Dismissal....

[sales]

Hi guys. Wonder if someone can help. I was dismissed from my employment yesterday. I am still in probation there so I understand that unfair dismissal is off the cards as the grounds used were the fact that I hadn't bought into the company way of working. Whilst I accept this I am wondering if procedurally this was in line with the law as it's a US company that does many things that wouldn't be accepted in UK. During my 5 months there there was no point where my concerns were addressed that I raised with how things worked internally which were restricting my performance in building a sales team. Even going to HR was fruitless as they just directed me to the general manager who I reported to who was the person not doing anything to address my concerns. Yesterday morning I was literally taken into a meeting room with no option to take a colleague for support or indeed a rep from HR. It was just me an my manager. After a couple of minutes he told me he had to let me go and that he'd get me 4 weeks pay as gesture of goodwill but didn't elude to when my last date would be (contractually it says 1 week based on my service).
I emailed him asking for confirmation but his exact words in the reply were I have approved your basic salary pay till 16th June (4 weeks). No mention of whether this overrides my contract that states a week? He's now gone on holiday and no one is replying to tell me. I don't have any written confirmation of what's happened and when we have dismissed people in the past I was told we don't send anything in writing, I thought this was a bit strange.

Not sure if this is normal procedure / best practice / or is it something I should challenge as I don't know when I can start working again!

Any advice or help would be appreciated.

[sales]

Re: Dismissal....

Hi All

Sorry to bug but if anyone gets a chance to help with this it would be appreciated..

Thanks

[leclerc]

Re: Dismissal....

Am not sure if you have any grounds for appeal since this was your probationary period. I think you do need to speak to HR just to clarify when you finish work so that it enables you to look for employment.....

[Jacey1501]

Re: Dismissal....

I would suggest that you read your contract of employment and handbook l to check the probationary procedures and also what the notice period is (on both sides) during the probation period.

Providing your employer has met their contractual obligation in terms of notice (whether they ask you to work it or have paid you in lieu of), I'm sorry to say that I don't really think you can do anything about this. Probation periods are a way of the employee/employer determining suitability for the role/fit for the team/business and in this instance it hasnt worked out. You can by all means ask them to provide you with more specific information though, as you'll no doubt benefit from a better understanding of why.

As for the date - they need to confirm in writing your last day with the company. You'll also get this on your P45. Write to them if phone calls are not getting you what you need.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Dismissal....

Hi guys. Wonder if someone can help. I was dismissed from my employment yesterday. I am still in probation there so I understand that unfair dismissal is off the cards as the grounds used were the fact that I hadn't bought into the company way of working. Whilst I accept this I am wondering if procedurally this was in line with the law as it's a US company that does many things that wouldn't be accepted in UK. During my 5 months there there was no point where my concerns were addressed that I raised with how things worked internally which were restricting my performance in building a sales team. Even going to HR was fruitless as they just directed me to the general manager who I reported to who was the person not doing anything to address my concerns. Yesterday morning I was literally taken into a meeting room with no option to take a colleague for support or indeed a rep from HR. It was just me an my manager. After a couple of minutes he told me he had to let me go and that he'd get me 4 weeks pay as gesture of goodwill but didn't elude to when my last date would be (contractually it says 1 week based on my service).
I emailed him asking for confirmation but his exact words in the reply were I have approved your basic salary pay till 16th June (4 weeks). No mention of whether this overrides my contract that states a week? He's now gone on holiday and no one is replying to tell me. I don't have any written confirmation of what's happened and when we have dismissed people in the past I was told we don't send anything in writing, I thought this was a bit strange.

Not sure if this is normal procedure / best practice / or is it something I should challenge as I don't know when I can start working again!

Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Hello Sales

A salesman's job is to sell so if the employer thinks you're not good at selling well there are other jobs out there. Are there any special issues, was it victimisation, was it discrimination. You allude things were not dealt internally in a fair way but give no example. What were the basic terms of the your employment contract and did you fulfil these? What does your company's procedure state also. How long is the probationary period. You say the company is US based and they have unfair practises, again you make no mention of this.

[sales]

Re: Dismissal....

Hi

Thank you for the replies.
The probation period was 6 months and it was for a management role. I am not disputing the actual dismissal but more the way it was carried out. I felt the job was mis represented to me as I was hired under false pretences ( a team was meant to be growing when actually there was a lot of dissent there, revenues were exaggerated as they did not come from the department I was managing, resources were not there as promised to support the role and then the senior manager that dismissed me starting chopping and changing the teams about 3 months after I joined to my disadvantage, when I raised this concern with HR they told me to go to my boss....when I raised it with him he just said not to worry and that he'll extend my guarantee). Needless to say that after I raised my concerns again of how the setup was not working I was then dismissed the next day.
I am going into another role but my contract states a week notice within probation. However I have an email from my boss that states he has approved payment up till the 16th June. I am trying to find out whether this overrides the week or if that still stands as that's what I signed up to?
The process for dismissal doesn't seem right also. In the past when we have dismissed people I have asked if we would send written confirmation. HR said they don't do that....in my dismissal I wasn't even given the option to bring a colleague for support or the right for appeal. Plus it's been almost a week now and I still have no confirmation of pay etc. On a separate note can they stop my salary for this month while the sort it out or am I entitled to that as I did work for 3 out of 4 weeks and then there's a weeks contract notice and 4.5 days accrued annual leave owed....plus the payment till 16th June promised to me.....I also have no confirmation of my last day so my new employer can't send me an offer letter!
I have emailed the senior HR director in the US yesterday and they said they'll chase the UK representative....how long do I give her to respond? My contract notice means I can start work this Friday....should I just go ahead with that?!
Just to add...even in the contract it says they will either email or write to confirm disciplinary or dismissal...."notice to you will be deemed to have been given if handed to you, sent via email to either your work or personal email address or sent by recorded delivery to your last notified address known to your employer."
As mentioned...it was a 3 minute meeting on my own with my boss and then an email saying he has approved payment till the 16th June....no confirmation of anything else!

I'm not looking to appeal unless the way the job was sold to me is a good reason...I appreciate whilst on probation you haven't earned many rights but I imagine that best practice would still need to be followed....this is a multi billion dollar organisation so I would think their processes would be key?!

I'm just after advice on what to do next more than anything....

Sorry for the haphazard approach to this reply...hope it makes sense!

[Openlaw15]

Re: Dismissal....

Hi

Thank you for the replies.
The probation period was 6 months and it was for a management role. I am not disputing the actual dismissal but more the way it was carried out. I felt the job was mis represented to me as I was hired under false pretences ( a team was meant to be growing when actually there was a lot of dissent there, revenues were exaggerated as they did not come from the department I was managing, resources were not there as promised to support the role and then the senior manager that dismissed me starting chopping and changing the teams about 3 months after I joined to my disadvantage, when I raised this concern with HR they told me to go to my boss....when I raised it with him he just said not to worry and that he'll extend my guarantee). Needless to say that after I raised my concerns again of how the setup was not working I was then dismissed the next day.
I am going into another role but my contract states a week notice within probation. However I have an email from my boss that states he has approved payment up till the 16th June. I am trying to find out whether this overrides the week or if that still stands as that's what I signed up to?
The process for dismissal doesn't seem right also. In the past when we have dismissed people I have asked if we would send written confirmation. HR said they don't do that....in my dismissal I wasn't even given the option to bring a colleague for support or the right for appeal. Plus it's been almost a week now and I still have no confirmation of pay etc. On a separate note can they stop my salary for this month while the sort it out or am I entitled to that as I did work for 3 out of 4 weeks and then there's a weeks contract notice and 4.5 days accrued annual leave owed....plus the payment till 16th June promised to me.....I also have no confirmation of my last day so my new employer can't send me an offer letter!
I have emailed the senior HR director in the US yesterday and they said they'll chase the UK representative....how long do I give her to respond? My contract notice means I can start work this Friday....should I just go ahead with that?!
Just to add...even in the contract it says they will either email or write to confirm disciplinary or dismissal...."notice to you will be deemed to have been given if handed to you, sent via email to either your work or personal email address or sent by recorded delivery to your last notified address known to your employer."
As mentioned...it was a 3 minute meeting on my own with my boss and then an email saying he has approved payment till the 16th June....no confirmation of anything else!

I'm not looking to appeal unless the way the job was sold to me is a good reason...I appreciate whilst on probation you haven't earned many rights but I imagine that best practice would still need to be followed....this is a multi billion dollar organisation so I would think their processes would be key?!

I'm just after advice on what to do next more than anything....

Sorry for the haphazard approach to this reply...hope it makes sense!

If the company has not followed correct procedure, ie by its own company hiring/ firing policy, you may have a claim for victimisation, ie suffering a detriment. The company would be expected to put any disciplinaries or formal terminations of employment in writing. You should have the opportunity to appeal and have a hearing to that effect, ie a grievance hearing at the least. Listen, you're not being clear - i can't read your mind! Are you saying your new role is with the same company or different company?