Employer with a grudge

flea72

i am currently having a dispute with my employer about holiday entitlements. i know that i am in the right, and have basically told my employer as such, but they dont like to be proved wrong

i have been warned by other staff that my employer holds a grudge, and will make my time at work unpleasant to say the least.

im just wondering on what grounds they can get rid of me. say i was one minute late for work, would that be grounds enough for them to give me a warning and sack me? as a working mum, obviously my kids sometimes get ill and i have to take time off work, which in the past my employers have been ok with. i just take it as holiday, or do longer days to catch up, but can they now stop this, or again would it be a sackable offence, to leave the office if they dont give me their permission.

also what other things are they likely to pull on me, in an effort to make it hard for me to stay there.

i just want to be prepared should they start to be funny.

they just seem to be very one sided. whenever ive been asked to do work outside of my norm, or work hours to cover for other people who are off, ive been really reasonable and bent over backwards to help them, but when its me asking for something, that in all honesty i am entitled to (regarding the holiday issue) they just seem to think that i owe them!

Flea

hjb123

Sorry to hear this, there are proper procedures that they have to follow in order to dismiss you, including verbal and written warnings first.

Is it a big disagreement over the holiday entitlement? Or have you been totally outspoken to get the employer riled?

Have a look at the following page about how employer are able to dismiss employees:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/Employment/Employees/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJobArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=10026619&chk=QKOV1G

flea72

no i havent been confrontational at all, im so shy, that i must have blushed the whole way through making my point, and every time they came back with their retort, i just stood there dumbfounded, as i couldnt think of anything to say, other than 'but the law is' and even handed them a copy of what i was referring to, so i didnt have to try and get the words out, and could leave the room for them to have a think about it

you wont believe how long it took me to pluck up the courage to try and get this matter sorted, and now ive got to push it again to get an answer. tbh im gonna need new pants by the time this is all sorted, i hate having to ask things of people

Flea

ailurophile_2

Firstly,it depends on how long you have actually worked there-as I understand it,if you have been working somewhere for a year,you have alot more clout.Are you a member of a union?If so,then go and talk with your union rep.If not,you could always contact ACAS(see web and/or phonebook) ,the arbitration service,who could give you more advice.Do you have a contract with your employer?Check out the various ins- and- outs with ACAS,and/or your union.Does your company have a (sympathetic)Personnel Officer?They may be able to help.I hope this helps your predicament!Good luck!!

hjb123

Have you got a contract you can look at to check your holiday entitlement? Is this what you are going off? Are the employers saying you are entitled to less holiday than you think?

flea72

no, i dont have a contract. i have been working there for about 5yrs now.

the holiday disagreement is the usual one regarding part-timers and public holidays. They just argue that no-one (other than bank employees) are entitled to time off on these day. but im arguing that if the full-timers get it off paid, them part-timers should too

i have looked at the ACAS website, and yes under the bank holiday law my employers are right, but under the law concerning treating p/t staff less favourably than f/t staff my employers are in the wrong

Flea

CIS

Usually the rule is, if the part time staff work the bank holiday then they get treated the same way as full time staff, its hust tight to do it differently.

ailurophile_2

Flea,my understanding is that employers are not allowed to treat employees who are part-time any differently to someone who is full-time,as you rightly say.I suggest that you contact the ACAS and talk it through with them-I have found them to be extremely helpful.

hjb123

When I worked in retail and it was bank holiday time if the bank holiday was on a day that I would normally work then I was entitled to it off and paid. However if it was a day that I wouldnt normally be in at work then I wouldnt get paid.

Gem_

flea - (as far as I know so could be wrong)

You are entitalled to the same holiday as the pull timers "pro rata" this does not mean that they have to give you a specific day off work such as a bank holiday but it does mean that they have to give you some time off to represent this ie. if you work 1/2 the hours of the full time staff you are entitilled to a 1/2 the holiday allowance they get, 14 days if they get 28.

Hope you do manage to get this sorted and well done for standing up for yourself. I hate it when part time staff get treated like second class citizens when we probably do as much work as the full time staff but for half the time and pay!

G

cookiemonster25

in the nhs part times are entitled to BH same as fulltimers, now i know they are good employers but they are pretty up on employment law, i would speak to someone in CAB, what do the other part time staff in your company get