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Dear Legal Beagles,
Firstly, apologies if this is upsetting for anyone - potentially distressing details below, for some.
My daughter is 21 and was in a three-month probation period with a national pub chain. She became pregnant, informed the GM of her particular pub, and stated that she was going to seek a termination.
Shortly before the operation, the pub received a complaint from a customer who had ordered vegetarian skewers. My daughter had delivered chicken ones; announced what they were on arrival; and checked in during the meal that everything was OK, which was confirmed. Only when the customer had finished eating the lot did she complain that she had been given the wrong thing.
The day after my daughter's surgery (22nd April) she received a text from the GM of the pub asking if she was able to come in to discuss a complaint that had been received. No checking how she was, or any acknowledgement that she was on sick leave following surgery. My daughter replied stating that although on sick leave, she was happy to come in - then no reply for several days. There had been no attempt by the company to signpost my daughter to the SSP form - she found this herself and sent it in. Guidelines on the website state that the company will inform the employee if it disagrees that the employee is eligible for SSP.
My daughter was expecting to return to work on 30th April; however, when the rota came out her first shift was Sun 4th May, with 2 further shifts on 8th and 9th May. At the end of the shift on 4th May, she was told that she hadn't passed probation. She was offered the chance to work the two final shifts that week but was told that she didn't have to, and she opted not to do so. The GM stated that the skewer incident was the main reason, and that it was unfair that another member of staff had dealt with it because my daughter wasn't available (she was still on shift but dealing with other customers and wasn't given chance to deal with it), but that her earlier sickness contributed to the decision, as she'd been warned. In fact, there had been no conversations about this. At the beginning, my daughter was considered a good candidate for an apprenticeship, but when she'd had to take a couple of days on sick leave (nausea, and separately to discuss the operation that needed a trip to London), the atmosphere went cold and she never felt it was appropriate to bring it up again; the GM certainly didn't.
A further complicating factor is that her boyfriend also works for the same company, albeit at a different pub. He is in good standing with them; is salaried and is expected to be promoted to his own pub within a couple of years. He and my daughter are known to be in a relationship; he is known to be the father. The GM of his current pub is not the same as at my daughter's, but the Area Manager above both GMs is the same, and he is on friendly terms with the AM. The AM is reportedly in a relationship with the GM of my daughter's previous pub. While admitting that the company overall has behaved appallingly, we don't want to blight his career. Hospitality is not famed for its excellent treatment of workers. Her boyfriend is supportive while wanting to continue progressing; if asked, he will state that he has advised my daughter to do nothing. He may well tell the AM this proactively.
So what I am wondering is whether to go for mediation, perhaps via ACAS, given that the backlog for industrial tribunals is 18 months long; the tone would be more of sorrow than anger. My daughter plans to leave the sector and is not in the least embarrassed by the termination, so refuses to slink around. She is angry about her treatment and wants to stop this happening to anyone else and also thinks that some money is due to her, though the money is a secondary consideration. Looking at the ACAS website, events purportedly leading to dismissal while an employee is pregnant are studied closely by industrial tribunals, and they tend not to be believed. Central HR will certainly want to know if local GMs are creating legal liability for the company; my daughter is perhaps unlikely to qualify for a colossal payment but given that awards for pregnancy discrimination are uncapped, the implications for the company are major if this is being replicated at any scale across the 300 pubs it owns. It could be argued that my daughter is doing the company a favour by drawing this to their attention; many of its workers tend to be somewhat vulnerable, easily cowed and possibly unaware of their rights and/or unwilling to exercise them.
The questions I have include:
1. Is an SAR of my daughter's HR records the first step? I think this data has to be supplied within 30 days. I would bet that documentary evidence is low, which may well help her case. What if we suspect that evidence has been added on receipt of the SAR?
2. Is protection against pregnancy-related illness still valid if the company knows that a termination is planned?
We plan to sit tight and see what my daughter's pay is (it should land around 23rd May) and what it says on her payslip. She should have around 1 week of unused holiday, plus SSP, on top of shifts worked. The one week's notice to which she's entitled I imagine would not be included since she turned down two final shifts that week? Once that has landed, next steps will be clearer but advice from an employment specialist on the questions above and any other relevant factors would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Humdinger
Firstly, apologies if this is upsetting for anyone - potentially distressing details below, for some.
My daughter is 21 and was in a three-month probation period with a national pub chain. She became pregnant, informed the GM of her particular pub, and stated that she was going to seek a termination.
Shortly before the operation, the pub received a complaint from a customer who had ordered vegetarian skewers. My daughter had delivered chicken ones; announced what they were on arrival; and checked in during the meal that everything was OK, which was confirmed. Only when the customer had finished eating the lot did she complain that she had been given the wrong thing.
The day after my daughter's surgery (22nd April) she received a text from the GM of the pub asking if she was able to come in to discuss a complaint that had been received. No checking how she was, or any acknowledgement that she was on sick leave following surgery. My daughter replied stating that although on sick leave, she was happy to come in - then no reply for several days. There had been no attempt by the company to signpost my daughter to the SSP form - she found this herself and sent it in. Guidelines on the website state that the company will inform the employee if it disagrees that the employee is eligible for SSP.
My daughter was expecting to return to work on 30th April; however, when the rota came out her first shift was Sun 4th May, with 2 further shifts on 8th and 9th May. At the end of the shift on 4th May, she was told that she hadn't passed probation. She was offered the chance to work the two final shifts that week but was told that she didn't have to, and she opted not to do so. The GM stated that the skewer incident was the main reason, and that it was unfair that another member of staff had dealt with it because my daughter wasn't available (she was still on shift but dealing with other customers and wasn't given chance to deal with it), but that her earlier sickness contributed to the decision, as she'd been warned. In fact, there had been no conversations about this. At the beginning, my daughter was considered a good candidate for an apprenticeship, but when she'd had to take a couple of days on sick leave (nausea, and separately to discuss the operation that needed a trip to London), the atmosphere went cold and she never felt it was appropriate to bring it up again; the GM certainly didn't.
A further complicating factor is that her boyfriend also works for the same company, albeit at a different pub. He is in good standing with them; is salaried and is expected to be promoted to his own pub within a couple of years. He and my daughter are known to be in a relationship; he is known to be the father. The GM of his current pub is not the same as at my daughter's, but the Area Manager above both GMs is the same, and he is on friendly terms with the AM. The AM is reportedly in a relationship with the GM of my daughter's previous pub. While admitting that the company overall has behaved appallingly, we don't want to blight his career. Hospitality is not famed for its excellent treatment of workers. Her boyfriend is supportive while wanting to continue progressing; if asked, he will state that he has advised my daughter to do nothing. He may well tell the AM this proactively.
So what I am wondering is whether to go for mediation, perhaps via ACAS, given that the backlog for industrial tribunals is 18 months long; the tone would be more of sorrow than anger. My daughter plans to leave the sector and is not in the least embarrassed by the termination, so refuses to slink around. She is angry about her treatment and wants to stop this happening to anyone else and also thinks that some money is due to her, though the money is a secondary consideration. Looking at the ACAS website, events purportedly leading to dismissal while an employee is pregnant are studied closely by industrial tribunals, and they tend not to be believed. Central HR will certainly want to know if local GMs are creating legal liability for the company; my daughter is perhaps unlikely to qualify for a colossal payment but given that awards for pregnancy discrimination are uncapped, the implications for the company are major if this is being replicated at any scale across the 300 pubs it owns. It could be argued that my daughter is doing the company a favour by drawing this to their attention; many of its workers tend to be somewhat vulnerable, easily cowed and possibly unaware of their rights and/or unwilling to exercise them.
The questions I have include:
1. Is an SAR of my daughter's HR records the first step? I think this data has to be supplied within 30 days. I would bet that documentary evidence is low, which may well help her case. What if we suspect that evidence has been added on receipt of the SAR?
2. Is protection against pregnancy-related illness still valid if the company knows that a termination is planned?
We plan to sit tight and see what my daughter's pay is (it should land around 23rd May) and what it says on her payslip. She should have around 1 week of unused holiday, plus SSP, on top of shifts worked. The one week's notice to which she's entitled I imagine would not be included since she turned down two final shifts that week? Once that has landed, next steps will be clearer but advice from an employment specialist on the questions above and any other relevant factors would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Humdinger
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