Constructive dismissal have I a case

[Jo co]

Hi
i work in a small organisation. Recently I raised a question with my employer stating I thought that the loss of a previous employee made us understaffed on the day I work. I am a part time worker.
The employer reassured me that everyone would work together until a new staff member was appointed.
however 1 month ago I felt particularly pressurised at work. Another colleague asked me to perform a task. I responded thinking that it was unfair of them to ask me and so did not do it. My employer called me into the office and requested that I assist. A dispute occurred, I thought their request unreasonable my employer thought otherwise when he looked at my workload.
anyway I stood my ground. The employer sent me out of the office saying I should do said job and to come and see him later after work.
because my employer was late for the meeting I went home.
on my following shift I arrived early to discuss matters with my employer because I had not attended before. A discussion occurred and my employer handed me a written warning letter expressing a number of concerns. The letter had been prompted by my declining to do the job as I have described but also covered a number of minor admin errors I had made. I maintain I did do the job but the employer has written statements from my colleagues saying otherwise
i consulted my friend who knows a bit about law who advised me to appeal. So I did. On appeal they demoted the warning to a verbal warning but I don't think I should have a warning at all.
at the hearing they decided I had refused to help but that if I had gone to the meeting afterwards I would probably only have got a verbal warning.
i think I have been constructively dismissed , my employer has accused me of something that I dispute and they went straight to a written warning. Can they do this for what I think is a minor thing?
please advise if I have a case I don't want to stay when they obviously don't believe me. Am I the victim of discrimination, other have done minor admin errors and no warnings

[teaboy2]

Re: Constructive dismissal have I a case

So they handed you the written warning without following any form of formal disciplinary process as set out by ACAS Code of Conduct: Disciplinary and Gievance Procedure

Have a read throught he info provided on the ACAS website, then get back to me!

By way was the task they asked you to perform, a task you have done before that you were qualified to do? and what was the actual task? And would it fall under your job description?

For the record, Constructive Dismissal is very difficult to prove and most claims are unsuccessful. So do not resign, as we can successfully overturn your employes actions, if they know whats good for them.

As for discrimination, what reason do you have that makes you think, you may be being discriminated against? Are you of a certain ethnicity, has their been issues in the past, where you have been discriminated or harassed/bullied due to race, sex, disability (physical and Mental health disabilities)?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Constructive dismissal have I a case

A discussion occurred and my employer handed me a written warning letter expressing a number of concerns. The letter had been prompted by my declining to do the job as I have described but also covered a number of minor admin errors I had made. I maintain I did do the job but the employer has written statements from my colleagues saying otherwise
i consulted my friend who knows a bit about law who advised me to appeal. So I did. On appeal they demoted the warning to a verbal warning but I don't think I should have a warning at all.
at the hearing they decided I had refused to help but that if I had gone to the meeting afterwards I would probably only have got a verbal warning.
i think I have been constructively dismissed , my employer has accused me of something that I dispute and they went straight to a written warning. Can they do this for what I think is a minor thing?

The meaning of constructive dismissal is very often misunderstood. The breach on the part of the employer has to be significant: http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/the...smissal-claim/

What does the employee have to prove?

A The employee has to show that they have resigned in response to a fundamental breach of contract by the employer.

Q How easy is it to show constructive dismissal?

A Constructive dismissal is far more difficult to prove than employees often think. First they must prove a fundamental (rather than minor) breach of contract by the employer.

You can raise a grievance if you feel you have been unfairly treated. You'd normally be expected to do this before going further.

A tribunal will usually expect an employee to have tried to resolve the complaint through the grievance procedure before jumping ship.

From what I've seen above, they backtracked from the written warning and left you only with a verbal one, which means you may struggle to argue unreasonable conduct on the part of your employer.

please advise if I have a case I don't want to stay when they obviously don't believe me. Am I the victim of discrimination, other have done minor admin errors and no warnings

Making a case for constructive dismissal isn't easy. Last time I looked there was just a 3% success rate amongst those that made it to the ET, and these days you have to pay to submit a claim to the ET. I know a couple of cases where claimants who have resigned, have been successful in obtaining a settlement from the employer, however, there are no guarantees and the issues were a bit more serious than what you describe above. After all, they did agree to leave you just with a verbal warning. Unless there are other issues you haven't mentioned, that may not be enough to build a case.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Constructive dismissal have I a case

please advise if I have a case I don't want to stay when they obviously don't believe me. Am I the victim of discrimination, other have done minor admin errors and no warnings

With discrimination, your chances of success on those grounds are much greater if you belong to a particular group, i.e. you are black, Asian, gay, disabled, pregnant (if applicable), etc.

I can quote an example that happened many years ago, where a former colleague of mine (white, English male, but gay) argued discrimination because he wasn't entitled to paid overtime and some of his colleagues were. The reason for that was to do with him being transferred via TUPE from a company that didn't pay overtime, over to one that did. The people who were hired directly by the outsourcing outfit were entitled to paid overtime as it was that company's policy to pay it. It had nothing to do with his sexual orientation, yet he wanted advice and I took him to a free legal advice centre, where he was lucky to get a black lawyer to help him. He took one look at him and came up with discrimination. :thumb: Once he submitted his complaint, he quickly became entitled to paid overtime. :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: