Feeling Trapped by a Show Cause Notice: How to Respond to False Allegations at Work?

Anonymousfemale
Urgent Need for Advice on Show Cause Notice

In urgent need of your valuable advice. I work in the admin department, and recently my boss was changed. The organization that I have been working with for 5 years has issued me a show cause notice for willfully misplacing the attendance registers of the organization. I have informed them in the past that I have no idea where those registers are as they are kept in the open, and multiple people have access to them.

Furthermore, these registers are maintained by guards capturing only time in and time out, which bear no signature of employees. The registers are plain registers that HR has never reviewed or signed, as the office has a biometric machine installed through which it is mandatory to punch attendance. Additionally, the HR department releases a monthly email requesting department heads to submit monthly attendance of their teams, and subsequently, payroll is processed.

Possible Reasons Behind the Notice

In my opinion, there could be two reasons behind this surprise notice (as the registers went missing around 2.5 months back, and the notice has been issued on a holiday with a 48-hour notice to submit a response). First, my line manager consistently asks me to work on weekends, after office hours, and during my sick leaves, and has a very nasty and casual attitude towards work. Second, the company is going downhill in terms of sales, and the Admin function is overstaffed, so they need frivolous reasons to show the door to employees.

Please advise on what can be done in this case as I am feeling mentally harassed in a very planned manner. I am a junior resource with no reportee. The organization has gone through several HR leadership changes in the past 6 months. The show cause notice has been issued on a public holiday and was sent through email. I have only been given 48 hours to respond. Your help and advice will be greatly appreciated.
vmlakshminarayanan
Hi,

It's not clear whether you were in charge of maintaining the Attendance register. If not, you can respond by stating that you have no idea and are not connected to that. Additionally, if the management is considering letting you go, try to depart on good terms and avoid being terminated. Remember, this is not the end of your career. Utilize your experience to explore better opportunities and keep moving forward. All the best.
PRABHAT RANJAN MOHANTY
Hi,

This gives a clear impression of the vindictive attitude of your boss. In my suggestion, it is better to search for a job; the continuance would be more painful. This is a hard task; still, do not lose confidence. Until you get a new opportunity, send a reply to the explanation called for (in simple terms, that there is no attendance register under your custody and that you are not aware of its missing).

Wait and see... the proceeding.
y.girjesh@yahoo.com
Dear,

I think you should fight for your integrity. If you are right, no one can do anything. If you keep mum, then people will think you have done something wrong, that is why you go silently. You have spent 5 years of your life there; you cannot leave it like that. The decision is yours.

Thanks & Regards,

Girjesh
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