Unfair dismissal

[straws]

Hi all
I am after some advice on behalf of my son, I will try and keep it brief. He was sacked two weeks ago, he attended work on Thursday at a car repair garage, he was having trouble with his own car battery and took a battery from what is known as the scrap pile to test on his own car to see if it would kick in his own car, he had every intention of asking his employers to purchase the battery if it held its charge. ( he had done this with spare parts on many other occasions) the battery was left at the side of his car for hours in full view of CCTV, as the day was coming to an end my son did not have time to test the battery and put the battery at the side of the building to test the following day, again in full view of CCTV. On the Friday he attended work as normal a collegue asked if he had taken a battery of the scrap pile, my son advised that it was at the side of the building and was going to test it on his own car later, the collegue advised the battery was not scrap, my son passed it back to the collegue and thought no more of it and continued with his work until 5.30pm where he was sacked on the spot, no letter, no meeting, just accused of being a thief and told to leave.

My son wrote a letter asking for a meeting, they have replied accusing him of theft ( even though the car battery never left the premisies) and they sacked him as he was not trustworthy, my son requested a copy of the CCTV which will clear him of any wrong doing and they have advised the CCTV was not working that day, they have offered him a meeting. My son can't see the point of attending a meeting as he believes they had just made their mind up he is a thief and it would be pointless, any advise on how to bring an unfair dismissal case would be appreciated. As i see it the only thing he is guilty of is borrwoing the battery without asking.

Thanks

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair dismissal

most important question

how long has he been employed by the garage

[straws]

Re: Unfair dismissal

Hi just over two years

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair dismissal

ok, then he can bring a claim to the employment tribunal and the "sacking" is unlawful AND UNFAIR

what should have happened is that their be a fact finding interview, then if warranted suspended, to be followed by a full disciplinary hearing

now the issue of the battery, in hindsite he should have told his manager on what he proposed but their was no theft as the battery had not left the premises.

all this warranted was a warning, say a 2 year serious, not dismissal

what he needs to do first of all though

IS DO A WRITTEN APPEAL TO THE DISMISSAL, THEN WHILE THE APPEAL IS ONGOING, PUT IN A CLAIM WITH THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL SERVICE. YOU CAN WITHDRAW THE CLAIM AT ANY TIME

IT WILL SHOW THE EMPLOYER YOPU MEAN BUSINESS

[straws]

Re: Unfair dismissal

Thank you for your quick response, he sent a letter requesting a meeting as he wished to appeal against the decision over the dismissal for gross misconduct. He wrote that he felt the dismissal was wrong and unjust and the allegations of theft made against him were not thoroughly investigated to establish the true facts, they have offered him a meeting but he feels this would get him nowhere, would him not attending the meeting jeopardise any employment tribunal?
Thanks

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair dismissal

NO
he must attend any appeal meeting or an informal meeting to go over all the facts of the dismissal

the employment tribunal service would expect this to be the case

please, get the meeting over and done with, you can mention the tribunal service if you wish but its the facts leading up to the dismissal that counts

YOU HAVE THREE MONTHS LESS ONE DAY TO BRING A CLAIM TO THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR THREAD ON THE OUTCOME OF THE APPEAL

YOU CAN STILL PUT IN A CLAIM IF THEY TRY AND DRAG OUT THE APPEAL PROCESS

[straws]

Re: Unfair dismissal

Many thanks I will update the thread

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair dismissal

if you need help with the claim to the employment tribunal service, give me a bell as i have done quite a few for my members

it is all done on line now

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair dismissal

you mention common practice about taking things from the scrap area

were you or your collegues ever told not to, is it written down anyware on a notice board for example or in the contract of employment

in law their is no such thing now as summarry dismissal, the only exception where an employer can bypass the two step resignation (dismissal) process,(fact finding and formal disciplinary) is for the following reasons

IF THEIR IS A THREAT TO

themselves
their property
some other person or their property

as no violence is involved no threat is perceived to the boss or other staff or a threat to themself
their is no suspected evidential threat to further property belonging to the employer
in my professional judgement this is UNFAIR DISMISSAL and a claim now needs to go to the employment tribunal service

the employer must still follow the statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedure for summarry dismissal as they would do for any other disciplinary matter.

the dismissal has occured without following statutory procedure

Dismissal without notice (often called 'summarry dismissal) in response to gross misconduct should only take place after an investigation and disciplinary hearing

what should have happened is the employee suspended after the fact finding interview until a formal hearing is convened. the formal meeting needs to have formal minutes taken and the employee be given the chance to be accompanied at the formal meeting by a collegue or union representative.

only after this procedure has been undertaken can an employee be lawfully dismissed

have a nose

http://www.justice.gov.uk/global/for...ment/index.htm

[straws]

Re: Unfair dismissal

Hi thanks for your rely, there are no notices regarding the scrap pile, my son has never had a written contract of employment, nor has he been told not to take anything from the scrap pile, the scrap pile is collected by a waste management company once it gets to a certain level. I agree the correct disciplinary procedures were not followed and a claim needs to go to the employment tribunal service, even at todays meeting which was arranged at short notice, no notes were taken and my son did not sign anything to state he attended an appeal against his dismissal.

I will keep you updated

Thanks

[miliitant]

Re: Unfair dismissal

if you need help with the ET1 FORM , then please let me know

i thought the days of instant dismissal were long gone, just goes to show how many directors/boss etc are ignorant on employment law