Hi,
I am type 1.5 controlled by a basal bonus regime.
I went to an awards ceremony earlier this month in London representing my company. There were 10 people including myself at the table.
I have no recollection of the nights events after eating the meal, though I do know I had drank some alcohol the rest of the night I have never forgotten a whole night nor behaved the way it had been described.
I have several statements that say I was loud and stumbling around and that I was assisted off the premises by security. I do not have any recollection of any of this the first thing I remember is waking early morning and my shirt from the evening before being soaked with sweat. I hasten to add no one knew me or my condition at the awards or knew me previously to see this was completely out of character. I have put a case together with notes from my GP and character references in my defence.
Has anyone had similar treatment from their employers? If so, what was the outcome?
Thanks in advance Izzy
Oh dear. It doesn't sound as if you're in a great place; especially as you have no recollection of the specific period which seems to have been in question.
Without seeing the detail of the case your employer is presenting you with, or their description of the meeting you will be attending, it's hard to make too much comment.
How did the matter come to the attention of your employer? Did someone, from another business, report you or something? If you were the only one from your employer there, I'm just curious
Gross misconduct usually covers a great many issues and areas, but I imagine your employer will be miffed that you were representing them, became incapable of looking after yourself, never mind being "loud and stumbling around" (your words), and as a result may have compromised their reputation.
Have you had the preliminary meeting where a formal decision will be taken whether to proceed to a formal disciplinary would be taken, or is that yet to happen? Do you know who will be hearing your case, and do you know anything of them? I'm not suggesting for an instant you would be able to choose your hearing manager or anything, but it can be helpful to have a bit of a look into them, Once you reach a certain level, it becomes hard to find an appropriate person to hear a case because people tend to know each other, and those who may be available will often try their hardest to get out of it. If you don't fancy the sound of the person hearing your case, you can object and provided it's not on a totally unreasonable basis and employer will try to oblige both parties. They will be mindful of how things could look should anything go as far as an Employment Tribunal.
Others have suggested contacting ACAS, but were I in your shoes, I might choose to contact Diabetes UK, for their advocacy service:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Helpline/Your-rights/ , especially as you feel your case hinges on the impact of your diabetes. Once you have spoken with DUK, I might be inclined to invest a bit of cash with a lawyer, specialising in employment law. At c£500 an hour + VAT it wouldn't be cheap, but if you really do fear for your job and reputation, it could be money well spent. If you go down that route, make sure you go very well prepared to minimise time spent explaining matters, as every minute you talk costs £10. I can think of more fun ways to spend my hard earned money!
In so many ways, I think your biggest problem is you just don't know what happened. You don't have any meter readings over the relevant period, and by your own admission ate very little in the preceding hours, then consumed alcohol, which is known to impact your expected glucose levels. You don't know how you behaved, and on that basis, it's hard to build a robust defence against allegations.
I think it's easy for every single one of us to know what you should or shouldn't have done in the circumstances, but I bet you have a very clear idea of how you would handle things differently next time.
Personally, when I was attending such functions, or even in-house work functions, I didn't drink. In fact, if the function was local, and I would be going home afterwards, I would even drive, meaning there would be no way I would drink. My view was I could always have a nightcap in my room after the event if I felt I had missed out a bit, but by that stage I usually just wanted to crash out!
I'm sorry if all of that sounds harsh and not incredibly supportive of you, but I'm just feeding back what you are expressing. You have a lot of thinking and planning to do, methinks.