Unfair Dismissal & Discrimination

vindicated

Hi there folks,

Ive a query, its quite long winded and im unsure who to turn to or what to do.

Basically about 2 years ago i was dismissed from my employer due to grounds of "Gross Misconduct" for not following their policy for long term illness fully. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety and have been unable to work for around 3 years; it started after i moved facilites within the company i dont want to disclose which but i'll go into more detail.

I moved to new business area, i enjoyed the job very much and it was great; however things gradually seemed to go downhill in terms of the higher managements view towards me; im homosexual and it was most definitely apparent that there was a level of homophobia in the management team and that my sexual orientation didnt go down well.

Dont get me wrong, i was in no way flamboyant etc whilst at work, i remained very professional; however clearly this wasnt enough. As time went on I broke up with a long term partner which obviously was quite emotional, i got no form of help etc with these issues and was expected to get on with work, but no leighway was given for a slight work deterioration in terms of time it took to do some work i had, im not talking about weeks and weeks longer but just a few hours or a day at most for a little time.

This obviously got to me and i went to my doctor who signed me off work with Depression. It is at this point things started to get even worse with the management team at work. I saw my doctor every two weeks roughly and obviously sent in my sick notes accordingly; i admit i maybe was a day late once or twice in between periods of one sick note to another however i always emailed to advise.

The company were VERY VERY pushy with me in terms of coming in for an "Informal" meeting etc; however my condition was so bad that I couldnt go to any meetings, i even had my doctor send them a letter detailing this and why in terms of my illness etc. Regardless of that they still hounded me, making my illness even worse, so much so i turned to alcohol, it involved going out with some friends, but getting so blind drunk i could barely stand etc, so as you may understand the illness was somewhat "blocked" at that time due to the copius amounts of alcohol id consume in a night. They then came to me and said "Oh we saw you had been out with friends, surely you must be fine and can work" obviously this was not the case, however they just ignored that fact and proceeded to enter disciplinary action against me, this ultimately led to being dismissed for Gross Misconduct.

Their hounding and homophobic attitudes worsened my illness and now 4 years on or so im in this situation where they literally have ruined my life completely. Also a few weeks after it was "Formally" stated i was dismissed it came to my attention (through some employee coming to me) stating they had released information on my illness, what medication i was on, apparently the managers stating they hated me and thought i was a gay f**k etc etc...this gentleman threatened me with murder and sent violent messages to me via an online site; "Im going to slit your throat and stand in your pool of blood whilst you turn blue" was just one of those many messages.

Again this made me worse but i had the courage to raise a complaint with my company, it was done formally; but in the end they stated they had no liability and that they were going to do nothing about it.

Ive struggled with my illness and i struggle in social atmospheres and in public in general, i see my doctor at least monthly and i also see a Occupational Therapy nurse on a regular basis but nothing seems to be working so far. As i said earlier, the companies actions have ruined my life completely. The charges i allege are Sexual Orientation Discrimination, contravention of the Data protection act and unfair dismissal based on the Disability discrimination act.

I have a pre-hearing review this month as my company want to get the case thrown out on the basis of time bar (I am over the time limit for the ET)

Im really stressed as I dont want to lose my right to justice; i wasnt able to bring the case until just now not through choice but due to my mental health continually getting worse. I have obtained a letter from my GP, and also written a statement myself; does anyone have any other ideas on what i should get to ensure the Judge lifts the time bar?

I did see a Psychiatrist whose opinion was that it was entirely my employers treatment towards me that made my illness so severe.


Your advice is gratefully received.

Oldernotwiser

vindicated wrote: »

Dont get me wrong, i was in no way flamboyant etc whilst at work, i remained very professional; however clearly this wasnt enough. As time went on I broke up with a long term partner which obviously was quite emotional, i got no form of help etc with these issues and was expected to get on with work, but no leighway was given for a slight work deterioration in terms of time it took to do some work i had, im not talking about weeks and weeks longer but just a few hours or a day at most for a little time.

I can't see why you'd think that any employer would offer help with this, whatever your sexual orientation

The company were VERY VERY pushy with me in terms of coming in for an "Informal" meeting etc; however my condition was so bad that I couldnt go to any meetings, i even had my doctor send them a letter detailing this and why in terms of my illness etc. Regardless of that they still hounded me, making my illness even worse, so much so i turned to alcohol, it involved going out with some friends, but getting so blind drunk i could barely stand etc, so as you may understand the illness was somewhat "blocked" at that time due to the copius amounts of alcohol id consume in a night. They then came to me and said "Oh we saw you had been out with friends, surely you must be fine and can work" obviously this was not the case, however they just ignored that fact and proceeded to enter disciplinary action against me, this ultimately led to being dismissed for Gross Misconduct.

You seem to have put yourself doubly in the wrong by refusing to attend meetings but to be obviously well enough to go out socialising!


Ive struggled with my illness and i struggle in social atmospheres and in public in general, i see my doctor at least monthly and i also see a Occupational Therapy nurse on a regular basis but nothing seems to be working so far. As i said earlier, the companies actions have ruined my life completely. The charges i allege are Sexual Orientation Discrimination, contravention of the Data protection act and unfair dismissal based on the Disability discrimination act.

I have a pre-hearing review this month as my company want to get the case thrown out on the basis of time bar (I am over the time limit for the ET)

Im really stressed as I dont want to lose my right to justice; i wasnt able to bring the case until just now not through choice but due to my mental health continually getting worse. I have obtained a letter from my GP, and also written a statement myself; does anyone have any other ideas on what i should get to ensure the Judge lifts the time bar?

I did see a Psychiatrist whose opinion was that it was entirely my employers treatment towards me that made my illness so severe.


Your advice is gratefully received.

I can only say that I hope you feel better soon and that possibly the best way to achieve this is to move on. What are you hoping to achieve by this?

alyth

I'm struggling to understand your post and I'm sure a lot of other people are as well. break your post down - are you still with the employer now - it seems to me that you're not, but that you still want to make a claim for unfair dismissal? Are you saying that you received threats through facebook/bebo?

Do you have a lawyer? If the case is going to Pre hearing review then I imagine you do?

Do you not just want to move on with your life - many employers make employees' life a misery, if you continue your fight against your (former?) employer then that surely is not going to be any benefit to your health.

vindicated

No, I am not with the employer anymore.

I wish to achieve Justice, and it has been 2 years and I still haven't been able to "Just move on" because of the treatment i received.

There is no excuse for the treatment i received from them. The Psychiatrist i saw and my GP believe the only way for me to move forward properly is to have my case dealt with, as this has been the root cause of my mental health deterioration.

I received death threats both verbally and in written form via a website (not facebook/bebo)

How else do people make a claim for unfair dismissal if they still work for the company? :S

Oldernotwiser

What exactly do you mean by "Justice"? What are you hoping to get out of it?

Surely, if you received death threats you'd've reported them to the police and had it dealt with by them?

alyth

leave it and move on - you are going to achieve nothing apart from more upset and hurt on your own part if you insist on proceeding with your claim. i agree with ONW, what do you mean by justice - do you want money, if you take your previous employers to court, you may eventually receive a cash settlement, but you will never receive an apology - read the papers for people suing for constructive dismissal, they may win millions in compensation but they never get the apology.

I don't believe for a minute that both a GP and a psychiatrist have said that you should proceed with your case in order to move forward, your psychiatrist should be offering other help, your GP tablets!

You didn't answer my question, how are you funding this action - I assume you are not working now, what have you been doing in the last two years?

Apologies for assuming you were still working for the company, I have no idea what :S means but I do hope it nothing rude or sarcastic.

ohreally

You're time barred in terms of pursuing a case through an ET. Have a look at the protection from harrasement act.

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2006/07/25/36506/protection-from-harassment-at-work.html

mrcow

If someone has made death threats against you - then you need to go to the police.

Have you done this yet? What did they say?

peachyprice

vindicated wrote: »

There is no excuse for the treatment i received from them. The Psychiatrist i saw and my GP believe the only way for me to move forward properly is to have my case dealt with, as this has been the root cause of my mental health deterioration.

Have you discussed with them the potentially devastating effect of losing this case will have on your mental health?

Mudd14

As said above youy are well out of tie to claim through the ET which is your only real option of financial justice.

Unless you were to blackmail them about going to papers?

vindicated

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your input and my apologies if im came across as ungrateful at all; just extremely stressed about all this

the little :S was a confused face, wasnt intending on being rude etc

Well, in terms of justice, i guess i feel i am entitled to some form of compensation - Im not good at writing how things have been, but ive been suicidal etc due to the treatment received; things have been terrible really.

I've been unable to work since the dismissal due to confidence issues and low self esteem and the depression and anxiety really.

Im in no way intending on being lazy, i genuinely want to get back to work; but I'm having issues doing so due to my mental health.

Alyth, i completely understand your points...and i honestly wish it was that easy for me; but im seriously struggling, when i manage to go out i abuse alcohol to try and remove the stress and forget whats happened.

I've tried several tablets...none have worked - the psychiatrist i saw came to the conclusion that the mental health issue is nothing like schizophrenia etc; but more an issue with adjusting to what has happened and that she feels its not likely to be resolved until i have dealt with the issues that happened at work, and part of dealing with the issues would be going through a tribunal or court to hopefully get some form of compensation. I have a lot of evidence which is why i feel i would be successful; and as i said earlier, i just dont feel they should be able to get away with this behaviour as it has ruined my life.

I feel empty inside, thats the only way i can describe my emotional state. I feel it would of been more humane for them to just take me down an alley and shoot me. (my apologies for being dramatic, but its the only way i can convey how im feeling)

I have been doing a course through the open university in order to do at least something whilst i cannot work, but even this is a struggle sometimes.

At the moment i am representing myself; and so far there has been no costs per say with proceeding through the ET.

I have been to the police about the death threats, and the person admitted to them and stated they only approached me due to the company releasing the information on my illness etc. They have given them a warning as they have not said anything again...however just the other day i bumped into him and he did say some things ("trot on", then "I want to see his face" and "You better watch your back")

I havent went back to the police as I thought they would think that it isnt serious enough; do you think i should?

I havent discussed the potential devasting effect this will have on my mental health if i lose the case; to be honest i doubt they would be interested in settling even if i did mention that. Even with the evidence i have, they are taking the position of denying everything

I know going through with this is making me relive the hell i went through...but after two years of being unable to work etc, i just feel this course of action will help me and hopefully help me to recover, especially if the ET lift the time bar and say they will hear my case.

My employer has already stated that they dont really have a defence (ok, not in so many words); their only form of defence is to get my case thrown out on time bar status.