Suspended for facebook comment.

[folos]

Please do not name any of the companies involved if you can guess who they are, I am simply looking for advice about the possible outcome. Please do not quote this as I may want to delete it once i've got some replies.

I used to work for Company A as a bus driver, company A started a competitive bus route against Company B. Company B was previously owned by father of the owner of Company D.

While driving the competitive bus route, in a bus 'war' a small number of Company B drivers and representatives made spurious complaints about me to get me into trouble with Company A. All were proven false and over time were simply ignored.

I now work for Company C as a driver and have done for almost 4 years. In that time I have virtually no sickness record (2 sick days and one domestic absence) and one occasion I was late. I have no disciplinary record, no at fault accidents and no customer complaints.

Company D has now started a competitive bus route against Company C who I work for. Company C has previously been sanctioned by the traffic commissioner for anti-competitive predatory behaviour against rival companies.

One driver who previously worked at company B before it was liquidated now works for Company D, he has very serious personal dislike of myself and was one of the people responsible for trying to get me into trouble at Company A.

Yesterday I shared a picture on facebook - I was driving on a route that is facing competition from Company D, a driver of Company D had left their vehicle at a bus stop parked preventing me from getting past. The driver was on the other side of the road talking to a colleague. To remain where I was would have blocked all traffic behind me - they would have been unable to get past. I mounted the kerb (i'm aware this was a mistake) to pass the offending vehicle. After loading passengers I took a photograph of the offending vehicle and shared it to facebook. I won't repeat my exact wording, but it was in reference to the parking not stopping me from getting past. It was a poor choice of words and not intended to be inflammatory. Company D is not a professional company and "blocking" would be behaviour expected of them.

The driver who has carried forward his grudge against me from my time at Company A got hold of a screenshot of this post via another Company D driver that I was facebook friends with. He forwarded this to the managing director of company D who personally complained to the managing director of the company I work for.

I have now been suspended on full pay pending an investigation for bringing the company into disrepute by the MD. The poor choice of words I used on the post have been taken out of context and could be seen to have another meaning (that I was not going to let the parking stop me from overtaking their vehicle and allow me to pick up more passengers than them - and driving over the kerb enabled me to do this). It was merely intended as a light hearted post about the difficulties that competition on bus routes can cause.

I realised that the post was a mistake and deleted it less than an hour after posting it. The senior manager that interviewed and suspended me today has no influence on the investigation, but has stated that he is unhappy it is being dealt in this way - they stated that if it was up to them I would have been taken to one side and spoken to quietly to remove the post and do not mention anything about Company D in the future. They referenced my previous exemplary record and that i'm one of the best drivers there - an ambassador for the company (their words).

Company D has apparently reported this (among other perceived wrongs) to the traffic commissioner. Company C has to be whiter than white in all of this, any wrongdoing could lead to fines or loss of license(s).

I'm afraid that even though in the grand scheme of things my post was very very minor, it has been blown out of all proportion but as there is such a severe threat to the company I work for i'm afraid that i'll be made an example of.

I have union representation and the head of the union was with me at the meeting. He feels the company reaction is extremely over the top and out of proportion, but at the same time said they can deal with it how they see fit.

I would like to know based on what i've said what anyone with experience thinks the most likely outcome will be. I now have to wait until at least Tuesday before I hear anything, as my rest days next week are Wed/Thur it could be another week before I hear anything.

Edited by folos on Friday 22 May 12:35

[folos]

chibbard said:

Are you sure "their vehicle at a bus stop parked preventing me from getting past" wasn't broken down. Therefore, unable to be moved? Facebook posting relating to your work is a dangerous game and unfortunately you have learned the hard way. All the best for getting things resolved !!

No it was not broken down. Once the driver had finished their conversation they continued on their way.

I've admitted that I posted it, I'm not a liar and it certainly wouldn't help me if I did.

[folos]

I haven't had an invitation to meeting. I was asked into a meeting this morning to my complete suprise. All I was told in relation to any alleged offence was that if looked at in a certain way it could amount to gross misconduct on a technicality.

My letter of suspension only references an investigation into my post on the Internet and I may be invited to a further meeting. I was told informally by the senior manager that they may look at it that way.

I feel as though I'm being thrown under a bus for a minor mistake as the company is in a position due to things that happened several years before I started employment with them.

[folos]

jonah35 said:

If you have worked their over 2 years and have union representation I'd expect a formal warning

I just don't understand the need for suspension - as far as I understand removing an employee from the workplace it a very serious decision and not one taken lightly.

It was felt by both parties (manager and union rep) that it was out of proportion but it was totally out of each of their hands. It was commented that if up to them being taken to one side and asked quietly not to do it again would have been the most appropriate course of action.

[folos]

desolate said:

Did you get out of the bus to take the photo or take it from the driver's seat?

I was fully out of the bus and standing on the pavement, the engine was switched off. I took it to document it with the intention of reporting it to my managers, the (very, very silly) mistake was putting it onto facebook. They take use of the phone with the bus running/inside the bus VERY seriously so I wasn't going to put myself at risk there.

It was commented I should have waited on the other side of the junction - blocking the road to everyone behind me - and taken the photo from there. I did think about waiting behind until the bus moved on but it would have made it look like I was trying to cause an issue instead of just moving around the parked bus using the central reservation (grass but at that particular spot it has been filled in with stones due to the amount of people using it to pass articulated buses waiting at the stop)

[folos]

desolate said:

what does procedure say about leaving the bus when it has passengers in it?

Can't see the posting of the photo being Gross Misconduct, maybe the associated comments could be.

Overall seems wrong to leave the bus if you don't have to and I have no idea why you would possibly want to post on Facebook about such an incident, but then I don't use Facebook.

My accompanying words were "[they] left the bus parked even though it was running 10 minutes late, still didn't stop me from getting past hah"

The context of what I said was that despite the parking of the bus being such that it made it very difficult to pass I still managed to get around it.

The complaint has made the implication that I wanted to get past the offending vehicle no matter what in order to pick up customers before they could get to them with their vehicle. I believe that the company has also taken this view and I haven't had the opportunity to explain what my intentions were.

My intentions (although I now recognise them as foolish in light of the situation) were that as I have a number of (real) friends who are aware of the things that happened on the road during my time at company A - I wanted to show them the sort of things that are still going on with this new company.

Despite two employees of the competitive company making numerous comments on (they are former colleagues of mine hence why they were on my friends list) the photo - including a threat to gang up for a fight to "sort it out like men" - I did not comment any further. My sole comment was the one that accompanied the photo as stated above - and it's been given an implied meaning by other people that could be interpreted as bringing the company into disrepute.

Edited by folos on Friday 22 May 18:20

[folos]

desolate said:

Ok.

just check what the procedure for leaving a bus with passengers in it is.
And driving over a central reservation.

As long as the bus isn't left unattended (i.e abandoned) it's fine. I shouldn't have driven over the central reservation but at the time not blocking the road with my articulated vehicle seemed the preferred option (it was common practice prior to the competitive route if two or more of our vehicles (may have) ran late together on the same stretch of road)

[folos]

Jasandjules said:

The issues at hand would appear to be the posting of the picture on facebook. The OP needs to confirm exactly what the Employer is seeking to investigate so he can formulate a defence.

The investigation is into the posting of the picture (singular) and the associating comment as detailed above. Nothing else, that's literally it. If there were any more to this story i'd just have accepted what was happening to me and dealt with it myself. I just can't get my head around why this isolated incident warrants such an extreme reaction.

[folos]

TurricanII said:

I am no employment or law expert but if I were in your positing then I would think about this:

Is it clear to the whole world from your Facebook profile who you work for?
Is your Facebook profile open to the public (or is it 'friends only')?

If there are 'No' answers there then I would let my employer know that the Facebook page is limited to friends only and that you have never posted who you work for.

Did you include your own bus in the picture and did it identify your employer?

That might be tougher to mitigate.

My vehicle was visible but no registration number, fleet number or logo was visible, just the base colour of the livery.

The issue as far as I can tell isn't so much with the photograph, but the implied content of the wording.

[folos]

The problem lies with the position the company is in, ANY perceived or proven wrongdoing in relation to these competitive routes could lead to serious implications for the company (i.e fines, loss of licenses etc)

I'm worried that i'm going to be thrown under the bus (pardon the pun) as it's easy to get rid of a driver and set an example to everyone else of how seriously they are taking issues with this rival company.

[folos]

TurricanII said:

I am no employment or law expert but if I were in your positing then I would think about this:

Is it clear to the whole world from your Facebook profile who you work for?
Is your Facebook profile open to the public (or is it 'friends only')?

If there are 'No' answers there then I would let my employer know that the Facebook page is limited to friends only and that you have never posted who you work for.

Did you include your own bus in the picture and did it identify your employer?

That might be tougher to mitigate.

My profile is friends only with everything set to as private as possible. My employment is "driver at bus company" - exact wording (that is, bus company not the actual company I work for)

[folos]

[quote]Finally, your employer can also act on pressure by a third party. However, this is more likely to apply in situations where the third party is a client of the business and unless your employer acts on that pressure, they could lose their business. So this could also be a relevant consideration in your case, depending on what the potential consequences of your actions could be on the business of your employer.
[/quote]

Just read this in relation to another person's query on a website.

The competitor company wants to cause as much trouble as possible, it could be implied that my actions (getting 'past' their vehicle) and my words (they could take them meaning that I was getting 'past' their vehicle in order to prevent them from getting to customers first) I have caused a loss to the competitor company and brought my company into disrepute?

Of course this is not what actually happened, but if they have a reasonable suspicion that was the case.........

[folos]

ClassicMercs said:

Its almost certainly the words rather than the picture which will be important in the case. Especially if they are derogatory to the competitor or place your employer in a negative light. Whilst you say your settings are 'private' as an employer I would immediately question how someone you dislike has got a copy of the posting - surely they are not in your friends network ?

The outcome will almost certainly be determined by the desired result as perceived by your employer. As an example, we have recently issued three P45's as a result of negative comments made by the individuals aimed at another employee. Their extended posts were private, but included others outside the workplace. They decided for a laugh to suddenly copy in the other person - then delete them minutes later. A copy was however taken by that person. This was all clearly in contravention of works rules regarding social media, and a final warning would have probably been the result anticipated. However, two of the three were lazy troublemakers - and the third just a sometime troublemaker but otherwise good worker. Two should have been gone in their first two years but issues existed due to nepotism (say no more) in an area of the management structure. Therefore it was the desired outcome of the MD that the three should be let go due to the opportunity that presented itself.

So - nothing should be guaranteed I'm afraid. Does your employer just want to be seen to be going through a process - your warning sending a message to you and your colleagues. Or do they need to be seen to come down harder on you due to past regulatory issues. The possibilities are numerous.

Fingers crossed you get the result you desire.

Basically they're saying that the picture could be interpreted to look like i'm blocking their bus in, and the words could be interpreted to mean I was trying to get past their vehicle in order to pick up more passengers than them.

Both have been taken out of context and my words have been twisted to mean something else.

[folos]

Eric Mc said:

What compelled you to post anything on Facebook?

What was your motivation?

Just to show friends in the industry the sort of things we have to put up with. Obviously it backfired.

[folos]

Eric Mc said:

Dangerous thing to do. I attended a conference last year on the dangers of social media from a business, commerce and career point of view.

Your story demonstrates this exactly.

I've learned a very hard lesson indeed, I was extremely naive prior to this.

[folos]

SpeedMattersNot said:

Could it be that your words could be misconstrued as meaning you were in a hurry, i.e. driving recklessly ?

If their driver wants to park up and doss for 10 minutes, surely you deserve to pick up more customers? So I don't get why that's a bad comment?

Do you have it in writing what they have suspended you for? (Sorry if you've answered this)

Reason for suspension was "postings about [other company] and [my company] on the Internet"

[folos]

Eric Mc said:

And is posting about your work on Facebook specifically banned as part of the company's rules?

Social media policy was brought in a day after I was suspended.

[folos]

Eric Mc said:

That sounds a bit of making up the rules after the event.

On that basis I would be very certain that you had a good case for a wrongful suspension.

Does your employer have any sort of arbitration procedure (they should)?

Do you have access to a union representative (there are times when unions have a =n important role to play)

Are you properly "employed" i.e. not engaged in any sort of "self employment" arrangement?

Yes to all, I spoke to the head of the union who went into the meeting with me before I was suspended.

However his attitude was that the company can deal with it how they see fit if they want to say it's gross misconduct.

[folos]

'Meeting' at 2pm tomorrow, not sure if investigatory or disciplinary. Union rep wouldn't tell me how he thought it might go, even off the record.. not sure if that's good or bad but there we go.

[folos]

Jasandjules said:

There should be a formal notification inviting you to attend and setting out what the meeting is for. Has the rep asked for the evidence?

He said they want to get this over with as a matter of urgency, I was just told over the phone by the union rep to meet him 30 mins prior to the meeting at 1400 tomorrow.

I still don't know the official reason that i've been suspended.

The evidence is just a screenshot of my facebook post taken on a phone, and that's it.