Employment Law

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I have a friend who is a betting shop manager for a large national chain. Their policy is that their managers are not allowed to place bets in their own shop probably to counter fraud.

This person has been caught on camera putting bets on and has been suspended and will probably be sacked. What is of concern is how he has been treated regarding how he has been interviewed by their security guys and that they have taken a signed statement from him without him having a representative present.

Is this allowed and would this statement be admissable as evidence without him being legally represented?
 
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Company policy should state the procedure for this sort of thing.

Generally, another person - who can be anyone - union rep, friend, colleague etc, can be present, but the employee has to do the answering.

Tell your friend to withdraw his statement, and to ask that copies be destroyed and not referred to in any future interview/action.

He can write a new statement if he likes and this can replace the first one. But, there is no need for a statement and certainly no need to sign anything like this at work
 
Was he offered the opportunity to have someone present?

Daughter works as a Relief Manager for one of the big chains and she is not allowed to place bets in ANY branch, not just the one she is working in.
She cannot serve me if I want to place a bet either, but other staff can take my bets. That's the rules.

Cannot offer much advice about your friend because we do not know ALL the facts, only what he has told you.
 
he has been interviewed by their security guys and that they have taken a signed statement from him without him having a representative present.

Is this allowed and would this statement be admissable as evidence without him being legally represented?

The law is only concerned that employment law has been complied with.
The procedures are fully company policy's at the stage he is at so you need to check "company procedures" ,

A union rep is highly advisable at this stage.
 
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If he's been silly enough to get caught on a camera in his own shop then he should be sacked for stupidity if for no other reason. He's obviously got a problem.
 
He's lucky the police are'nt involved. I've known a few betting office managers and they were all sacked for the same reason.

The scam works as follows:
Write out betting slip for a fiver on a horse in next race, if it loses do it again, if it wins at say 4/1 the total payout is £25. Manager takes £20 out of till leaving a fiver to cover the first losing bet.
If security arrive before the winning bet the manager is stuffed because the betting slips and till contents do not balance.

If I was him I would go quietly, also thats the end of his career in the gambling industry.
 
Thanks for replies.

There is no suggestion of fraud and any bets placed were before the "off".

The stakes involved were minor but the rules have been broken and he does expect to be sacked. :(

He has been suspended without pay. Are they allowed to not pay him?
 
Rules is rules, if being told that he should not under any circumstances place bets in his own store he then goes ahead and does it anyway he deserves what is coming to him. He has left himself wide open to suspicion of fraud which will take some explaining at his next job interview.

His only chance is that the company make a mistake in the procedure in the events leading up to his dismissal, he should find a law firm that specialises in employment law and try and get a free 30 minute consultation, but I wouldn't hold your breath as betting firms are pretty much up to speed on this I bet (sorry)
 
Update.

My friend has been interviewed by the police and has been released on bail. Do all cases like this lead to a court appearance or is there a chance of it being dropped.

As stated earlier, the bets were placed before the off and the computers are set to reject any bets placed after the off so there is no possibility of fraud.

Any thoughts. :?:
 
Sorry Carlo but none of this bodes well for him!

The company will have a policy on this procedure. It may well be that they have a policy that states where 'Serious Misconduct' is alleged then suspension without pay is allowed. It would be unusual but it could happen.

I note that he was interviewed by the company security team and now by police. That is because it is a 'Criminal Offense' that is alleged here. So the rules are totally different to Employment Law. If there is evidence and indeed he has admitted to it then it will become a police matter. The company are still obliged to go through a Disciplinary Procedure and indeed this can happen in his absence should he be unable to attend any hearing.

However, I have to say that on the details available I think he can expect to be either 'Summarily Dismissed' (sacked) or he may be offered the chance to Resign. I would doubt they'll give him this chance but if they do and it was me, I'd take the offer! This gives him a 'clearer' CV than it would if he were sacked. You see, most companies these days answer reference requests with a standard and basic reply in order to avoid any possible discrimination. So if a company that he may apply to in the future asked for a reference and this company operates a 'Standard Reference Request' then having 'Resigned' they will only state that. If he has been Summarily Dismissed, they will state that. You can see which looks better for him to a new employer.

People Resign every day for various reasons, new job, moving away, new baby etc etc. And obviously that would be ANY prospective employer in ANY industry he choses to apply to. If a reference request came back and it states Summarily Dismissed he is going to be asked about that (that's if any prospective employer even offers him the chance of an interview with that record!). He will have to tell them what happened. Now I know he's your pal and all but it really doesn't look great when someone says I was sacked for fraud and obviously that applies to ANY industry he choses to apply to! There is also the possibility that he will be tried in the courts for this and possibly end up with a criminal record. Again, he would normally be asked if he has any 'unspent' criminal record on a job application!

As for whether the case will be dropped, the company MAY decide not to prosecute but I'm not clued up on the CPS and their procedures.

Given the details, I would have to say that at this point in time things don't look too good for him!
 
Thanks Sean for detailed reply.

Will still look on the bright side for him though. :D
 
He has been suspended without pay. Are they allowed to not pay him?
He's guilty of gross industrial misconduct, for which summary dismissal is within the rights of the employer. Whether or not he's entitled to any notice period, and pay during that notice period, depends on his contract and his total length of employment to date.
 
Put it this way, he's not keeping his job.

If he ever wants to work in the industry again, no matter what the possible outcome of the police involvement then its best to resign now.
dont wait for the offer to, just do it before they do decide to sack him.
 
Sorry I should said that he resigned not long after he was interviewed in July. :oops:

The question is....... can he be charged with fraud or anything else. :?: As stated before no bets were made after the OFF.
 
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