Ex employee-unfair dismissal

BASSETT

Thanks, with her notice period it`s still under a year.
Yes, the shop could not sustain her wage, nobody has taken her position and most definitely will not.
The only factor at the time of her leaving was monetary. I couldn`t pay my rent, suppliers and was injecting my own wage into the business, my business manager can support all this.

Meenu

can you sue her in a separate action to claim back cash if you have cctv evidence?

BASSETT

I was thinking that yesterday after receiving her latest letter. She gets legal aid so she can drag this out and not worry about cost.
Her solicitor asked for a grievance meeting which my solicitor said I would welcome, so I could ask her face to face why did you do xyz.... and this latest letter claims I have refused a grievance meeting which is rubbish.

A customer of mine said a great thing "you cannot argue with stupidity"

Can I just say at this point that I really appreciate everyone`s replies, I won`t speak to my solicitor until next week so this has worked wonders in lowering my blood pressure I tell you!

ThinkingOfLinking

ceridwen wrote: »

I dont think the sarcastic comments to O.P. are helpful myself. My initial gut reaction to O.P. is that they are telling the truth. Having read further posts now - that is still my analysis.

Obviously we are only hearing one side of the story here - but instinct tells me it is the truth.

Believe me - I'm normally one of the first to be a bit cynical about employers actions:rolleyes: - but I dont think thats called for in this case.

I completely agree. And I'm rather bitter about employers at the moment as I am (justifiably) taking my most recent one to court myself.

zzzLazyDaisy

BASSETT wrote: »

I was thinking that yesterday after receiving her latest letter. She gets legal aid so she can drag this out and not worry about cost.!

While she may be getting legal advice and assistance for preparing her case, there is no legal aid for representation at a tribunal hearing. So if she pushes the case to a hearing she will either have to pay a solicitor or go it alone.

So it is very likely that her solicitor is building up to suggesting an out of court settlement.

While this would naturally stick in your throat, don't dismiss the prospect without giving it careful consideration, because if you have to pay a solicitor to prepare the case for you and represent you at tribunal that will be expensive and even if you win your case, she will not be ordered to reimburse your legal fees.

BASSETT

Well in her latest letter she states that she was leaving anyway when she was due to have her baby, contradicting to her telling me she wanted to return after matty leave.
So she left about 16wks gestation, I presume she would have worked up until 38wks or so, do you think she is trying to get those remaining weeks of wages? She worked 16hrs a week at minimum wage.

zzzLazyDaisy

Okay - if she went to tribunal and won, her compensation would be entitled to compensation for loss of earnings, plus compensation for 'injury to feelings'.

Since on her own admission she was going to leave anyway, her loss of earnings are limited to what she would have earned had she not been dismissed - wages plus maternity pay. Remember her losses are her NET income after deductions not her gross pay. But from that you can deduct any income she now has as a result of not working, and which she would not have been entitled to if she had carried on working - JSA? IS? Maternity benefits?

The injury to feelings compensation is, unfortunately, how long is a piece of string. It depends on how sympathetic the tribunal are on the day. I'd guess at around £2000 in this case - but it is only a guess based on what you've told us - it could be a lot more, or a bit less. And of course from her point of view it is a gamble because she'd have to win her case first.

One thing to consider, though, is if - heaven forbid - she has another miscarriage, then she would have returned to work and her losses will increase dramatically. So if you are considering settlement, it might be worth considering this sooner rather than later?

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

She won't win

As far as you are concerned (unless she can prove to the contrary).

She was made redundant/dismissed due to financial issues and the situation being you couldnt sustain her role. You gave her one weeks notice and this is sufficient as she worked there less than a year. It was nothing to do with her pregnancy at all.

Completely ignore your other factors and dont mention them to her or her solicitor.

In this case unless she can prove sex discrimination she can waste her time all she wants.

BASSETT

Thanks for replies, if the worst happens and she`s granted a payout then she`ll have a long wait, my vat was late, my paye is still overdue and I had to pay my income tax is being paid by instalments, my business manager will confirm that I was months away from closing, and this is a business that has been running, and profitable for over 40 years.
So within that I`m hoping this will all turn in my favour.

zzzLazyDaisy

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

She won't win.

I agree she is probably unlikely to win. However, there are never any guarantees in litigation and employment tribunal cases are no exception. If a case goes to tribunal it will all turn on the evidence on the day, and who the tribunal believe.

I was a tribunal advocate throughout my career (I'm a retired employment lawyer) and my experience is that while I would say that, on the facts that have been made available to us on this forum, the ex-employee's prospects of success in this case are poor, I'd never go so far as to say 'she won't win' as you just never know what might crawl out of the woodwork on the day.