Dismissal from work help

[Rikkih]

hi I was sacked from work ( im employed doing roofing )my company director had phoned my dad who is also a director and asked him to get me to call him which I did he then said it was just to let you know you are sacked I said what for he said you had a day off without putting a holiday request form in, I said I told my contracts manager he said he has been sacked aswell ( for something different) and I’m not going back on it now! I phone him back and asked the reason for sacking me he said unauthorised absence I had been given no warning or notice I have worked there for 15/16 years I asked them for £18,000 they said no they would give me £5000 so I made another offer of £12000 and I’ll sign a confidentiality agreement but havent heard anything back they have payed me since it happened 3 weeks ago but I’ve been at home what should I do I earn £50,000+ due to price work but my basic is £36,000 forgot to mention about a month prior the same director had 5 of us in his office we was in there for about a minute he just said everyone in this room has had between 15 and 25 unauthorised absences ie not given a doctors note and that a new contracts manager is coming in and from next year anyone having more then 5 will be given a formal warning and sacked and that was it was really informal in and out within a minute
not sure if this changes anything?
Can anybody help
Many thanks

[ULA]

Re: Dismissal from work help

Sorry to hear about your situation. The way in which you have been sacked has not followed any required disciplinary process and the fact that there was an informal meeting regarding unauthorised absence does not mean the process did not need to take place.

I think you need to decide what you want to achieve out of this as based upon what you have said there may be a case for unfair dismissal in my opinion.

It appears you are trying to negotiate a settlement which should be a legally drafted Settlement Agreement rather than just a "handshake" to ensure no comeback for you but also for the company. A Settlement Agreement (SA) would mean that you would give up any right to pursue a claim for unfair dismissal via an Employment Tribunal, however the payment agreed is binding on the company and you can also agree the wording used in any future reference. The document from your perspective would need to have a legal adviser review it on your behalf and the company would need to make a contribution to the cost of this. Alternatively, you could start a claim for unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal and as part of the process you would need to tell the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) that you intend to make a claim to the tribunal.You’ll be offered the chance to try and settle the dispute without going to court by using ACAS’s free ‘Early Conciliation’ service.