SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy

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Sun 21 Oct 2012 22:54
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - meltonlad

URGENT HELP NEEDED PEEPS......

ive been suspended from work for claiming/drinking 2 pints of weak bitter shandy on a night away with work.... i have always thought that bitter shandy is classed as non alcoholic drink but mainly classed as "soft drink" as anybody can buy a can from most shops and even in pubs a child can drink a shandy !!!

many searches ive done class shandy as a soft drink but how would you guys class it as and could i some how class it as a soft drink for my company to drop the suspendtion as im looking at the sack just for this little stupid thing !!!

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 00:10
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - bathtub tom

Shandy's half beer, half lemonade. Two pint's equivalent to a pint of beer.

Would you be similarly suspended for a pint of beer?

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 00:17
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - Avant

Sorry - can you fill us in a bit more as I at least am missing something.

Were you at your firm's social evening or just staying in a hotel while away on business? Either way, surely having a pint is hardly a reason for suspension? Or were you claiming for the shandy on expenses when the firm will only pay for soft drinks? (in which case you need to resubmit the claim).

In other words, what's the disciplinary matter about? Would a quiet word with your line manager defuse the situation?

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 00:35
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - jamie745

You say you're suspended for claiming/drinking. Which is it? Both?

Either way, sounds very odd. Are you sure there aren't people in your company already gunning for you and just merely waiting for the thinnest of excuses to get rid of you?

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 06:38
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - meltonlad

i was staying away in a hotel for one night after running out of working hours. i paid for a pint out of my cash as company wont pay for alcohol. So i ordered some food and asked for a weak bitter shandy and another at the end of my meal. when i got the reciept it just showed as "Lounge/Beverages" so i wrote next to it "Non Alcoholic" as ive always thought that shandy was classed as a Soft Drink. as for talking to my line manager me and him dont get on and he has wanted me out for some time now.... so ive claim it on expenes but they have now suspended me for it.

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 11:59
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - FP

As has been said, shandy served freshly mixed at a bar is half bitter/lager and half lemonade. However, I believe you can buy cans of so-called shandy that contain far less alcohol, so there is a smidgen of support for your belief that shandy can virtually be a soft drink. However, I'm not convinced you're being totally honest about this - do you really not know that shandy at a bar is 50% alcohol?

As for your relationship with your line manager, that may well say it all - it was the excuse that was being waited for.

You were either pushing your luck, or possibly unaware of the risk you were taking.

I'd be urgently wanting to withdraw the claim and resubmit it with the omission of the drinks, making the necessary grovelling noises.

Edited by FP on 22/10/2012 at 12:02

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 12:46
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - meltonlad

I know its a 50/50 mix but i asked the bloke for a weak shandy !

as for withdrawing the claim they say i can't (even thro not paid out yet) so they are sticking to it !! been with the company 9yrs and for the sake of £6.60 i could lose my job !! wasn't pushing my luck nor taking a risk as i never thought for one min it would kick off like it has !!

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 15:08
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - Falkirk Bairn

I would contact an employment lawyer, either directly or through a Union if you are a member.

10 yrs ago I was told I could be sacked for claiming expenses of £700. In that roughly £30 was for parking and 1 receipt I had claimed £3.20 when the ticket clearly said £2.30.

A simple transposing error.

A quick phone call, advice received and that was the matter fixed......a wrongful dismissal would have been an open and shut case.

The same company had 3 x offices, 2 with car parks and my office (single occupier!) had no space..........I claimed for the multi-story season ticket £50/month and again was told you cannot claim............of the 120 employees I was the only person who could not claim all parking to carry out their work...........again they gave in.

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 20:21
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - injection doc

I would seek legal advice. Some companies are really pushing their luck at the moment but also ut sounds like you have given them an excuse !

With some companies you have to play the game.

Do the company have a strict policy on no achahol ? do they have a policy on drinking out of work hours ? do they have a policy for claiming for achhol ?

You have to win a line manager around otherwise you dead in the water ! trying to play hardball or stretch the risk is just playing with fire.

Is the company owned by Jehovas witness's ?

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Mon 22 Oct 2012 20:51
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - Bromptonaut

Are you in a Union?

This is the sort of thing they're there for.

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Tue 23 Oct 2012 12:01
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - Bromptonaut

Am I right in thinking you've been suspended on pay pending a disciplinary hearing?

First thing you need to do is read up on company's discipline policy. Is the outfit large enough to have a proper HR department that's competent to issue such guidance? At my place it's all on the intranet.

If you think you're at seriuos risk of dimissal you need to get legal advice or a union involved. That may be a good idea anyway.

For starters is the issue the drinking itself, the attempt to (from employers perspective) falsley claim alcohol as a soft drink or both of those things?

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Wed 24 Oct 2012 13:15
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - Armitage Shanks {p}

A child "can" drink a shandy but it isn't legal (SFAIK) as shandy contains alcohol and is thus, legally, an alcoholic drink. Please get legal advise PDQ!

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Tue 6 Nov 2012 11:15
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - FP

This is the fourth instance of this posting on the forum.

The link looks dodgy - it invites you to down load a file. Don't do that.

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Wed 7 Nov 2012 14:46
SUSPENDED for drinking bitter shandy - FP

This was a response to a now-deleted posting.

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