Problem at work - Won appeal - What now

tobedifferent

Hi honey,

First of all I want to send you big hugs :grouphug: and to let you know that i'm thinking of you and your family.

I don't know anything about employment law and yes it does appear confusing. But the way I see it you have two choices.

1. You do nothing.
2. You fight it now and put in a greivance claim over the way you were treated.

If number 2 fails then the outcome is the same as no 1. OK its more stressful but sometimes putting up a fight can make you stronger. Don't look at it as a long fight, just deal with it one letter at a time, and in between just get on with your life.

If you ever need to let off some steam or want a chat i'm here.

Take care,

TBDxx

Murtle

Go for it Spud, what have you got to loose. I wanted to back out when I went through my claim for unfair dismissal, but thought I can either fight it and hope for something or sit back and always wonder what if. As it was, I got a nice payout that helped start our savings account!

Murtle
x

spud30

OK, so now I need to know how to put in a proper grievance.

MCBIRNIE, are you about love?

amosworks

Hi hun,

Sorry for not getting back sooner. Firstly, GM dismissal??

Secondly, lodge your formal grievance immediately. The three month limit on the tribunal claim isn't fixed but you have to have good cause for being outside the period if after then (but can still be submitted). Other types of claim have different time limits but constructive dismissal (which is automatically classed as unfair dismissal) is typically just 3 months from the end of employment. You can still claim you believe yourself to be an employee (or more accurately "a worker" which can mean all sorts of things) at the current time so the 3 month countdown has only just started.

However, if you are following the formal grievance procedure, and it's over the 3-month deadline, it IS perfectly acceptable to submit your ET1 soon after the unsatisfactory outcome of that process. You MUST go through that process if you want the tribunal to go smoothly or they won't be best impressed you haven't followed procedure. They can reduce your claim accordingly or even stay it if you haven't taken steps to try and sort out the dispute first.

The reason for the delay is to ensure people follow procedure (because it does cost a lot to run the tribunal service) and they want to bring as little cases to trial as possible. Basically they want as many cases as possible to settle before the tribunal even entertains the case.

When you submit your claim, ACAS automatically get involved and an ACAS mediator will be in touch with both parties (the claimant = you and the respondent = your employers), provided the tribunal accepts your claim. Basically it means that it has to makes sense and you stand a chance of winning, and your claim isn't ridiculous or vexatious etc. Same as most courts.

Please simplify the facts as to what happened as it's a bit unclear as to what has happened, what you've done about it and where you currently stand. The more you summarise it to facts and condense it, the easier it is to give you some guidance my lovely.

Eagerly awaiting your reply,
Amos

spud30

Sorry Amos,

GM - Gross Misconduct. When you are dismissed for that, you cannot claim Job Seekers etc for 6 months

amosworks

Hey there,

Many thanks for the PM filling in the blanks for me. Sorry to fire a load more questions back to you (please answer them all) but there's still some stuff I'd like to clarify for completeness and to make sure I'm giving you the right information as I don't want to lead you down the garden path by getting the wrong end of the stick. In employment law, minor details can make a huge difference so I want to be 100% clear on the situation hun.

Firstly I assume that the meeting you had with them already to try and clear your name was the official grievence process? How was it initiated? Did you write to them requesting it under your rights to bring a grievence? Was it requested by them? Please just give me details on HOW that actually came about.

When you had the meeting, who was present? How were you notified of the meeting time/place etc? What sort of timescales are we talking about between it being requested (by either party) and being executed and then being concluded? Did they give you any written notification of the meeting or the process they would follow, or what the meeting was about? You mention that you weren't given any written warnings; did you receive any written communication from them? Did you have any verbal warnings at all?

What is your exact current situation now? Are you practically unemployed (as in, although you might be owed wages and holiday etc, but do you sit at home looking for jobs at the moment)? Is the offer to return to your old job still open? Are there any other conditions placed on this offer?

Sorry I know there are loads of questions there, and doubtless a load more to follow, but these small details make a huge difference as to whether the tribunal would be satisfied whether you were currently dismissed and whether you had followed correct procedures before starting the tribunal process. On the flip-side, even a slight failure on their part for not following the correct procedures can come down on them like a ton of bricks later on down the line, and by answering the questions I can give you some ideas as to things they have likely done wrong. Such mistakes could be very costly for them and maybe even totally nullify any proceedings that have already happened if they weren't followed correctly, which is all good news for you.

On a side-note, regardless of whether the meeting you had with them was official, correctly executed and even final or not, you CAN still claim JSA. I know this because they tried to refuse me JSA until I could prove to them I was bringing a claim against my former employers for constructive dismissal (which as I already mentioned is automatically classes as unfair). You can claim JSA if you were constructively dismissed - although any JSA monies you get will have to be repaid if you also get awarded wages for that period by the tribunal. Reason being, you can't have "double bubble", but until you get the money you are entitled to JSA. Don't tell them you were sacked for gross misconduct, as that has yet to be proven if you are bringing a claim. Plus if you have cleared your name, whether that meeting was official or not, you have effectively not been sacked for the gross misconduct. Keep telling them you have been unfairly dismissed and you are starting a claim and don't let them tell you otherwise.

I found all the JSA staff I dealt with were totally ignorant of this side of things, but if you keep causing issues and rejecting their decisions not to pay you JSA, your claim will work its way higher and higher until it gets to people who do know about employment law and will say yes. Make sure they backdate your JSA to the date you originally put in your claim, even if it has been initially rejected (ie, don't start the clock ticking again). You may very well have to provide a signed statement explaining what's happening. Do you have your P45?

Amos

spud30

Hi Amos,

Just sent you a load more information over.

Let me know if you need to know anything else :beer:

Thanks again x

MCBIRNIE25

Hi spud,
i was waiting for some legal advice form the union solicitors for you. If you don't want to go abck we can claim unfair dismissal on the ground that your position is now untenable, however, it needs to be in within 3 months. I can help you writing the grievance. PM me and we can take it from there. I always check my messages, dont always get time to read the threads.

MCBIRNIE25

Spud, just seen the bit about JSA.
You can claim JSA for unfair dismissal, you need to ask to speak to the most senior Decision Maker, who will know about these things.
You just have to plug away at them.

spud30

Flippin eck,

Isn't this place great.

Where else would I get this level of expert help ehh :j

You guys are fab :beer:

Thanks so much