Disciplinary:Breaking co.policy under instruction

Just looking for some opinions on the following.

I work for a US multinational manufacturing outfit -no union naturally.
The other week there was a quality related incident in which company policy was broken by myself. However, I had been under instruction by my line manager to disregard this particular aspect of the quality control procedure. Furthermore, I can prove that he instructed me to disregard it.

These situations have arisen within the company in the past and the company has always laid the blame on the person who finds themselves in my predicament - and not the line manager. To defy the instuction of a line manager can lead to life being made more difficult.

Taking a look at this scenario from an employment law point of view, would the company be entitled to subject me to their disciplinary procedures under these circumstances? Should they just be pursueing the line manager -or both of us? Its quite likely that they will just make me the scapegoat.

Did you believe the line manager had authority to waive that particular aspect of the quality control procedure? If you did then it would seem to me that he is the one at fault not you and you should not be subject to disciplinary procedures or if you are you should use this as your defence.

If you knew he shouldn't have been instructing you to do so but chose to obey him to make life easier then the situation could be murkier. I'd say he still should be pursued but they may have a case to discipline you too.

dam099 said:

If you knew he shouldn't have been instructing you to do so but chose to obey him to make life easier then the situation could be murkier. I'd say he still should be pursued but they may have a case to discipline you too.

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Well its a lovely little system they have put together. We have been told before that we should adhere to company policy regardless of who tells us to deviate from it. However, in practice, they know that its difficult for employees to disregard the instructions of a line manager. There are just so many ways they can trip you up - and senior management know this.
The fact is they need to have a supposedly stringent quality policy given the nature of the product - to demostrate this to their customers. In reality, they want production to go at breakneck speed, and if there are quality incidents, they can point the finger at someone and demonstrate that the problem has been rectified/employee suitably disciplined. All the while, what really matters is output - thats what drives them (via bonuses).