#misconduct

01 02 2024

NHS anaesthetist fell asleep on the job | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Law, General, Handbook, Health & Safety, Investigations #consensus hr, #consensushr, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #misconduct, #NHS, #outsourcedemploymentlaw, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

A senior NHS anaesthetist, Thomas Herbst, has been suspended after he was caught napping in an operating theatre during surgery. Herbst fell asleep shortly after administering an anaesthetic and failed to wake up even when tapped by a colleague. He blamed long working hours and an undiagnosed illness for his drowsiness. This is not the first time Herbst has been caught sleeping in the theatre, as he was previously given a warning by the General Medical Council. Despite being found guilty of serious professional misconduct, Herbst was suspended for six months after offering to reduce his number of shifts. The incident resulted in the cancellation of an afternoon list of patients due for operations. Herbst defended his behaviour, stating that many anaesthetists across the UK close their eyes in operating theatres. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service has ordered a review hearing for Herbst later in the year.

Daily Telegraph

The Times

London Evening Standard

The Daily Telegraph

Our HR Comment: NHS anaesthetist fell asleep on the job | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This article demonstrates a very worrying episode of tiredness at work and in a sector where the health and welfare of your team is of the utmost importance. Consensus HR states that regardless of what sector you work in, the hours you work must be managed correctly or as in this instance you could be having the adverse effect to what you are aiming to achieve and thankfully in this case, no detriments to health occurred. Businesses always need to ensure that any misconduct is fully investigated correctly, and the appropriate action taken such as reducing the number of shifts / hours a member of the team works.”

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14 11 2023

McDonald’s has fired 18 workers since a BBC investigation | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott General #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #mcdonalds, #misconduct, #outsourcedhumanresources, #sexual harassment, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

McDonald's fires 18 people after BBC investigation | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

McDonald’s has fired 18 workers since a BBC investigation uncovered hundreds of allegations of harassment at the restaurant chain, its UK boss has said.

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments:”The. BBC has today published the following article in relation to the huge amount of sexual harassment allegations within the company. We cannot believe as stated in the article that in this day and age, this kind of behaviour is happening in the workplace and the appropriate management / company action not being taken.”

Alistair Macrow told MPs the firm had received 407 employee complaints since July and investigated 157 to date.

While people have been sacked, Mr Macrow did not know how many complaints had been referred to the police.

A BBC investigation found that workers as young as 17 were being groped and harassed almost routinely.

They said they experienced a toxic workplace culture where claims of sexual assault, racism and bullying were not taken seriously.

Mr Macrow told the Business and Trade Select Committee that McDonald’s UK was receiving between one and two complaints of sexual harassment a week.

Following the BBC’s initial report in the summer, Mr Macrow set up an investigation handling unit to deal with complaints.

Since then, more than 400 have been made but more than half have yet to be fully investigated.

Of the 157 that have been looked into, Mr Macrow said 17 complaints were about sexual harassment and had led to disciplinary action. He added that nine related to bullying and one was about racial harassment.

He said that of the remaining cases still to be probed, they include 27 complaints of sexual harassment.

The fast-food chain is one of the biggest private sector employers in the UK, employing more than 170,000 people.

It has one of the UK’s youngest workforces, with three quarters of staff aged 16 to 25 and, for many, it is their first job.

In total, it has 1,450 restaurants. According to Mr Macrow, 89% of its branches in the UK are operated by franchisees. But he admitted that no franchisees had yet lost their contracts due to claims of harassment and abuse.

Liam Byrne, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, asked if “profit was more important than protecting workers”.

Mr Macrow said it was “absolutely not the case”.

“The most important thing in our business is our people. We do everything we can to look after our people,” he said.

More than 200 current and former McDonald’s workers spoke to the BBC about their experience of working at the fast-food chain, with a number claiming they were subject to sexual abuse and harassment by colleagues and superiors.

Mr Macrow said the testimony from workers had been “truly horrific” and “very difficult to hear”.

He admitted that some of the complaints reported to McDonald’s independent handling unit “stretch back as far as the 1980s”, adding: “Clearly those more recent we were able to investigate more fully.”

Ian Hodson, national president at the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, also appeared before MPs and said some stories that it had been told by McDonald’s employees were “absolutely horrific”.

“And it shouldn’t happen,” he said. “In the 21st century, in the UK, it shouldn’t happen.”

Mr Hodson added: “When a global corporation, [one of the] biggest employers in the world that makes billions and billions of pounds, can’t protect its workforce it’s awful. It should be leading and be an example for others – but

Please refer to our full information on how manage discipline within the workplace to best practice and the law by clicking here.

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11 04 2023

CBI boss Tony Danker sacked over misconduct claims

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Law, General, Investigations #ACAS, #misconduct, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

By Daniel Thomas & Simon Jack

BBC News

The boss of one of the UK’s largest business groups has been fired over complaints about his behaviour at work.

Tony Danker will leave the CBI following an investigation over his conduct towards a female employee.

Three other CBI employees have also been suspended “pending further investigation into a number of ongoing allegations”, the group said.

The group is also “liaising with the police” and said it would “co-operate fully with any police investigations”.

The BBC has approached Mr Danker for comment. He stepped aside in March after the CBI hired law firm Fox Williams to investigate his conduct.

People close to Mr Danker describe him as stunned by the CBI’s decision to dismiss him with immediate effect and no redundancy package.

BBC

HR Comments: CBI boss Tony Danker sacked over misconduct claims

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Catching up on the BBC news today and come across this story in relation to the CBI boss – Tony Danker being dismissed following complaints about his conduct at work towards a female employee.

Conduct is one of the fair reasons for dismissal under the Acas Code of Practice and in this case the alleged conduct was the conduct towards a female employee. We wait to see the full details of what the allegation was in relation to the conduct but last week, the Guardian newspaper reported sexual misconduct claims against CBI employees, including an allegation of rape at a summer boat party in 2019.

All allegations must be fully investigated and the Acas Code of Practice fully followed to ensure any Conduct issues are managed correctly and to the law so as to ensure reasonableness is given to all and ‘on the balance of probabilities’ – Civil Law.

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