Advice needed please - Interview with police on Tuesday

Savvy_Sue

Ask how you reclaim your travel expenses.

sexyeyes83

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Ask how you reclaim your travel expenses.

Id rather not. They underpaid me by £200 this month and im still fighting to try and get that paid!

sexyeyes83

I phoned acas twice, each time they said I had no option but to attend the location 60 miles away.

I then phoned a local employment soliciator who was extremely helpful. He said they had to give "reasonable notice" and the meeting had to be held at a "reasonable place".
He said "reasonable place" meant my usual place of work, or somewhere in the location of my place of work
Considering the new location is 60 miles away and all other meetings have been held at my local office, asking me to attend the new location wasnt reasonable.

He also said I had a right to know what the meeting was about prior to attending. If they wont tell me over the phone, I can request to get them to put it in writing.

If the refuse to change the meeting location to a more reasonable place, I can then raise a formal grievance on the account of harassment and bullying. Just going to phone work now :huh:

Savvy_Sue

sexyeyes83 wrote: »

Id rather not. They underpaid me by £200 this month and im still fighting to try and get that paid!

The two things are separate. They require you to be 60 miles away, you are just checking how you claim your mileage / other travel costs for that journey.

If they are not prepared to pay your mileage, then it becomes less reasonable for you to be there.

However, it may be that it is more cost and time effective for you to go there than for one or more members of staff to come from there to your normal place of work.

sexyeyes83

I can see your point of view, however if I wanted to see them it would be reasonable for me to travel there, likewise it should be the other way around. If you worked in a local Tesco, even though there head office is in Hertfordshire, I dont expect they would make you travel xxx miles to attend a meeting. Im not being awkard, however this will be the 3rd time ive gone over the same details with work and each time I come out in years. The thought of a journey 60 miles home afterwards isnt particually nice.

Ive spoken to work and they said the purpose of the meeting is that they have got someone in from a company called "croner" that deals with employment law to ensure they are doing everything correctly. The member of staff checking previously has left so they this new person wants to see me and go over it again.

When I asked if this was a disciplinary she replied "ermmmmm, im not really sure"
Considering she is high up and organises the meetings, she didnt know much. She said I would have to phone the MD in 90 minutes as he is traveling home.

More waiting.

ohreally

If the meeting is convened as a disciplinary hearing the employer is required to give you written notice of this.

Request they send a contract taxi to pick you up and get you to the venue as you have no other reasonable means of attending.

sexyeyes83

Thank for your reply. Ive just got off the phone to the MD who was quite angry.

I asked him if it was a disciplinary meeting and he said "It might well be", I said considering he was the one arranging it I would have thought he would have known what this meeting was to which he replied "Yes, this is a disciplinary meeting"

He said that despite him attending my local office 3 times a week, he has been "kind" by having the meetings there when he really should be holding them at the head office. When I said this was an unreasonable location to attend he replied "Well your the one that go yourself suspended"

He said that my employment soliciatior knew nothing and that if I was kind like him I would be attending the meeting at the head office.

I kept saying "Im willing to attend the meeting, however not at that location as its an unreasonable place to attend due to its distance" He asked me to put this in writing and I said as soon as I receive his letter that he had posted today (apparently) then I will reply to it.

Looks like im going to be unemployed any day soon.

cathryn107

So sorry to hear that this is *still* dragging on. I think this is the firm they're referring to is www.croner.co.uk, a consultancy with a specialism in employment law which helps employers 'protect themselves against legal challenge'. It boasts an 85% success rate when they represent employers at tribunal.

I think it's unreasonable for them to ask you to attend a meeting without clarifying exactly what the purpose of the meeting is. However, I suspect that Acas are right and you have to go. If you don't attend, it will probably be twisted and held against you later. It's your employer rather than Croner doing this, but you need to find out exactly what you are facing.

I assume that you're keeping a full chronological account of what's been done and when as you may need this later on? You also need to make sure that you've got notes on everything. A quick email to the person who phoned you to say something along the lines of 'I just wanted to clarify our earlier conversation. I'm being asked to attend a meeting 60 miles away with an external employment law consultancy you've employed, but you are unable to confirm the purpose of the meeting and stated that you "were not really sure" whether this meeting was a disciplinary procedure or not. At the moment I have no idea what I am facing" might be useful.

People can always lie about what they said in phone calls - an email might prompt them into a proper clarification of the situation, and would at least gives you a contemporeanous written note. If, god forbid, it did turn out to be part of a disciplinary procedure, you'd at least have proof that you'd not been given chance to prepare. In fact, I'd follow up every phone conversation with an email chronicling what was said, to cover your back.

Croner are there to make sure the law is followed. They won't break the law, but be aware that they aren't ACAS ie neutral; they're retained by your employer to represent their interests. However, I can't see them being too impressed by the way you've been treated and might make your employer stick to the rules.

Good luck hun, and keep your chin up!

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

stop being awquard.

Ask them to arrange a taxi or train fare etc and travel to the location.

Bare in mind you are still on paid suspension so in essence they are paying for your time

cathryn107

sexyeyes83 wrote: »

Thank for your reply. Ive just got off the phone to the MD who was quite angry. I asked him if it was a disciplinary meeting and he said "It might well be", I said considering he was the one arranging it I would have thought he would have known what this meeting was to which he replied "Yes, this is a disciplinary meeting"

:mad: What a %$£%^!!!!!

When I said this was an unreasonable location to attend he replied "Well your the one that go yourself suspended"

:mad: What a double %£!*&!!!!!
Hmmmm, so he's judge and jury and he's found you guilty has he? He's prejudged the outcome of the enquiry? I'm sure the person from Croner will be delighted to hear that. They need a blow by blow account of this conversation.

He said that my employment soliciatior knew nothing and that if I was kind like him I would be attending the meeting at the head office.

Umm, he's such an employment specialist he's had to hire an external firm to advise him!

I kept saying "Im willing to attend the meeting, however not at that location as its an unreasonable place to attend due to its distance" He asked me to put this in writing and I said as soon as I receive his letter that he had posted today (apparently) then I will reply to it.

60 miles is totally unreasonable, and you're right. But I bet that he's gagging for you to refuse to attend. I would really think carefully about this and show that you're willing to put yourself out. Be a complete saint through all of this. Not fair, but....

Looks like im going to be unemployed any day soon.

Nope, don't let them grind you down. You've done nothing wrong and they have no evidence against you. You are caught up in a horrible situation not of your own making, and can't look at this dispassionately.