Unfair dismisal ?

[qteas]

My brother was sacked for being either the victim / perpetrator of a domestic assault. This was the wording in his dismissal letter. They said he had failed to report the incident to his employer so they sacked him. Surely that cant be right everyone who knows him knew his new partner was a drinker and was assaulting him but he was just trying to make it work. This woman also stole thousands of pounds off him. He only lived with her for approx 2 months.

He is now going to a employment tribunal and is hopeful that he will get his job back as it has been established that he was not the perpetrator of these incidents but rather the victim. The whole issue has cost him over £120, 000 in lost wages and legal fees.

He really needs some independent advice on what to expect as if he doesnt get his job back his life will be totally ruined.

[nemesis45]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Why was he supposed to report the "incident" to his employer? Was he arrested?
Is his job one that requires an "exemplary" conduct history?

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Yes he was arrested and charged at which point he informed his employer but he is a social worker so his employer has said he should have known better and should have reported any incidents he had experienced with his partner to his employer at the time. I feel that cant be right he was trying to resolve the issues with his partner at the time before he left and reported the issues. He had told her if she didnt get help for her drinking and temper he was going to leave her

[nemesis45]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

If he was exonerated he should be able to appeal the dismissal I think.
I'm sure others more experienced in employment law than I will be able
to help more.

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

His tribunal is in January so hopefully it will turn out ok but im worried if it doesn't he will be tipped over the edge as he has lost so much and has been on anti-depressants since it happened

[nemesis45]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

His tribunal is in January so hopefully it will turn out ok but im worried if it doesn't he will be tipped over the edge as he has lost so much and has been on anti-depressants since it happened

Is he seeking professional advice/opinion?

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Yes he has a solicitor and he was told that they cant sack him for this but they have and that is why he is going to a tribunal now. But he also said that the regulator HCPC still might take his registration off him for some reason. He is obviously worried sick as this has been going on for about two years now. He has used all his savings and had to borrow money to pay for everything as he hasnt been paid for over a year now

[teaboy2]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

In short, NO they can not dismiss him for being a victim or crime. Yes he should have informed his employer of the arrest and that the police dropped the charges as he was the victim not the perpetrator. Not only that, regards to the domestic issues, the employer has no right to know any of that as that his private life, and he has the right to privacy.

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Sorry I need to make it clear the police didn't drop the charges he went to court and was acquitted. He has since made a complaint to the police about the way he was treated and requested that they charge his ex as the evidence in court supported that he was the victim. However the police has since done nothing and he thinks as his complaint points to some clear lies told by one officer they won't properly investigate his complaint bearing in mind his ex partners sister is a police officer. If he wins his tribunal which he seems confident about will he get his job back? As I don't think it would be easy for him to leave the area as all the family ie children and parents are here and his house just wouldn't sell as it was previously on the market for three years before he bought it and

[teaboy2]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Sorry I need to make it clear the police didn't drop the charges he went to court and was acquitted. He has since made a complaint to the police about the way he was treated and requested that they charge his ex as the evidence in court supported that he was the victim. However the police has since done nothing and he thinks as his complaint points to some clear lies told by one officer they won't properly investigate his complaint bearing in mind his ex partners sister is a police officer. If he wins his tribunal which he seems confident about will he get his job back? As I don't think it would be easy for him to leave the area as all the family ie children and parents are here and his house just wouldn't sell as it was previously on the market for three years before he bought it and

Got your PM qteas.

What you posted above doesn't change anythng really. As they simply should have placed him on paid suspension/gardening leave until the outcome of the court case. Or placed him on internal duties only where by he had not contact with members of the public. So once it was found their was no case for him to answer by the court and that he was indeed the victim, then instead of dismissing him. He should have been fully reinstated back on to frontline services.

Regarding the ex partners sister being a police officer. If that had any bearing on the case, then the IPCC is the route to go down in that respect!

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Thanks for this - I am meeting him this week at one point to help draft a letter to the IPCC but i really dont think it will go anywhere even though, apart from the sister issue, he had reported in his complaint that one other officer had taken him to an office where there were other officers and verbally abused him. In fact when he was trying to tell this officer what had actually happened, that it was he who was being assaulted the officer said to him 'So fxxxing what, your a man, grow some fxxxing balls'. That was the general attitude of all the officers involved. They failed to take photos of his injuries or even acknowledge his complaint which i intend to include in his complaint to the IPCC. He described the office to me and its an area he should never have been in or taken to as it was the office where officers do their paper work which i think is evidence that he was there

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Update on situation
His barrister has today told his solicitor to try and negotiate a settlement. As the tribunal may find he was partly to blame for his dismissal due to not reporting his difficulties to his employer and that reinstatement is unlikely to happen and if a tribunal finds he was at fault for not reporting itany ccompensation could be reduced to nil. The other aspect he said is a possibility is that the Sssc not the Hcpc as I previously said use the outcome of a tribunal against him putting his registration at more risk of being removed.
Does anyone have a view on this as I think it is totally grossly unfair?

[teaboy2]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Well i do not agree!

For one, What goes on in the home is a matter of privacy and is non of his employers business! if you have marriage difficulties is it any of your employers business? No it is not!

Is it your brothers fault that he was dismissed? No! He was the victim of domestic abuse, their is no legal or contractual obligation for him to report such personal circumstances to his employer - The employer is the state, i assume, therefore human rights on privacy (Article 8 of the Human Rights Act) are part of the equation here, i.e. non of their dam business! Any state funded organization/body is in breach of your human rights if they demand to know your private matters.

The fact remains, standard procedure and good practice would have been to place him on paid suspension upon his arrest until the outcome of the court proceedings! Prior to any disciplinary action being taken, or your brother being placed back on front-line duties!

That being said, if he goes head with the ET claim via ACAS, it is highly likely they will want to do a COT3 agreement (i.e. out of court settlement), anyway. Instead of risking facing tribunal and it becoming a matter or public record.

[qteas]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

I totally agree with you teaboy2 but what he says the barrister told him that as a social worker he has a duty under the SSSC Codes of Practice to report anything in his private life which may impact on his ability to carry out his role or any behaviour which may place another person at risk, which he did not do. it seems this is the case irrespective that the consequences of doing so would mean returning home to someone who would assault him again. Which from what he is told means he did breach the sssc codes of practice.

THe other ironic thing is he did say at the start of this that he would prefer to reach a settlement as he doesnt want to return to work for this local authority after the way he was treated even though that was the best result. His plan would have been to return and then sort out his finances and then leave. However he really needs to keep his registration so he can start to rebuild his life.

What would be a fair settlement be these circumstances he worked for 20 years with this authority his earning were around £32000 per year.

[teaboy2]

Re: Unfair dismisal ?

Yes but codes of practice are not law, the human rights act is law so would supercede the SSSC code of practice.

Eitherway, if he wants to work as a Social Woker again, then he has to fight this. As its highly unlikely he will be employed as a social worker when he was dismissed for the reason given. I.e. failing to report being arrested for assault! But if settlement is his preference then he still going to have to issue a claim against them to get them to the negotiating table, and even then their no guarantee they will offer a settlement let alone agree to one.

But i would say a fair settlement should worked out based on how many years he would have still be employed as a social worker, as well as given his 20 years service. So 20 (1 month for every year worked, which will likely cover his redundancy package) months salary plus 100K for loss of earnings based on what he would have earned over the next 4-5 years so between 100K-150K