Work Promised but Not Delivered

fiisch

terra_ferma wrote: »

An experience/qualified carer unemployed in Sussex?
How odd.

I don't know what you're implying but she's not unemployed - as stated she's working in a bar. She is now applying for further care jobs, but when you have a contract and promises of beginning work in a couple of weeks you're not likely to begin looking for another job are you? I don't know your experience in the care industry but with the CRB timeframe opting for another job means further time not working in the industry she loves. She's been mistreated and the employer has breached the terms of the contract. End of.

I spoke to ACAS and they were fantastic. Having gone through her contract with them they've stated she has a case for unfair employment and breach of contract. If you have any gripes - definitely a number to use. Am emailing her boss to set out her grievances before escalating this to a small claims court.

fiisch

Below is a template for the letter I am sending to her employer. Have I covered my bases? Do I need to say anything else? I have obviously changed the names of people/company involved!

Dear Ravi Patel,
I have been under contracted employment with Dodgy Care Ltd. since the 8th of August 2009. The terms of my contract dictate that I am entitled to full time hours, albeit subject to reasonable amendments to suit business needs. The actual employment offered has been far removed from the original terms offered, and I feel that you have breached the contract, and that our working relationship has not been mutually beneficial. I believe that the zero hours given is far from a reasonable amendment, and that my treatment has been very unfair. I also believe that you have deliberately misled me and my colleagues by promising various start dates on which you have consistently failed to deliver on.

On attending the interview for the role, you informed me that employment would commence on the successful return of the CRB check. I appreciate the difficulties of starting a business, but I have now patiently waited for over six months to begin work. Your reckless disregard for your employees has stunted my fledgling career and had a severe impact on both my professional and personal life.

Due to this, I have found myself massively out of pocket, and have accrued massive debt whilst waiting for you to offer me the employment under the terms set out at the start of the contract. I feel my position is now untenable and have been forced to consider alternative employment. I find this particularly frustrating as I turned down other job offers on commencing employment with Dodgy Care Ltd. As a result, I am writing to claim my losses, which I cautiously estimate at £3,000. The details of how I arrived at this figure are detailed below. If I have not received an offer to compensate my losses by the 13th March 2010, I will issue a county court claim against you.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs Fiisch

Employment Start Date: 08/08/2010 – CRB check should take no longer than 2 months
Working Full-Time at £7/hr at 40 hrs per week less tax since 08/10/2010: >£4,000
Wages earnt during this time at temporary bar work: £1,000

jdturk

I may have missed it but has your OH actually been offered a contract, ie something on paper that she has signed?

Letter looks good, I would be more accurate with your figures though, actually work it out plus what she has earnt from the bar job

fiisch

Yes she has a hard copy of a contract which she has signed. The hours of employment are set out as "40 hours per week which may be subject to reasonable amendment subject to business needs" (or words to that affect). That is the only allusion made in her contract to her hours, which doesn't seem watertight - even my contract which gives the employer more leaway than that!

HO87

Is this the approach ACAS suggested?

If it is, I am somewhat taken aback as there are issues that have not been addressed in your latter post and are certainly not addressed in your draft letter. I can understand that ACAS may have recommended writing to her employer but I have serious doubts that they recommended it be in the terms set out. Perhaps you could clarify?

Unfair employment? There has been no dismissal so this bit loses me I'm afraid. Breach of contract? Given that her employment was conditional on a satisfactory CRB check - and we don't know what the upshot of that is/was - she'll need to establish that the contract was ever in action before she could argue that there has been a breach of it.

One further question. Who is your gf's employer Ravi Patel or Ravi Patel Ltd for instance - in other words who or what is shown as her employer on her contract? (Suitably anonymised).

I would strongly recommend that you do not send a letter in the form you've set out at present.

jdturk

HO87 wrote: »

I would strongly recommend that you do not send a letter in the form you've set out at present.

I would have thought as an initial start it wouldn't be that bad, what would you suggest the OP do?

Phone ACAS is good advice though, definately a must before doing anything!!!

Emmzi

Strip out the emotional stuff (fledgling career, reckless disregard etc). It's not professional and won't help. If it goes to a formal hearing of some kind any adjudicator is going to look at it and think "bollox"

Back to the original question. On 8th August, she didn't turn up for work? Is the reason why documented? Can you post the terms of hher contract?

Still tthink you are too late. Still think this is a world of pain you don't need. But if you are determined to do it, let's do it properly...

fiisch

On the 8th of August she did not have a completed CRB check, so in fairness she could not have started then (I am not making a claim for this). She successfully completed the CRB mid September, at which point she expected work. She spoke to him to discuss working arrangements and he delayed her start date til the following week, a sign of things to come!

Her contract is set out as:
This Statement dated ...8th August 2009.. sets out the main terms of your employment with Dodgy Care Ltd., 1 Road, Crawley, RH11 11A, ("the Company"), which the company is required to provide to you under the Employment Rights Act 1996. This Statement together with your offer letter and the Employee Handbook form your written contract of employment.

Employee: Mrs Fiisch

Collective Agreements: There are no Collective Agreements affecting the terms of your employment.

Changes to Terms of Employment: The company reserves the right to make reasonable amendments to your statement of particulars of employment. Any changes or amendments to the terms of your employment will be confirmed to you in writing within one month of them taking effect.

Commencement of Employment: Your employment with this Company commenced on 08.08.2009.

Continuous Employment: Your continuous employment commenced on 08.08.2009.

Job Title: The title of the job which you are employed to do is: SUPPORT WORKER. The company may amend your duties from time to time, and, in addition-to your normal duties you may from time to time be required to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the business.

Hours of Work: Your normal hours of work will be 37.5 hours per week. The required hours will be worked flexibly in accordance with the published rota. These hours may fluctuate occasionally as necessitated by the needs of the business.

That's the parts of the contract relevant to this dispute. OK, I will redraft the letter making it more factual. But what other bases do I need to cover? I didn't overtly state that she had turned down other offers of employment, although felt this was implied sufficiently.

HO87

If your gf is now going to argue that she has been continuously employed since mid-September (that is when it seems that the satisfactory CRB check was received) how is she going to reconcile this with the claim for "unemployment benefit" (JSA?) she made up until November?

Is there a provision in the contract for her being laid-off?

fiisch

Looking at the CRB, she received that back on 08/10/2010, so that is when I've calculated her earnings from. In the final email, I've taken out anything seemingly overly emotional, and I've deducted wages paid by Dodgy Care Ltd. (she's had a smattering of hours training and had the odd shift averaging at about 10 hours a month), JSA allowance and other earnings from the bar. I've made all the estimates cautiously i.e.: over allowing her earnings and under-estimating her potential earnings. I've ignored his promises that plenty of overtime would be available etc. and lowered the claim as much as possible.

I have also ignored the stress and duress we have suffered as a result of not having work and the difficulties she had in claiming JSA. This is the final draft:

Dear Ravi Patel,

I have been under contracted employment with Dodgy Care Ltd. since the 8th of August 2009. The terms of my contract dictate that I am entitled to full-time hours, albeit subject to reasonable amendments to suit business needs. The actual employment delivered has been far removed from the original terms offered, and I feel that you have breached the contract, and that our working relationship has not been mutually beneficial. I believe that the handful of hours I have been given during training and one shift a week for the last month has been far from “a reasonable amendment”. I also believe that you have deliberately misled me and my colleagues by promising various start dates on which you have consistently failed to deliver on.

On attending the interview for the role, you informed me that employment would commence on the successful return of the CRB check. I appreciate the difficulties of starting a business, but I have now patiently waited for six months to begin work, having successfully completed my CRB on the 8th October 2009. My fledgling career has been stunted by Dodgy Care Ltd., and I believe that other potential employers may view me less favourably due to a period of inactivity.

Due to this, I have found myself massively out of pocket, and have accrued massive debt whilst waiting for you to offer me the employment under the terms set out at the start of the contract. I feel my position is now untenable and have been forced to consider alternative employment. I find this particularly frustrating as I turned down other job offers on commencing employment with Dodgy Care Ltd. After seeking independent advice, I am writing to claim my losses, which I cautiously estimate at £2,300. The details of how I arrived at this figure are detailed below. If I have not received an offer to compensate my losses by the 15th March 2010, I will issue a county court claim against you.

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs Fiisch

Employment Start Date after CRB: 08/10/2010
Working Full-Time at £7/hr at 40 hrs per week less tax since 08/10/2010: In excess of £4,050
Money gained during this time through JSA (claiming between September - December): £800
Money gained during this time through bar work: £450
Money gained during this time through Dodgy Care Ltd.: No more than £500