Unfair dismissal with notice period?

[gwenlillian]

Hi - I have done some research and believe 'a person' requesting help from me, has been unfairly dismissed. Looking at the procedures used, or rather not used, I recommended an appeal. The company have refused the appeal and made life unbearable and the position is now untenable, although already in an alleged notice period. I believe that this will amount to constructive dismissal now that the person has been forced to withdraw totally and prior to end of notice time. That the appeal would and should have found in their favour but having brought the whole situation to the knowledge of all staff, even prior to their verbal dismissal, is in itself a breach. That the company is relying on statements made by other members of staff but refuses to disclose those details to the dismissed party. Sorry this is messy and gets worse but there is only so much I can post. Does anyone know a good lawyer/team that would be interested in helping to access a proper tribunal and pubic interest matter on pro bono basis?

[charitynjw]

Re: Unfair dismissal with notice period?

Hi gwenlillian,

This serves to highlight the difficulty in assisting with employment disputes.
Many posters couch the description of events in such a cryptic manner that it is nigh on impossible to comment.
Don't get me wrong; I can fully appreciate the worry that the employer might see the post(s) & gain some kind of advantage.
& there is always the issue of confidentiality when posting on behalf of someone else - you're often told not to 'give the game away'.
Even so, it is worth mentioning that unfair constructive dismissal is a very hard claim to make - I believe that the burden of proof shifts from the employer to the employee (ie, your friend would have to prove that he/she was hounded out).
The last statistic I saw, only about 3% of constructive dismissal claims were successful.
In ordinary unfair dismissal claims, the burden is on the employer to show that the dismissal was legally permissible.
The smart money usually says don't resign. (I can't make out whether your friend was dismissed or resigned, as you mention verbal dismissal, yet you also say that they had 'been forced to withdraw totally'.)

Ok, to answer your question, you could try http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/instruc...no-assistance/

NB - If it is really a Public Interest Disclosure (whistleblowing) matter, any dismissal would probably be automatically unfair.
Some info here http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1919

[gwenlillian]

Re: Unfair dismissal with notice period?

Hi, thanks, I know what you mean. It is difficult, especially as it is not my personal situation. The info you have provided is very helpful. It is summary dismissal with a request to spend time training others? which doesn't seem the way to do it to me, neither one thing or another? I will use your links and pass contact info on to them. thank you.