrase 'the company reserves the right to include other offences which the company feels constitite a gross offence....etc'. It sounds like the sort of thing a group of people would get a bollocking over, with things mentioned in the report being cracked down on, not what one person gets the blame and punishment for. Are you in Mandate? You could try contacting NERA- might be able to advise you. What did your store fail on? Was it appearance/no name badges/ not enough of a greeting or something more serious? You have the right to have a witness/ union rep for a disclipinary meeting/actual giving of a warning. Whoever gives the warning should have their own witness too. They have to outline their case but you're given the chance to justify yourself. You can appeal it, and you have the right for a copy of the record of it too.

Rosa11

Thanks a lot for the reply.

There's nothing in the handbook that refers to a mystery shop being used as a grounds for disciplinary action.

It sounds like the sort of thing a group of people would get a bollocking over, with things mentioned in the report being cracked down on, not what one person gets the blame and punishment for.

Yes it should be an objective view of the level of service offered by the store.

Not in mandate.

Store failed on nothing too serious, just a number of factors - greeting etc. We were extremely short staffed, the mystery shopper commented on that i.e. that we were struggling with the demand.

Do you know in Ireland in company law are you allowed to take a representative not from a trade union (not with Mandate) or someone from work i.e. can I take someone else? Our company's policy is to take a trade union rep/member of team.


Thanks.

chappy

Our company does base disciplinary actions on mystery shoppers,more so if the person is mentionned.If you have failed on the general running of the store (eg.all the staff standing talking with you) then you would be help responsible.

I would be surprised if it came to a warning as there is no proof that you did something wrong.

We would normally say we are keeping an eye on these areas of your sork and if they don't improve or there is another incident you will get a warning.

You have a right to bring anybody into a meeting but you must give your company significant notice.We would normally bring down a member of HR from head office if there was an external witness.Just make sure whoever you bring in understands that they are just there to witness and not be involved(ie speak) as the meeting can be stopped if they do not take this on board.

hope thats been some help..

Corruptedmorals

So it comes down to struggling to cope? That is ridiculous, please argue that if there's massive queues/lots of stock to put out/the floor is in a state then obviously, customer service is going to suffer. Understaffing is their problem and the fact that it creates problems for THEM and how THEIR store runs should not be transferred to someone who is down there struggling to keep up. I would freak out if that happened to me, these days I'm the only one in my really large department who has a clue so I end up doing almost everything.

But does your handbook give a complete list of offences? If it does you can argue it's not grounds for a warning but it probably has a nice open sentence like the one I mentioned in the first post.

The general rule is someone in the company or a union rep, but I'm not sure what the rule is on someone on the outside.

Forgot to say- in my company, warnings expire in six months. Ask around if that is the case for you, it's not something you'd find in the handbook.

Jo King

It is absolute nonsense to have a disciplinary hearing based on a mystery shopper. One of the basic right of an employee accused of wrongdoing, is to confront their accuser face to face. Unless the mystery shopper is brought before you and you are allowed to cross examine the mystery shopper you cannot be dealt with fairly.

chappy

Its the same as if a customer was to send in a letter of complaint,you don't get to have a face to face meeting with this person.But you can however ask to see CCTV footage and get statements off other members of staff that were witness to an incident.

wmpdd3

At best it's a performance management meeting, with an action plan of how you and your employer are going to deliver the mystery shopper result. By calling it a disciplinary hearing they are raising it as not fulfilling your contract.

It is similar to a hearing relating to a customer complaint, but your case would be weak if other stores in your group are delivering the correct result and have the same staffing levels / turn over as your store.

eejoynt

Rosa
The Labour relations commission code of practice on grievance and disciplinary procedures covers this go to
www.lrc.ie

or check out

http://www.unionconnect.ie/rights/1%20discipline%20/

have the LRC code printed out at the meeting. quote it if the meeting takes a bad turn
hope it goes ok for you
you should think about joining mandate though it can be done on line
good luck