Poll: suspension from work

[newgamer91]

Hi guys just after a bit of advice, here's the situation.

Yesterday my manager and assistant manager asked me have a talk with them in the office, my manager said that they needed to ask me some questions (at this point I didn't know what it was about) and that my assistant manager was going to take notes.

A supposed gross misconduct and theft relating to miss use of staff discount.

At the company I work for employee's get a 20% discount and about a year and half ago I asked the then current manager or assistant manager if I would get discount on buying a gift card and they didn't know and said to call our contact centre which I did and I was told I would get my discount on buying gift card and since then I would say I have bought about 10 gift cards to date with a balance ranging from £20 to £70 on them.

Mostly I would buy the gift card for my dad for birthday, Easter, father’s day etc. and then he would tell me what he wanted to buy with them so I would go into work and use the gift card to buy the item he wanted and then given my 20% staff discount on what I bought. Some of the gift cards I would use to buy something I wanted also.

In the meeting my manger asked me questions like do I know what the staff discount percentage is, and why have I bought gift cards and then used them to buy items. I have explained to my manager and assistant manager that I was told it was ok to get discount on gift cards and I didn't know I was doing anything wrong. I was then asked to sign the notes my assistant manger had taken.

They then said they would contact employee relations and then ask me to come back into the office, so I went about my normal job role. About 20 minutes after I was asked to come back into the office when my manger said that employee relations have asked him to ask me a few more questions which was about specific dates I bought gift cards and why and what I bought to which some of them I couldn't remember despite one being just over a week ago as I really do have a bad memory. One of the times I bought a gift card was for my sister’s boy friend for his birthday which he didn't know about at the time and as he lives over 100 miles away I hadn't given to him at the time as I only visit the rest of my family a few times a year and would have taken it with me the next time I visited them, in between time he had called me and asked me to get something from work for him and to bring it with me next time I visited and as I had already bought him a gift card I used that to buy the item because why would I spend even more when I had gotten him the gift card.

With the gift cards I bought for my dad I would use them to buy the items he wanted from work as I work for the company and get discount
We get 20% off items bought from the company and a gift card is an item and then an item was bought with that gift card in separate transactions

I was told I would get discount on gift cards by the contact centre and our own system allowed discount on them to go through and nothing until now has been said that it’s wrong so I have been under the impression I have done nothing wrong.

I have now been suspended until a meeting which should be arranged next week. It is not like I have been making any money from this as a friend has said I would be doing it weekly if I was and I have since checked my employee hand book and it says nothing about not being allowed to buy a gift card and getting discount. Along with the contact centre saying it was ok and our own system allowing it, I feel like I have been made out to have done something wrong when I haven't and have now been suspended because of it.

I have been with the company nearly two years have never had any warnings etc. had my first ill day last month 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. Why would I sacrifice all that if I knew I was doing something wrong? I feel like I’m being punished for something that I never knew I was doing wrong and was miss informed now I could possible lose my job over it which will have its own implications for me in life.

Sorry for the long post guys but I am just really worried and stressed because of all this and would like to know your thoughts on it.

 

[Diagro]

Ask them to see something written that's says you can't buy them which is dated before the first meeting.

 

[Scort]

Hope it gets sorted out - but, unless I have read it wrong, it seems you knew you were getting double the discount... 20% off the gift card, then 20% off when spending it?

If that's the case, regardless of whether their systems allowed it, surely you knew it was wrong and you were effectively getting 40% off???

Edit: if I have read it wrong, I apologise, and hope it turns out in your favour.

 

[Dureth]

Sounds like you work for B&Q (previous KITS employee here so have some knowledge of their discount/cc scheme) and the situation sounds familiar. I know that frequent gift card purchases by staff are flagged in the system as there were a lot of cases where staff would buy them to re-sell on ebay making a tidy 10-15% profit. This is probably what they are trying to determine if you are doing, hence why they asked what was bought. The fact that some of them were used further away from your home would also raise suspicion.

Explain the truth, that they are family gifts and that should more than satisfy them.

 

[mattyg]

Sounds to me that the companies systems are wrong. If they don't want you to buy such items then such items shouldn't be available.

Also if you shouldn't be getting discount on your already discounted gift cards then that would be their system at fault

 

[Mynight]

We get 20% off items bought from the company and a gift card is an item and then an item was bought with that gift card in separate transactions

Isn't it this part that's the issue. Unless I'm reading IT wrong you got 20% off the gift card then a further 20% off each item bought via the card.

 

[MatsyLR]

I can see it from there point of view to be honest.
You shouldn't be able to buy gift cards with more money than you paid on them.....regardless of if your company's system let you do it.

 

[Rroff]

Sounds like you work for B&Q (previous KITS employee here so have some knowledge of their discount/cc scheme) and the situation sounds familiar. I know that frequent gift card purchases by staff are flagged in the system as there were a lot of cases where staff would buy them to re-sell on ebay making a tidy 10-15% profit. This is probably what they are trying to determine if you are doing, hence why they asked what was bought. The fact that some of them were used further away from your home would also raise suspicion.

Explain the truth, that they are family gifts and that should more than satisfy them.

Both homebase and B&Q have 20% staff discounts and both companies have had this happen before yet you can still get gift cards with staff discount and still buy stuff with staff discount with a gift card present at the till with no safety net :S

Both Kingfisher and Home Retail really should have their heads around this now and made sure it doesn't happen - he is certainly not the first person to do this ostensibly without realising.

(Yes this is relevant to my job).

 

[Ragnahex]

just make sure you repeat exactly what you said previously when asked in again. State the methods you went through to check this was ok before you did it. Rinse and repeat. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation when it comes to cases like this. If you can prove you checked with higher up before you did it then regardless of how broken the discount system is you shouldn't be able to be blamed as at fault

 

[Dureth]

If it is B&Q how long ago was the phone call to the orange team? The phone system recordings were kept for both IT service desk and orange team for a LONG time when I was there. You might be able to get the conversation pulled from tape backup if it gets serious.

 

[Jambo]

Can we clarify please.....

1) You called head office to ask if you could get staff discount on a gift card and they said yes? You did NOT ask if you could then use it personally and receive further discount?

2) You then used the gift card personally and got a further discount for the purchase?

3) Is your manager saying you are allowed the discount on the gift card or not?

It would seem to me that if you are allowed the discount on the gift card then you wouldn't be allowed it on the purchase. And vice versa.

Please clarify those points.

 

[Rich1988]

Without being harsh it it is common sense that you abused the discount system, you effectively bought a card at 20% discount it sounds then used that card with an additional 20% discount on top..... the fact you used them yourself is the real issue here and to my mind its effectively fraud you will be lucky to keep your job in my opinion, surely you realised this wasn't right or honest at some point?? I hope it works out well for you, it is also worth checking your contract for terms and conditions on staff discount use.

 

[dowie]

on one hand you clearly knew what you were doing when you double dipped on the discount else you'd have just given the gift card to your dad etc.. and let them get on with it rather than getting them to then gain a further discount by you purchasing for them

on the other hand they've left it ambiguous - they've allowed you to buy the gift cards and you did check this with them... the implication though is that you're then going to give these gift cards away (so no different to you buying an actual item as a gift with your staff discount) they don't expect you to then apply another discount but presumably there isn't a specific rule in place other than the general rule that allows you a staff discount at 20% thus your manager asking you to confirm that you know what rate the staff discount is

It is a bit off that they didn't give you advanced waring that it was a disciplinary meeting - AFAIK they usually should and you should be able to bring along a witness

I'd phone citizens advice perhaps... maybe you'll could offer to pay back any additional discount you've benefited from above the 20% you're supposed to get and emphasise that you were just being naive and didn't realise at the time it was against the rules

 

[DotFifty89]

If you explain to them exactly how you have done here in my opinion they will give you a warning with the possible loss of your discount privileges.

 

[A2Z]

So you bought a gift card with a discount, for family etc, but instead of giving it to them and letting them use it, you decided to use it yourself and get an extra discount?

Have to say Im with the company on this one, its pretty simple really you buy the gift card to give someone else to use, not for yourself. You're excuses about not seeing them to give it to them etc really is your problem you should have sorted out, nothing to do with the company.

 

[dowie]

Can we clarify please.....

1) You called head office to ask if you could get staff discount on a gift card and they said yes? You did NOT ask if you could then use it personally and receive further discount?

2) You then used the gift card personally and got a further discount for the purchase?

3) Is your manager saying you are allowed the discount on the gift card or not?

It would seem to me that if you are allowed the discount on the gift card then you wouldn't be allowed it on the purchase. And vice versa.

Please clarify those points.

I reckon it is self explanatory... he can buy a gift card with his discount but the implication is the gift card is to be given away as an actual gift to a family member/friend not used as a workaround to apply the staff discount twice.

 

[Rich_L]

The only thing I'm wondering is why you didn't use your gift card to buy another gift card ad infinitum thereby making millions of pounds and promptly retiring to a non-extradition country

 

[Thekwango]

I reckon it is self explanatory... he can buy a gift card with his discount but the implication is the gift card is to be given away as an actual gift to a family member/friend not used as a workaround to apply the staff discount twice.

I think that's the line the company will be taking.

If there's a loophole/flaw in their system I think they are within their rights to expect their employee to advise them of the loophole/flaw rather than to exploit it (assuming that's the case here, that the OP double discounted)

 

[MagicBoy]

I reckon it is self explanatory... he can buy a gift card with his discount but the implication is the gift card is to be given away as an actual gift to a family member/friend not used as a workaround to apply the staff discount twice.

Bingo. Same rule applied when I worked for DSG in the late 90s.

It appears to be a misunderstanding. I'd suggest the OP offers to pay the discrepancy back and takes a slap on the wrist.

 

[Jambo]

I reckon it is self explanatory... he can buy a gift card with his discount but the implication is the gift card is to be given away as an actual gift to a family member/friend not used as a workaround to apply the staff discount twice.

That's what I think too but I just wanted to check.

If that is the case then he clearly knew what he was doing.