Advice about dismissal - please

firesidemaid

the more you tell us, the more interesting it becomes - ie. lots of inconsistencies become apparent.

it it illegal in employment law to not allow someone to be accompanied. the policy it seems is a little unclear. i would get your OH to take who he wants to accompany him - it will then be up to his employer to deny him his right to be accompanied (would put them on very dodgy grounds).

what is his company policy/in his contract re. appraisals? in matters of alleged incapacity, i would expect it not to look good for company if they are not having regular appraisals with their staff.

are the 3 points being directed solely at OH or is anyone else being accused/affected by this?

re. the guy who suspended him? i take it he was just doing his job as ordered by his boss?

what evidence/witness statements have you gathered so far to support your OH's innocence/refute these claims/points?

Amber07

firesidemaid wrote: »

the more you tell us, the more interesting it becomes - ie. lots of inconsistencies become apparent.

it it illegal in employment law to not allow someone to be accompanied. the policy it seems is a little unclear. i would get your OH to take who he wants to accompany him - it will then be up to his employer to deny him his right to be accompanied (would put them on very dodgy grounds).

I see your point on that one. I am going to say to him to get his friend to gowith them, will bear that in mind if they refuse. After all, there could be up to 4 of 'them' there.

what is his company policy/in his contract re. appraisals? in matters of alleged incapacity, i would expect it not to look good for company if they are not having regular appraisals with their staff.

I have been through the contract, appraisals aren't mentioned at all

are the 3 points being directed solely at OH or is anyone else being accused/affected by this?

There were 8 points brought up at the meeting, only 3 main ones were detailed in the suspension letter. No one else is being accused of anything, even though he has had 5 or 6 under managers in the past year. (Not his fault, I must add) the company keeps shifting people round.

re. the guy who suspended him? i take it he was just doing his job as ordered by his boss?

I guess so.

what evidence/witness statements have you gathered so far to support your OH's innocence/refute these claims/points?

He has a written statement from a customer to throw out one particular allegation, he spoke to one employee about providing a statement but then got a phone call to tell him not to contact any of them. The moving of money is a simple police matter which will clear him. Other things will be 'his word against theirs' He also has a customer comments book (at work atm)filled to the brim with glowing reports about his service/cleanliness of the place/etc

Amber07

Well, for the visit to the solicitor tomorrow I have prepared:

- List of contacts, emails and phone numbers
- Timeline of events, detailing times and people present
- His statement of events, detailing the allegations and his comments
- Suspension from work letter
- His contract of employment
- Copy of letter from a customer to clear one allegation.


I have double copies of everything, so I am as prepared as I can be for now.

firesidemaid

Amber07 wrote: »

He has a written statement from a customer to throw out one particular allegation, he spoke to one employee about providing a statement but then got a phone call to tell him not to contact any of them. The moving of money is a simple police matter which will clear him. Other things will be 'his word against theirs' He also has a customer comments book (at work atm)filled to the brim with glowing reports about his service/cleanliness of the place/etc

you must document the time and date of that phone call! they cannot do that - you have to be allowed to collect any evidence you need to support your case, just as they do. that phone call may be pivotal - they are basically saying that they are not allowing you to collect that evidence, so again, potentially, that alone could be automatic unfair dismissal.

every single point adds up, even if only to prove how dodgy this all is.

nothing is his word against theirs. it is up to them to prove that he did these things, not the other way around - obviously it still makes sense to have every single bit of supporting evidence you can think of.

you need a section of evidence to refute each claim plus a section supporting your OH's work ethic/how much they think of him eg. customer log book (photocopy lots of relevant bits before it 'disappears'), record of increased profits, payrise, original recommendation/reference from boss etc etc.

do not leave it all to memory, write it all down and do not assume that something won't matter - use/bring everything you can think of.

the more you talk about this in full ie. to lawyer, to us, the more that comes up. you and OH are used to the company etc - whereas others will be seeing everything for the first time and will pick up on things that are not right.

ps. well done on getting this far and getting all that evidence together so far x

p.p.s! is his dismissal letter signed, dated and on headed notepaper? do the details/dates in the letter make sense? who has signed it? does it say who will be present? ie. only the relevant people (HR/managers) should be involved. sorry for all the questions?

Amber07

firesidemaid wrote: »

you must document the time and date of that phone call! they cannot do that - you have to be allowed to collect any evidence you need to support your case, just as they do. that phone call may be pivotal - they are basically saying that they are not allowing you to collect that evidence, so again, potentially, that alone could be automatic unfair dismissal.
Tuesday 17th, 1pm
Hubby also contacted a colleague who he was going to take to the tribunal, and the colleague had also been told not to contact him. So they are basically making it difficult for him to have a witness.

every single point adds up, even if only to prove how dodgy this all is.

nothing is his word against theirs. it is up to them to prove that he did these things, not the other way around - obviously it still makes sense to have every single bit of supporting evidence you can think of.

you need a section of evidence to refute each claim plus a section supporting your OH's work ethic/how much they think of him eg. customer log book (photocopy lots of relevant bits before it 'disappears'), record of increased profits, payrise, original recommendation/reference from boss etc etc.
The comment book is still at his work unfortunately, and he can't go back to get it.

do not leave it all to memory, write it all down and do not assume that something won't matter - use/bring everything you can think of.
I am writing down EVERYTHING we can think of

the more you talk about this in full ie. to lawyer, to us, the more that comes up. you and OH are used to the company etc - whereas others will be seeing everything for the first time and will pick up on things that are not right.

ps. well done on getting this far and getting all that evidence together so far x

p.p.s! is his dismissal letter signed, dated and on headed notepaper? Yes, it is.do the details/dates in the letter make sense? There are no dates in the letter about any of the incidents who has signed it? Ops Director does it say who will be present? ie. only the relevant people (HR/managers) should be involved. It doesn't say who will be there, we are just assuming it could be any of 3 directors, plus maybe the owner. Anything form 2 to 4 of them.sorry for all the questions? .

No, THANK YOU for taking the time to help me, I really appreciate it.

Floss

Also, if a compromise agreement is the route agreed by your OH & his employers, they MUST pay for the agreement to be checked over by a lawyer or else it is not valid & they cannot hold you to it. This is a legal requirement.

Amber07

Bit of bad luck - we have been trying to get hold of the solicitor all morrning, and keep getting voicemail.

Will keep trying, hopefully he will be free this afternoon.

lindens

I thought that they had to give him 7 days notice for a hearing, and that if the date they did give was not convenient for him and his represenatative then he can request it is changed.
They have given him at best 3 working day's notice haven't they?

Amber07

lindens wrote: »

I thought that they had to give him 7 days notice for a hearing, and that if the date they did give was not convenient for him and his represenatative then he can request it is changed.
They have given him at best 3 working day's notice haven't they?

More like 2 really, since it's Tues morning - someone did say that to me, that it should be 7 days. Don't think hubby wants to look too awkward by postponing. And it's another strike against them really, isn't it?

Emmzi

regarding someone to accompany him - this is an internal procedure so it is standard that an internal person accompany him - a union rep or a co-worker is most common.

as an employer I would not allow a friend or solicitor there as that makes it an external procedure.

if he cannot come up with an internal person it is highly likely he will be refused to allow a friend in with him, and he will end up with no witnesses.