Telford woman suspended for job cuts 'posts'

A Shropshire woman has been suspended on full pay by Royal Bank of Scotland after posting comments on Facebook about plans to axe 500 RBS jobs in the county.

Katie Furlong was off sick when she received a phone call from her manager informing her of plans to close RBS's Credit Management Services office where she worked in Ironmasters Way, Telford, by 2012.

The 23-year-old landed herself in hot water by writing on Facebook that while several of her colleagues would be devastated by the news they would be losing their jobs, she was actually looking forward to the new opportunities her four-figure redundancy settlement would bring.

Soon after Miss Furlong, of St Georges, Telford, was informed she would be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into the comments she had put on Facebook.

RBS spokesman Nigel Meffen today said it was the bank's policy not to comment on individual staff.

But in a letter to Miss Furlong, bosses said: "We write to inform you that you are suspended from duties with immediate effect.

"This is as a precautionary measure until such times as we carry out further investigations into the matter of alleged gross misconduct."

Miss Furlong said: "I am currently suspended on full pay from RBS over comments I put on Facebook about the job cuts. They allege this is a breach of their 'declaration of secrecy' but I state otherwise - the information was already in the public domain.

"I strongly feel that this situation has come about not necessarily because the actions justify the punishment but because if they terminate my employment, they do not have to pay me the significant amount of redundancy pay I would be due. I think their behaviour and attitude to such a situation in the middle of a recession is utterly despicable."

She said she was certain her employment would be terminated at a disciplinary hearing on October 1.

She added: "This leaves me in a situation with no job, no reference, about to commence university studies part time and with a very difficult few years ahead of me - just to save RBS the inconvenience of paying me a few thousand pounds redundancy."