Dismissal advice

[JodieW]

My friend received a letter from her work place requested a meting to discuss her progress. The outcome was she had been fired and asked to leave the premises as they had apparently received complaints from other members of the staff, that they didn't get on with her.
-she asked if her mum could go with her, they declined, only union rep or colleague were allowed.
-is not on a probation contract
-has had no verbal, written warnings etc..
-she was not presented with any formal letter etc, regarding the reasons they have terminated her contract
-she does not have a copy of her contract (she is going to get a copy of her signed contract and job description today)
-there is no hand book etc, or clear guidelines

I cant see they had any justifiable reason to do dismiss her without warnings etc first..
any advice would be greatly appreciated

[stowsettler]

Re: Dismissal advice

How long has she been there? If it's less than 2 years then basically her employers can just get rid. It sounds to me like they gave her a try, and it didn't work out.
They were correct in insisting on only a union rep or colleague, by the way.

[JodieW]

Re: Dismissal advice

She has been there for 1 year and 6 months, when she asked them about the initial meeting they said it was nothing to worry about, and then they fired her.
Do you think because she did not have any kind of disciplinary meeting or verbal warnings etc.. that it could be automatic unfair dismissal where the 2 year claim does not apply??
the reason were;

• 5 or maybe 6 people do not want to work with her ( has never had any issues/complaints in the past) and they said its difficult to plan a rota
• not wearing appropriate uniform (she was wearing a below the knee skirt without tights) other members of staff wear knee length skirts and don't even tie their hair back in a kitchen/restaurant environment
• she went to the restaurant and one of the staff members working there wouldn't let her boyfriend pay the bill, which he insisted on doing but the supervisor on duty refused to let him pay.

There is no policy handbook which is accessible and also there is no guidelines on uniform.

She wants to appeal do you think she has any grounds?

Also she is not in a union and how could she ask a colleague to come in with her, when they could of potentially been the ones complaining? it is a small family run business which only employees a small number of staff. i don't think she has been treated fairly

[leclerc]

Re: Dismissal advice

Jodie, it does sound harsh but unfortunately without 2 years service it's difficult to offer more advice. She can appeal by all means on the basis of due process but she needs her contract and she needs to be very anal on the disciplinary approach and how it was handled by the firm.

Her contract should state how disciplinary is carried out. She should have had, at the very least, been told that one option was dismissal because then she could have at least have been a little prepared.
She could give ACAS a call for advice: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2042

[Johnboy007]

Re: Dismissal advice

Unfortunately for you, leclerc is spot on with his answer.
The two year rule applies and it is very difficult for her to make any progress without experienced advice and support.
People starting a new job should keep a copy of their contract of employment and also copies of any company disciplinary, appeals and grievance procedures.
Without these, you stand very little chance of success in any claim made against an employee.
As leclerc states, give the Reconciliation Authority A.C.A.S a call.

• Use Helpline Online to ask a question.
• You can also call an Acas helpline adviser on 0300 123 1100 (8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-1pm Saturday).

Dismissals are classed as 'automatically unfair', regardless of the reasonableness, if an employee is exercising specific rights to do with:

• pregnancy: including all reasons relating to maternity
• family reasons: including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependants
• representation: including acting as an employee representative
• trade union membership grounds and union recognition
• part-time and fixed-term employees
• pay and working hours: including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage.

Dismissal is normally fair if an employer can show that it is for one of the following reasons:

• a reason related to an employee's conduct
• a reason related to an employee's capability or qualifications for the job
• because of a redundancy
• because a statutory duty or restriction prohibited the employment being continued
• some other substantial reason of a kind which justifies the dismissal.

And that they acted reasonably in treating that reason as sufficient for dismissal.

Hope this gives you a bit more information.aw: