Disciplinary while on maternity..

surreysaver

purpleclaire788 wrote: »

However I am on week 6 of Maternity leave, was summoned into the office yesterday with the baby for "investigation" purposes...

Firstly I feel that they were totally out of order asking me to go in (sleep deprioved, with a sreaming baby, stitches etc etc) and I have asked for the matter to be dealt with upon my return in October.. not yet received a reply..

They should have waited until you return from Maternity Leave.

surreysaver

purpleclaire788 wrote: »

I dont intend this gross misconduct to go on my record, and would prefer to hand my notice in beforehand, however if I do, am I still entitled to my SMP till October (I have been working there 6 years) or does it end after my notice period?

If you hand your notice in, you will forfeit your right to the rest of your SMP. All you have to do is refuse to go in (they cannot force to to go in on KIT days), and just give the contractural notice before your Maternity Leave ends. By allowing them to conduct an investigation will provide them with evidence, and they could dismiss you. You are not required to provide them with this evidence whilst on Maternity Leave. And by refusing to talk to them, you may be protecting your colleagues as well!

dickydonkin

surreysaver wrote: »

If you hand your notice in, you will forfeit your right to the rest of your SMP. All you have to do is refuse to go in (they cannot force to to go in on KIT days), and just give the contractural notice before your Maternity Leave ends. By allowing them to conduct an investigation will provide them with evidence, and they could dismiss you. You are not required to provide them with this evidence whilst on Maternity Leave. And by refusing to talk to them, you may be protecting your colleagues as well!

But couldn't they conduct a disciplinary hearing in the OP's absence as a company's disciplinary procedure is still in force irrespective if the person is on maternity leave or not. As I hinted at earlier in this thread contact by a company during Compulsory Maternity Leave must be avoided and as Olly300 confirmed earlier in the thread this is two weeks after birth for office workers and six weeks for others.

jdturk

surreysaver wrote: »

Yes it does.

Apologies apparently so for a certain period of time (2-6 weeks dependant on what your work was) but not the full maternity leave....is that correct?

icarusimages

"Ah sorry, that does look terrible reading it like that lol, basically if we found a new claim (someone who'd had a accident and wanted to claim for it) our boss would give us £X for it, however by sending it outside to come back in, if you like, we got almost double. We were all being paid directly by the external referrer, not our employer - agreed, could have difficulty in arguing training, however we were only ever told "if you bring a new claim in we'll give you £X" that was it, nothing about not referring it externally etc "


Did you not think this practice was questionable? I think working in a legal framework where compliance and codes of practice and claims go hand in hand you might be hard pressed to argue that this appeared an acceptable practice. Did you raise this practice with your line management to questionas to whether it was appropriate or acceptable within the company?

dickydonkin

Did you not think this practice was questionable? I think working in a legal framework where compliance and codes of practice and claims go hand in hand you might be hard pressed to argue that this appeared an acceptable practice. Did you raise this practice with your line management to questionas to whether it was appropriate or acceptable within the company?

What does seem apparent however, is that the claims culture in this country is just getting out of hand.

And you wonder why our insurance policies are rocketing every year!

honeypop

jdturk wrote: »

Being on maternity leave doesn't give an automatic right to no contact from your employer, however if it is continuous and tantamount to harrasment then there is a problem

surreysaver wrote: »

Yes it does.

No, it doesn't.

jdturk wrote: »

Apologies apparently so for a certain period of time (2-6 weeks dependant on what your work was) but not the full maternity leave....is that correct?

Employers are allowed to contact you at ANY time of your maternity leave, the Direct.gov website states

Your employer is entitled to make reasonable contact with you during Statutory Maternity Leave.

You just aren't allowed to work any days (eg KIT days) during the compulsory leave (2-4 weeks depending on the job) - nothing says your employer can't contact you during that time.

surreysaver

Define reasonable. Surely interviews, investigations and disciplines count as working, so unless you agree and consent to it, then it is unlawful for them to do this. It would be reasonable to ask you to come in, but if you said no, then there is nothing they can do about it, and for them to go any further would be illegal.

Vader123

surreysaver wrote: »

Yes it does.

You are incorrect. An employer can (and in some cases has to) contact you during mat leave.

To not involve a lady off on mat leave in important decisions that happens whilst she is away can bring grievances.

Vader

onehitwonder

I think the original poster knows they are in the wrong. Seem crazy to me how anyone could think this was ok.

One question is though does the employer want to get rid of all four staff, or will they get away with a rap on the knuckles?

Hopefully they can't\won't single any one or two out and fire them. I suppose if they do and can't prove they were any more in the wrong than the others there could be a case for unfair dismissal?
Maybe the company is pressurising individuals hoping some will leave of their own accord?

One final question is was that extra money declared for tax purposes, or was it not high enough value?

Some solicitors give free consultations for 1 hour don't they? Maybe if they do the OP could make use of that?