I don’t think they were. I think he said someone saw an empty vodka bottle in his pocket.
Off Topic I lost my job today...
- Thread starter Kempton
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I don’t think they were. I think he said someone saw an empty vodka bottle in his pocket.
One of my clients is a fantastic employment lawyer
He may also do no win no fee
The downside is he lives in London
Why would someone keep an empty vodka bottle in his pocket though?
I'm not sure how desperate you are for money/work but if you are in need of a fast start I would suggest going to an agency. When the first lockdown happened the club I was working for in London told me I didnt need to go down as the players were training at home and there was nothing for me to do. I cant sit around so I went to work at the Tesco warehouse in Goole. It was a physical job but I actually loved it. Stress free, lost a load of weight and the money was pretty good for what you had to do. Think it was £11 an hour plus nights bonus.
I went to the agency on a sunday following a phone call on the saturday and started that night. I enjoyed it that much I applied to be a proper Tesco worker and got in. Nice uniform, pension etc. I got called back by London in the June so walked out but it was only ever a thing to keep me busy. Basically you drove around on a Lollop that had 4 cages on the abck and you had to stop and put things in the cages as per a machine on your arm. Once full deliver it to one of the holes where the trucks back in.
It might be an easy way into some work for you. They offered me a lift to goole and I have later discovered there are loads of similar jobs closer such as Heron at Melton.
I reckon it is still as easy to walk in and out of those sorts of jobs as I did and it might be a stop gap for you or even a job for the rest of your working life.
I went to the agency on a sunday following a phone call on the saturday and started that night. I enjoyed it that much I applied to be a proper Tesco worker and got in. Nice uniform, pension etc. I got called back by London in the June so walked out but it was only ever a thing to keep me busy. Basically you drove around on a Lollop that had 4 cages on the abck and you had to stop and put things in the cages as per a machine on your arm. Once full deliver it to one of the holes where the trucks back in.
It might be an easy way into some work for you. They offered me a lift to goole and I have later discovered there are loads of similar jobs closer such as Heron at Melton.
I reckon it is still as easy to walk in and out of those sorts of jobs as I did and it might be a stop gap for you or even a job for the rest of your working life.
Some pretty good advice there - your contract of employment or staff handbook must have a disciplinary procedure laid out. The only reason for instant dismissal will be Gross Misconduct (which will probably include being under the influence of alcohol or drugs during work hours), but they would have to prove that you were drunk, and a negative alcohol test 4 weeks ago but no more up to date test doesn't give them a leg to stand on unless there are other facts that you haven't disclosed Kemps.
As said by many, take a breath and then consult with your union rep. You have a right of appeal, even for Gross Misconduct, and any appeal hearing must be conducted by a more senior manager than the one that dismissed you. You will have the right to be accompanied by a union rep or work colleague, and the grounds for dismissal must be sent to you in advance of the meeting to give you time to prepare a defence or mitigating circumstances.
Good luck, and keep your chin up.
Maybe he picked it up off the floor in the company carpark to prevent one of his colleagues driving over it and damaging their cars and on his way to the bin, hepopped it into his pocket?
Maybe some posters need to just be supportive to a fellow tiger who’s struggling
Its a really fair point ..... was the alcohol test the first time. Were you informed that such tests would be taking place ad hoc and under what guidance and reasoning, was your union rep informed that they would be testing.
Some jobs have instant dismissal policies regarding open alcohol containers on company premises. Pilots, oil rig workers (me) and high line electricians etc. So the legal advice regarding questioning company procedure and the encouragement to lie won't help.
He needs to speak to an employment lawyer and his union rep. As a previous poster pointed out, the goodwill from the forum is the best he can take from here.
One of my brothers is contract electrician on big chemical sites and they get randomily tested for alcohol and drugs every day and sometimes mid shift too. They have to accept it.
Instant dismissal for an empty open alcohol containers!?
Any liquid can be put into an "alcohol container" and alcohol can be put into any container.
Really sorry to hear that Kemps, as others have said if they cannot prove you were drinking during work time then it's a flimsy excuse.
Going back more years than I care to remember I used to take a sherry bottle to work as my mother from time to time asked me to buy a pint of paraffin off Hessle road as it was cheaper there than in Anlaby. So just because you have a bottle in your pocket doesn't always mean it was used for drinking purposes.
Note: The paraffin was used for a stove not that my mother was drinking Paraffin.
Going back more years than I care to remember I used to take a sherry bottle to work as my mother from time to time asked me to buy a pint of paraffin off Hessle road as it was cheaper there than in Anlaby. So just because you have a bottle in your pocket doesn't always mean it was used for drinking purposes.
Note: The paraffin was used for a stove not that my mother was drinking Paraffin.
If having an alcohol bottle at work results in instant dismissal, it's unlikely you're going to fill a vodka bottle with orange juice to take to work.
I dont think having an empty alcohol bottle at work would be grounds for instant dismissal
Contracts of employment have to be reasonable
I think a follow up to that question should be, 'and who else was tested?' because if nobody else was, or they didn't follow their own testing selection protocols, it is victimisation.