# How much trouble will I be in?



## ci1 (5 Apr 2007)

Hi, 

just wanted to get peoples feedback on an unpleasant situation I'm in.

A few weeks ago a colleague revealed to me that they were very unhappy in the company we are in, I too am very unhappy and we both have the same grievences with the company. Much do to with the companies management behaviour.

She said that there was a particular company that she would like to get into and it happened that I know the HR person there...a good friend. I sent this person a mail from my work address letting them know my colleague would be forwarding on her cv, that she was not happy and not being fulfilled in work and she was looking to move on. I never got a reply.

I am out sick all this week and my manager has my mails redirected to him and about 5 other managers (incl. my colleague) normally they just switch on autoreply, but not this time.

My HR friend decided to reply to my mail today becasue she has been so busy in the past few weeks, the mail was redirected to all management. My colleague called me straight away and was really upset. Up to 5pm today nothing had been but there was a lot of meetings going on.

I am only with the company 4 months. I am totally dreading going back in on Tuesday. Do I have any defense? Can I be sacked for doing what I did? More importantly can my colleague be sacked, because she sent on her CV, I presume they can go back over her email history.

Would love to hear what people think, I need to be prepared on Tuesday for the backlash...

Thanks,

C.


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2007)

ci1 said:


> Can I be sacked for doing what I did?


I doubt that what you did should be a sacking offence but if you are only there 4 months then you can be let go any time up to 12 months anyway because (with specific exceptions) unfair dismissals protection does not apply.

I doubt that it's worth getting into legalities in this situation since you have little backup as far as I know. Better to just see what, if anything, transpires from this situation and try to deal with it as calmly and reasonably as possible.


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## pernickety (6 Apr 2007)

from being in a management position in a large company i would say firstly that management may not even open the email, and secondly, if they do see that a person is unhappy, they would probably keep it to themselves -either to try to help that person and get them to stay, if she's worth keeping, or to keep an eye out for poor performance in the coming months. I would apologize bigtime with her and advise her to keep working as normal. Every big company knows that at any time many of their staff are actively seeking work.
hope it works out for you!


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## RainyDay (6 Apr 2007)

Did you sign up to any 'acceptable usage policy' regarding email/internet usage when you joined the company? Does this say anything about use of company email for personal business?


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## Martinslan (6 Apr 2007)

As a tool e-mail can be great however it also can be terrible. I agree pernickety some managers will not care and they will just delete the mail.
Use the weekend to set a clear objective of how you and your colleague want to deal with this issue. Pick out the key reasons why you both are unhappy. Your manager may want specifics so he can put an improvement plan in place. Deal with this matter with your direct manager only. If any other manager says anything to you tell him your manager is dealing with it and you do not wish to make matters worse by talking about it.Take the lead with your manager and apologize for using the company e-mail for non business related work. Stay calm and focused. If you are let go over this then you will have reacted as best you can....However I really do not think it will come to that, and the best way forward is for you both to use a proactive plan. Best of luck anyway


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## bacchus (6 Apr 2007)

After 4 months in the company, you are still under probation period.. So, the worse management can do is not to offer you a permanent contract or ask you to leave now.
From other threads, it seems that you are actively looking for a job anyway and have no intention of staying in current company, so this incident should not really have any impact on you.... but may be more for your work colleague.


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## ClubMan (6 Apr 2007)

bacchus said:


> After 4 months in the company, you are still under probation period.


Not necessarily. Depends on the original poster's contract.


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## shootingstar (6 Apr 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I doubt that what you did should be a sacking offence but if you are only there 4 months then you can be let go any time up to 12 months anyway because (with specific exceptions) unfair dismissals protection does not apply.



i thought that verbal and written warnings come into play first before your let go? Or is that after the 12 month period?


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## ClubMan (6 Apr 2007)

Unfair dismissals legislation only applies (other than in cases of being let go for maternity or union reasons) after 12 months. I think that that's the legislation that requires written warnings etc. Basically you don't have much statutory protection or security before 12 months are up.


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## HotdogsFolks (6 Apr 2007)

Moral of the story - never use a non-private e-mail account for sensitive, private matters.

I'm a bit amazed you used your work e-mail address for this tbh.

Doubt you'll be sacked, but your colleague probably won't want to be your friend anymore...

PS Don't beat yourself up, we all make mistakes, and you were trying to do a good deed. You're just unfortunate.


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## z107 (6 Apr 2007)

Did your unhappy co-worker know you were going to send the email to your hr contact?


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## diarmuidc (6 Apr 2007)

RainyDay said:


> Did you sign up to any 'acceptable usage policy' regarding email/internet usage when you joined the company? Does this say anything about use of company email for personal business?


While I agree it was not a good idea to use work email for personal use, I challenge you to find someone who has *never *sent a personal email from a work address.


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## ci1 (6 Apr 2007)

Hi All, thanks for your replies. 

There was no "unacceptable use of email" clause in my contract. And at 4 months in the company I am still on a probation period of 6 months.

My colleague was aware that I was sending an email to my HR friend, and she also sent her CV to this person after my mail. We have discussed at length and agreed that we are both responsible.
I normally use my internet address for personal use and not the company mail. 
Why I used it for this purpose I can't even begin to think. I am generally a very professional and conscientious person.

I am activelly seeking new employment & its going well so far. Am waiting to hear news. I figured I was doing my colleague a favour by recommending her & therefore trying to help her out aswell.

I will prepare myself at the weekend for what may happen on Tuesday but we have both agreed to support each other 100% & we will have something prepared to highlight our problems and with some luck we will turn this into an learning curve for us and the company.

My main fear is that I would be let go and have to come home and explain this to my family, but fingers crossed it will not come to that and they will give me a warning and move on.

These things happen for a reason and we do live and learn...

Thanks for all the positive feedback, Will let you all know how it goes!

C.


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## Decani (6 Apr 2007)

Is there any way you could probably tell your mate in the other company to send a follow up email to their email apologising for an incorrectly addressed email? Of course, it will depend on the content of the email that they sent and if surnames were used. Or, if you were copied on the email to reply to your mate and CC your manager and say that you believe you received an email in error from your mate?


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## ClubMan (6 Apr 2007)

ci1 said:


> My main fear is that I would be let go and have to come home and explain this to my family


If this happens then why is explaining it to your family such a problem?


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## ci1 (6 Apr 2007)

Hi,

Decani, she did actually reply directly to me. She said she was sorry it took her so long to get back to me but she was so busy, she received the CV and would be getting back to my colleague after reviewing her CV..so no! Don't think I could deny that one.

Hi Clubman...I just would hate to have to admit to anyone let alone my family that I was dismissed from a company because I breached rules and used to company email to promote and encourage a peer to leave. I have never been let go from a job, not about to start now.
It would not be an ideal conversation to have with my family considering I have responsibilities, and am trying to buy a home. I can't see them being very proud of me or that situation...

But hopefully it will not come to that.

C.


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## Decani (6 Apr 2007)

> Decani, she did actually reply directly to me. She said she was sorry it took her so long to get back to me but she was so busy, she received the CV and would be getting back to my colleague after reviewing her CV..so no! Don't think I could deny that one.


If just first names were used then it's still an option. You'll know better than we do regarding the content of the email but if it's just first names that were being used you could be in with a shout. God only knows the number of times I've started to type in the first name of someone in the 'To' line only for Outlook to pop up a work colleague's name before I go and adjust it. And I've also received a couple of emails from someone who I worked with years ago. They believed they were sending it to someone else who shared the same first name as me until I advised them otherwise.


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## Art (6 Apr 2007)

There was a relatively recent case involving the company Premier Recruitment where a worker was off sick and she gave her manager acsess to her emails. The manager went back through old emails and found bitchy emails sent by the worker about her. As a result of these emails she was sacked by Premier and took a case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal. The EAT however found that she was fairly dismissed because the trust which is necessary in an employment relationship had irretrievably broken down. A strange decision but there you go....


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## ci1 (6 Apr 2007)

Hi, 

yes I suppose I could act dumb and pretend it was a mistake but I don't think I have it in me to do that!

Plus, my colleague is involved also, this is not just my problem.  If we were to create a story whereby I got the email in error I think it would just create further doubt about us.

I think I'll take it on the chin.  Honesty can be the best policy sometimes.

C.


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## angrylad (6 Apr 2007)

That sounds like the best idea - no point in lying about the mails been / not been sent (the email address would be contained in the body of the reply mail). I don't really see that you have done much wrong here except do a favour for a work mate and its coincidence that she works in the same company. 

Don't beat yourself up about it, it's happened and on Wednesday or within a week you will forget about it. Your family will understand and I am sure that if they do come across as angry it really is disappointment but disappointment for you.

Keep the chin up, often times we think way too much about minor things, a bet you won't even remember this in a month!! Go out and enjoy the good weather and the weekend!!


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## Swallows (6 Apr 2007)

surely it's a free country after all, are you not entitled at any time to be on the look out for other employment to better your prospects. It's  not a hanging offence and you would give the required notice. Stick up for yourself on Tuesday and dont try to cover anything up. Who knows, they might even give you a raise if you play your cards right. It's obvious there is a problem if two of you are ready for off and this is the time to trash it out with the boss. If the job is no good why stay there if something better comes along.


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## ci1 (6 Apr 2007)

Have no plan to stay there anyway.
I'm there 4 months and my colleague is there 6 months, and we both want out, I think we have a good case and like I mentioned we will deffo back each other up.

they will have to sit up and listen!

thanks again for all the positive feedback...Need to try get on and enjoy the bank holiday weekend and deal with this when the time comes.

Cheers  

C.


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## SineWave (11 Apr 2007)

Not being nosy, but.............................how did it go?


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## ci1 (11 Apr 2007)

Hi Sinewave, 

Thanks for asking but so far nothing has been said.

The guy in IT told me that my mail is taken off divert to "most management" didn't want to put him in an awkward position by asking further questions, but I got the impression that they are still diverted to some (can they do this considering I'm back in work now?)

I had a meeting with him and some other managers yesterday and he was very cool with me, no eye contact, no hello/goodbye, deffo not being his usual self.

Nothing has been said to my colleague either ! My colleague reckons at this stage they will say nothing and maybe bring it up at our reviews at the end of this month.

Having said all that I have a 2nd interview in the morning so hopefully I will be able to resign before that.

Thanks again for asking, will keep you updated.

C.


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## shipibo (12 Apr 2007)

If its the type of place that they highlight issues at reviews, shows a cowardly approach by management, you were honest in your opinions, if they don,t like it and refuse to deal with it promptly, you are better off out.

All the best in the future.


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## addob (12 Apr 2007)

ci1, following your thread and hope it all works out for you. Thanks for keeping us updated and best of luck with the 2nd interview!!!
ad


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## ci1 (12 Apr 2007)

Thanks Guys,

one lesson I have learnt is not to use company email for personal use.
I have done the past but I deffo will be using my yahoo address from now on. 
I've given to everyone that would send me mails yahoo address so no company will ever have an excuse to berate me on email usage.  
Just am not leaving myself open for that again.  Good lesson learnt.

should hear today or tomorrow on the new job...fingers crossed,

thanks for the good wishes!


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## ClubMan (12 Apr 2007)

ci1 said:


> one lesson I have learnt is not to use company email for personal use.


Are you posting on _AAM _using company resources? Perhaps not a good idea given your situation and if your company _IT _usage policy precludes it?


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## ci1 (12 Apr 2007)

Hi Clubman,

there is no clause or comment in my contract regarding internet usage.

I'm also on a break at the moment, they are fairly flexible with the internet.  They have no issue with any staff using internet once they're on a break.

C.


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