suspended from work

Floss

amandada wrote: »

I'm ......re the telling them that Monday's too short notice, if it's a normal working day for you , it would be reasonable to expect you to be there........

To quote DirectGov:

The meeting should:

• be arranged at a reasonable time for you and anyone else involved
• be in a private place (so there are no interruptions)
• be arranged so you get enough time to prepare

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/Disciplinaryprocedures/DG_10028114

So if OP was told on Friday to be there the following Monday, it is not reasonable to expect her to be there, it does not give her time to prepare and she may well not be able to get any union or legal advice over a weekend.

trixietoes

Debbie,

I am do feel for you, it's a horrid thing to happen. It happened to my friend a while back. My sister also went through something similar - the company didn't follow standard HR rules. She employed a solicitor persued wrongful dismissal.... the company caved before it went to court and gave her a substantial out of court settlement.

I have also unfortunately had to suspend people too and it's vile for them.. and would only be done in extreme circumstances.

What I will say is that your company sound like the don't know their backside from their elbow. There are very very specific proceedures that need to be followed if you are suspending anyone from their role.... and those are not via a workmate in a casual chat!!

A suspension is so the company can investigate a complaint or allegation against you without you being around. AND it has to be on full pay. For them to do this an official meeting should have been set up with you to talk through the allegations and get your view 1st.

Any meeting should be strictly private, and have a 3rd party there.. otherwise it is 1 word against another.

You need to get a advice, and write down everything that has happened including dates, times, what was said, how, and by who.

Good luck

alwaysonthego_2

Floss wrote: »

So if OP was told on Friday to be there the following Monday, it is not reasonable to expect her to be there, it does not give her time to prepare and she may well not be able to get any union or legal advice over a weekend.

Reasonable time according to ACAS is 5 working days, I have not got a link because I saw this today on advisernet whilst advising a client.

Floss

alwaysonthego wrote: »

Reasonable time according to ACAS is 5 working days, I have not got a link because I saw this today on advisernet whilst advising a client.

"Working days" being the pertinent phrase. Not 72 hours including a weekend.

alwaysonthego_2

On the link I saw it said 5 days notice so I would have thought that would equate to working days, though I suppose if the op's usual working days include the weekend then they would be classed as working days. So if the op was told on Friday then Tuesday would be a reasonable day. If it went to a tribunal then they actually use the ACAS guidelines.

Floss

alwaysonthego wrote: »

On the link I saw it said 5 days notice so I would have thought that would equate to working days, though I suppose if the op's usual working days include the weekend then they would be classed as working days. So if the op was told on Friday then Tuesday would be a reasonable day. If it went to a tribunal then they actually use the ACAS guidelines.

"Working days" is a generally accepted term to mean Monday - Friday. In the case of this situation, the OP should be given reasonable notice to enable them to obtain professional and / or legal advice & to prepare for the meeting, which cannot usually be done over a weekend.

So no, I don't think this is "reasonable" notice.

-BA-

Floss wrote: »

"Working days" is a generally accepted term to mean Monday - Friday. In the case of this situation, the OP should be given reasonable notice to enable them to obtain professional and / or legal advice & to prepare for the meeting, which cannot usually be done over a weekend.

So no, I don't think this is "reasonable" notice.

I would agree with this as the whole idea of the notice period is to seek legal advice, prepare, contact HR. Most of these services are not available at the weekend regardless of whether the OP does.

Treacle1983

I am sure it is breaking certain laws being told by someone else before your boss - He/She should have had a meeting with you explaining the reasons and giving the right to appeal etc...

Go to CAB and check - I think you have a case for a tribunal

Best of luck.

Antoine

My only advice on that matter would be to record/write down every communications on paper, such as the date/time at which you called your manager and what was the outcome... and so on. This does not have to be countersigned by anyone else but those records will give you a great advantage if you ever need to go to court.

Note: by law I think you are allowed to have a witness when speaking to your manager, which is quite useful scaring off those dudgy managers who end up dropping the case

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

What a world we live in.

OP not been sacked etc, yet already they are getting solicitors involved, clearly desperate to sue for anything.