can they sack me

supersuper

i guys i am jst looking for some advice rearly and to get this of my chest.
i work in a large call center for a well known company now i went into work on tuesday allmost completed my shift when somebody called me to the office she explained he she was and what she did etc and it turns out they have been lisening to my calls and have found out that before i have been transfering calls out i have left a few customers on hold for a short while before transfering them (we are talking 30 - 65 seconds here.

so turns out i have been suspended till a hearing on thursday.

now my manager seems to have told my team things dont look good for me surly i carnt be sacked can i.

Emmzi

what was the procedure you were taught in training
what were the reasons for the delays
is this the first time you have had a discussion about your performance?

ClareEmily

I would be interested in why you left customers on hold, was it to give you a breather as the calls are continuous?

tanith

Had you been made aware of the procedure you should adhere to? You should of been aware that your calls would be checked by management , most call centres do this to keep an eye on call volume etc...
If this is the first time you have been pulled up for not following procedure its not normal to sack you for a first 'offence' , retraining or reinforcement training would be appropriate if you are not following what you have been taught.. I hope it works out ok..

supersuper

Hi thanks for all the quick replys

yes this is the first time i have been pulled up for performance i am never late and have never had a sick day.

we need to place customers on hold to find the number and the department to pass them to (i think they would prefer it if i passed them threw to somebody who couldnt help them) yes the calls are continuous.

ClareEmily

supersuper wrote: »

Hi thanks for all the quick replys

yes this is the first time i have been pulled up for performance i am never late and have never had a sick day.

we need to place customers on hold to find the number and the department to pass them to (i think they would prefer it if i passed them threw to somebody who couldnt help them) yes the calls are continuous.

Well I think they are totally out of order then, I wish I got someone like you next time I call, I would rather be on hold for a further 30 sec if I was actually put through to the right department. :T

weths

Firstly how long have you been employed there?
You say you havent had any disciplinarys up to now am i right?
O.K if you have been there for longer than a year you should be fine. You may be disciplined if the delays are affecting the service level agreements the company you work for has. However you would only really get a verbal warning and a timescale in which your performance should be improved.

What concerns me is the fact you have been suspended. Have you had it in writing the reason for the suspension yet and have you been invited to a disciplinary or are you to simply return to work on Monday. Suspension is usually only reserved for matters of a serious nature. The superviser should not have said anything to your team and i would suggest that you should consider raising a grievance regarding the handling of the matter. It appears to me they arent following correct procedure.

If you havent been there a year yet you can be dismissed. You cannot claim unfair dismissal in your first years service.

Im sorry if this is a bit disjointed..i have my nine year old singing to me...but all the advice is correct. I am an employment law adviser. I act on companies behalf ususally.

ceridwen

So thats why I often find myself getting caught up in a game of "Round and round the mulberry bushes" when I ring a Call Centre - I'm just being "thrown" to the first number that comes to mind regardless - so that the operator isnt at risk of going against a daft rule of not putting someone on hold......aaaah! Part of the reason I had to get a computer in the end was so that I could do things online - rather than having to ring a Call Centre.

Hope this works out for you.

DebtHater

weths wrote: »

If you havent been there a year yet you can be dismissed. You cannot claim unfair dismissal in your first years service.

Unless the OP has been discriminated against unfairly, then the time limit is not valid.

I've been there before with an employer, she made life difficult for me because I was male and she was female and wasnt the one who employed me originally, it was the male assistant manager.

Ended up being suspended and dismissed for something really trivial and performance related (was on a sales floor) and took them to tribunal for unfair dismissal due to sex discrimination.

Worth bearing in mind if they do dismiss you, turn the tables back on them :T

Kavanne

Did you win, DebtHater!?

weths

You cannot claim unfair dismissal within your first years service...that as far as im is the case and i have never heard anything other in all my years of working in Employment law.
In the case stated above there must have been a serious issue which would be more discrimination than unfair dismissal...