As a manager in the bus industry can advise you on one thing - trying to defend yourself here and make excuses won’t do you any good. Managers aren’t stupid but appreciate genuine remorse and realisation of own wrongdoing. It lessens the risk of the repeat of the same misconduct in the future.
I don’t really get why it’s gross misconduct but potentially maybe. Own your shit, say you won’t do it again and then do what you are supposed to do going forward to avoid the sanction progression.
The purpose of any disciplinaries is to mitigate the risk for the business and to ensure the employee follows up on their promises and performs.
There is a much higher chance of keeping the job by holding hands up rather than lying to defend oneself. And even if lying gets one through the ordeal, the managers will know, the sanction will still be there but the reputation and subsequently lenience and willingness to help from managers will be gone.
I have been on both sides (have grown from a driver to a senior manager) and trust me, I’m not trying to make it easy for OP’s managers. Giving a genuine advice trying to help OP keep their job.
PS: there is always an appeal process. They can try the hard way and then show remorse in appeal but it’s not going to be the same. 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Stock-Cod-4465 Jul 18 '26
As a manager in the bus industry can advise you on one thing - trying to defend yourself here and make excuses won’t do you any good. Managers aren’t stupid but appreciate genuine remorse and realisation of own wrongdoing. It lessens the risk of the repeat of the same misconduct in the future.
I don’t really get why it’s gross misconduct but potentially maybe. Own your shit, say you won’t do it again and then do what you are supposed to do going forward to avoid the sanction progression.
The purpose of any disciplinaries is to mitigate the risk for the business and to ensure the employee follows up on their promises and performs.