Unfair Dismissal....

[Kula12]

Hi there

I have recently been unfairly dismissed from my job, and after receiving pretty much no help from the CAB I was hoping someone here might be able to offer me a little advice as I don't know what to do or where to go from here.

Here is what happened: Last Friday I was called into reception by the owner of the business where he promptly advised me that I wasn't running the centre the way I should be as Manager (despite the fact that he gave me a pay rise 2 months earlier so I couldn't have been doing too badly) and that I was dismissed. I tried to speak to him about it but he just kept saying that I wouldn't change his mind so I gave up and left. Upon leaving he told me he would send me details of what I am owed in terms of holiday pay etc.

I text him later that day asking for a letter to be sent to me detailing the reasons for my dismissal, and promptly went down to the Jobcentre to sign on for JSA. My partner returned the keys for me to which my boss stated that he 'hadn't slept since that day and that letting me go was the hardest decision he ever had to make'. I spoke to CAB and the jobcentre about my situation and they both said I had a very good case for unfair dismissal as how he had gone about it was illegal.

When the letter arrived it would seem that he had sought advice from professionals who told him that what he did was unfair as he has now panicked and backtracked saying that I stormed out, in effect making out that I walked out of my job, which I most certainly did not do. According to CAB this means I can no longer expect to get any money from him for leave not yet taken, in fact I will have to pay him money as I 'walked out' and did not work my notice!!!! Also when the jobcentre call him to check my dismissal claim for JSA he will say I walked out, so stopping my claim.

I'm at my wits end as to what to do - I have given this man no reason to dismiss me, in fact I always worked over and above what it required of me, and now I will have no money coming in to pay the bills. I REALLY don't want to to go back to working for this man. Can he legally backtrack this way???

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

are you telling me you were SUMMARY DISMISSED FROM YOUR JOB without notice

how long have you been in the job

[Kula12]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

I have been in the job for 2.5 years. You will have to forgive me as I'm not too sure what Summary Dismissed is. I was unaware that he was going to dismiss me as I had not been given anything in the form of verbal warnings, written warning etc. I was under the impression that he called me down to cover reception..... silly me

[bluebottle]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

If what you say is true, and I have no reason to doubt you, your employer's attempts to dig himself out of the hole he's in may well have made matters worse for himself and his business. If the professionals you refer to are so-called "HR consultants", these individuals can do more damage than they claim they can prevent. The problem with them is that they often tend to overlook other areas of the law or are totally ignorant of other areas of the law. Advising him to lie to Jobcentre Plus is neither clever or advisable. In fact, if Jobcentre Plus find he has made a false statement to them, they could take action against him. Check your home contents insurance as there is often legal cover incorporated into the policy of £50,000 to pursue employment disputes at an ET.

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

summary dismissal occurs when an employee has conducted himself in a way which is so bad that it could be categorised as "gross misconduct", will dismissal without notice be justified

lets nip this in the bud shall we

you need to send your boss a letter BY RECORDED DELIVERY

head the letter

seven day letter before action

state that you have received indapendent advice and that you consider the dismissal to be unfair.

tell him you deem the dismissal unfair and that the loss of notice pay as well as outstanding holiday payments is in contravention of section 13 of the employment rights act 1996, unlawful deduction of wages

for a dismissal to be fair a fact finding and disciplinary meeting needs to be held prior to dismissal

ACAS code of practice

if you do not receive any correspondents after the seven days plus 2 for postage ,

you will be submitting a claim to the employment tribunal service for redress without further notice

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

if you need help submitting the ET1 FORM

give me a shout, ime an old hand at it

[Kula12]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

Thank you Miliitant and Bluebottle for your help and advice. After speaking to CAB I was heartbroken as they made me feel that I was in the wrong and that I really did walk out (which I didn't). I now feel much better that I wasn't in the wrong. My only regret was that I wasn't switched on enough at the time to request a witness (not that there was one as we are always so severely understaffed) so this 'meeting' could have been recorded in some way, making it impossible to backtrack.

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

make a copy of the letter and take it with you to the employment office where you sign on, its evidence, also take a copy of the employment tribunal claim as well when and if needed

you will prob be allowed job seekers while the claim for unfair dismissal/unlawful deduction of wages is ongoing

[bluebottle]

Re: Unfair Dismissal....

In my experience, the majority of Jobcentre Plus staff are very helpful.