Dismissal and Tribunals

[lespins]

Hi
My son in law was dismissed in march this year for Gross Misconduct. He had worked for a building company for over 20 years with a clean record but the company went into liquidation and then started the same day under a new company title. Having asked a number of staff to take pay cuts they then went about looking at ways to save money. My son in law was the only wet trades person they employed and as such he was one of the highest paid. They accused him of stealing 60 blocks which he denied and even allowed them to view what he had at home. The same day that he was suspended he was interviewed and asked to resign which, as he was innocent, he refused to do. They dismissed him and reported the matter to the Police. He was advised by an employment solicitor that he could not appeal against dismissal as there was an on going police investigation. After the police contacted the company to make an aggrieved statement and after numerous cancellations by the company to attend the Police have stated there is no case to answer. This has now gone past the time period for an appeal and my question is would he be able to request a Tribunal in relation to his dismissal?
Sorry about long winded story but any help and advice would be great

[miliitant]

Re: Dismissal and Tribunals

of course he can appeal against dismissal, that is every one right

i am dealing with a case at the moment, be it the person is off sick with stress pending a police investigation

i am curious at what evidence they had to suspect his guilt

i take it he did not resign

was a full fact finding interview held and then a full disciplinary prior to dismissal

i take it he was on suspension till he was formally dismissed

sorry if going over old ground but i need the facts confirmed

seems like unfair dismissal to me

he is out of time for an employment tribunal but can still do a civil claim

[lespins]

Re: Dismissal and Tribunals

Hi Miliitant

Thanks for prompt reply.
The first allegation made was 'some materials' had gone missing and when asked exactly what they said 60 blocks. My son in law allowed them to look round his property as he had nothing to hide. He does have some building supplies which he has had from 20 years in the trade which he can account for but they were only interested in these 60 blocks.
The evidence they had was that a member of staff had seen him load the un used blocks onto the company vehicle that he drove. These blocks were taken to the insecure yard used by the company where materials have gone missing before as it is also used by other trades. He had always done this as the only driver with a pick up.
He was asked in for an interview on the same day they made the allegation and I went with him.They then ammended the list of materials missing that curiously matched what they had seen on his property but never asked him to give an explanation where they came from. They asked him to resign which he refused and they then informed him the following day that he was dismissed.
We asked for a copy of the employment handbook which after several weeks they sent. This was unusual as it was copyright at the bottom to Royal Bank of Scotland, although the company name was on top.
They did not carry out a full fact finding interview and appeared to just want him to resign but as he refused this left them with the only option of reporting it to the Police.
The investigation has been hampered all along by the company's failure to communicate with my son in law and his solicitors which has resulted in the appeal and tribunal dates passing.
The Police have stated that they have made numerous appointments for the company to attend and make a loser/aggrieved statement which they never did.
The case has been dropped.