Fact finding interview..advice appreciated

[Nondescript]

Last week, my line manager invited me to have a "quick chat" with one of our other managers today, mentioning that he had no idea what it was about. Seeing as I know that this other manager is a decent sort who sorts stuff such as annual leave allocation, and not thinking that it was anything serious, I went along to this "quick chat", only to find out that it was, in fact, a fact finding interview. Now, I realise at that point I should have gone and got union representation, but I wasn't thinking straight having just been blind sided by the sudden transformation from "quick chat" to 'fact finding interview'.

The reason for the interview was that on one particular day last week I had returned to the office at about 1.40 pm, having completed my duty roughly an hour and twenty minutes after my park and loop partner had finished. The reason I was so late was that I had to return to the office, while my partner was going to go straight home after he finished, so since I had to return to the office anyway and was required to 'work to my time', I offered to do his last loop in addition to my own (so that's two 30-minute bags), plus when I had finished them I took my twenty minute break before returning to the office.

When I got back to the office, my line manager accused me of time wasting, as he had phoned my P&l partner to see what time he had finished. My P&L partner, being a bit thick, had told him that I should be back at the office at 12.30, so when I turned up over an hour later, the lino was obviously suspicious. I explained what had happened, and the lino said 'ok, see you tomorrow', so naturally I Thought that was an end to it.

At the interview, I explained some of this to the investigating manager, but possibly not all of it as my brain was a bit fried from double prepping two frames on a heavy day, plus as mentioned, I had no advance warning that I was going to be given the Gestapo treatment.

My questions: What is standard procedure for a fact finding interview? Should I have been given advance warning? What can I expect next?

Thanks in advance

[silly suffolk]

a fact finding interview is what it says it is. the manager will try and ascertain the facts and go from there if he thinks he can formerly charge you with some offence. managers like having their little chats because some people hang themselves by what they say off the record. if you are formerly taken through the conduct code make sure you mention how the fact finding interview was conducted.

[Nondescript]

I'm a floater, and the duty I was on on that particular day is perceived as being one of the easier ones, a reputation not helped by the fact that the part time duty holder comes in and works, unpaid, up to two hours early every day.

[spilie]

What was his reason for the interview? Were you claiming o/t? has he interviewed your partner regarding his finish time? I feel you have been harassed and should seek advice on this.

[fishtank]

A fact finding interview suggests some kind of conduct charge.
Assuming you haven't been stupid enough to book overtime for covering your partner's work what exactly are they going to charge you with? Timewasting isn't a legitimate conduct charge.
Your partner may have some questions to answer though,after all it was he who went home early without permission.
The real question is why did you do it?

And yes you should have had advanced warning of a conduct related fact finding interview and the reasons for it should have been communicated to you beforehand and of course you should have been offered the chance of representation.

[Nondescript]

I certainly didn't book overtime - haven't booked it in a very long time as I'm not one of the 'golden boys'.

I'll need to give you a little background information so you understand the situation better - in our office, if you cut off at any time during the week, you are required to come back to the office on Saturday regardless of what time you finish at. Otherwise, assuming an early finish on the Saturday, one of the pair can go home (as long as they take their car out - and this is common practise and encouraged by management).

As a floater, I had cut off earlier in the week on a different duty, which meant that I had to go back to the office on Saturday, whereas my partner on Saturday did not. Since I had to go back to the office and would have to remain there until my official finish time, I said I'd do him a favour and do his last loop as well as my own, and he'd repay the favour at some point in the future (he was taking his missus to a market, so it seemed the right thing to do). So he popped off at about twelvish, and was phoned a short while later by the line manager, at which point he told the lino that I'd be back about 12.30-ish, which obviously dropped me right in it. In my partner's world, I would have been finished at about 12.20 as he's a runner, and when I say a runner I mean he actually runs between delivery points.

When I went in for the interview, the investigating manager was quoting office-wide traffic figures for specific dates up to a month earlier, saying things like 'On 8th November, the traffic figures were 120,000 and you finished at 12.55, yet on saturday when the traffic figures were similar, you returned to the office at 13.40'. I pointed out to him that there were a lot of attendance calls on that day, but who knows whether that has done any good.

[soltan]

If a duty is completed or not is not a reason for people not to work their hours encouraging this practice is poor management and breeds people to cut corners and thus increase workload to a level that is not achievable

[spilie]

Take your rep in and ask what the "interview" was all about. Think you need the rep to sort out a few things within your office

[General Mannerheim]

WTF?
Management letting people use their cars.
What an absolute shambles all these local agreements are.

[speedypostman]

1. your manager should send you a letter stipulating the date, the time and the place of the fact finding interview. The letter should say it is a fact finding interview and must state that you have by right to be accompanied either by a Union representative or a work colleague of the same unit. It should also state what it is about they are conducting the interview.
2. ask for all the notes of the interview from them (they probably wont have any gathering what you have said above)

Frankly, any half decent rep will have a field day with them as they don't seems to know even the basic of the conduct code. and, to wind them up a bit more, simply refuse to sign anything that they put in front of you (it is one of your basic right not to sign anything). I have never signed any coaching or whatever they call it and will never sign one either.
If he carries on, a quick email to moya regarding the use of cars in your delivery office will certainly give him a few nightmares too.

[ebbzie]

If he carries on, a quick email to moya regarding the use of cars in your delivery office will certainly give him a few nightmares too.[/quote]
This is very very good advice

[britwrit]

in our office, if you cut off at any time during the week, you are required to come back to the office on Saturday regardless of what time you finish at. Otherwise, assuming an early finish on the Saturday, one of the pair can go home (as long as they take their car out - and this is common practise and encouraged by management).

So this sounds like a practice that penalizes those who work only their paid hours and "rewards" those who do unpaid overtime? And is this actually a local agreement?

To me (who admittedly knows squat) I don't think this would hold up at an ET. Even under Willful Delay (that original sin under which we can all be found guilty) it seems like a stretch.

[Nondescript]

in our office, if you cut off at any time during the week, you are required to come back to the office on Saturday regardless of what time you finish at. Otherwise, assuming an early finish on the Saturday, one of the pair can go home (as long as they take their car out - and this is common practise and encouraged by management).

So this sounds like a practice that penalizes those who work only their paid hours and "rewards" those who do unpaid overtime? And is this actually a local agreement?

To me (who admittedly knows squat) I don't think this would hold up at an ET. Even under Willful Delay (that original sin under which we can all be found guilty) it seems like a stretch.

You can book overtime if you go over, but they're very grudgingly paying it, telling those who are threatening to cut off that they 'should be able to complete', regardless of how heavy a day it is.

[k979aaa]

in our office, if you cut off at any time during the week, you are required to come back to the office on Saturday regardless of what time you finish at. Otherwise, assuming an early finish on the Saturday, one of the pair can go home (as long as they take their car out - and this is common practise and encouraged by management).

So this sounds like a practice that penalizes those who work only their paid hours and "rewards" those who do unpaid overtime? And is this actually a local agreement?

To me (who admittedly knows squat) I don't think this would hold up at an ET. Even under Willful Delay (that original sin under which we can all be found guilty) it seems like a stretch.

You can book overtime if you go over, but they're very grudgingly paying it, telling those who are threatening to cut off that they 'should be able to complete', regardless of how heavy a day it is.

Yes seams as a conspiracies of poor management practices which has spread county wide is there any wonder why we are still in dispute with Royal Mail over this and this is the main sticking point in recent talks even still today!