Sacked while pregnant

dmg24

ssp_while_pregnant wrote: »

I know that hard work is not always enough but my reasons for being dismissed can not possibly be my fault as I was unaware that I had done anything wrong due to lack of training.

My emotional reaction is quite possibly extreme however I am so scared that I will not be able to give my child the basic of things when in my eyes the reasons for dismissal are unfair and I am not at fault for the company's lack of training.

Did you raise the lack of training at your disciplinary? Had you raised this issue before the disciplinary?

Your emotional reaction started prior to you being aware of your pregnancy.

By all means appeal your dismissal, they may offer you a compromise agreement so you do not have a dismissal on your cv. On the information given, I cannot see grounds for a PI action.

ssp_while_pregnant

dmg24 wrote: »

Did you raise the lack of training at your disciplinary? Had you raised this issue before the disciplinary?

Your emotional reaction started prior to you being aware of your pregnancy.

By all means appeal your dismissal, they may offer you a compromise agreement so you do not have a dismissal on your cv. On the information given, I cannot see grounds for a PI action.

I had raised the issue of lack of training at the disciplinary which they have not responded to.

I thought you meant my emotional reaction to being dismissed. I was obviously distressed by their actions before the pregnancy but since finding out that I could lose my job and subsequently have done (which I was not informed of until I told them about the pregnancy) it has caused more stress and health issues.

I have already got 3 solicitors who are happy to take the PI case on a no win no fee aswell as my home insurance saying that I am covered for it on my legal cover on my home insurance.

dmg24

ssp_while_pregnant wrote: »

I had raised the issue of lack of training at the disciplinary which they have not responded to.

I thought you meant my emotional reaction to being dismissed. I was obviously distressed by their actions before the pregnancy but since finding out that I could lose my job and subsequently have done (which I was not informed of until I told them about the pregnancy) it has caused more stress and health issues.

I have already got 3 solicitors who are happy to take the PI case on a no win no fee aswell as my home insurance saying that I am covered for it on my legal cover on my home insurance.

As mentioned earlier, you do not want a no win no fee sol for such a case, it is far too complex.

You need to sit down with someone who will play devils advocate and go through the situation with you. It is not nearly as cut and dried as you believe it to be.

mountainofdebt

OP - just a word of warning.

You may have it covered on your house insurance but, as I found out last year, unless in the eyes of the solicitors that are appointed (you can't pick and chose your own) you have a 51% chance of winning after they examine all the documentation, they will not take on the case under your house insurance.

Annisele

I'm afraid that, the way I read your post, it suggests that you can't actually do the job that you were employed to do. You may well have extremely good reasons for that, and you may have worked extremely hard, but the fact remains that your employer can't be expected to pay you indefinitely for a job that you're not doing.

Sometimes (certainly not always) when people suffer work related stress it's a sign that they're not suited for that type of job - it doesn't necessarily mean that the employer was at fault.

From what you've posted, I suspect that if it's possible to obtain a compromise agreement, that might be your best option. You mentioned a union rep - what does your union say about all of this?

ejc81

ssp_while_pregnant wrote: »

My emotional reaction is quite possibly extreme however I am so scared that I will not be able to give my child the basic of things when in my eyes the reasons for dismissal are unfair and I am not at fault for the company's lack of training.

You're emotional reaction is probably more than extreme. You are pregnant! You cannot be expected to act as you would have if you were not pregnant. I had a nightmare at work the last time I was pregnant as I was so emotionally unstable due to hormones. I was over-reacting to things I wouldn't usually even blink at. Thankfully I was surrounded by a good team who knew me well, you obviously were not

HO87

You have raised a number of issues in your posts and it is difficult - without the benefit of knowing what was said at the investigation meeting; your disciplinary meeting and, what it is that the company have alleged in far more detail - to give you anything other than very general guidance.

First, contrary to what has been posted above (and confirmed by others) a summary dismissal is a rare beast indeed these days and no company handbook can or will ever supply a definitive list of possible gross misconduct offences. A short list of examples will usually be outlined and that is all.

Secondly, as far as an employer is concerned they do not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty of a gross misconduct to dismiss you. The person actually deciding to dismiss need only reasonably believe that to be the case for the dismissal to be both fair and lawful. There is ample case law to back this up even in situations where the person has subsequently been shown to be entirely innocent, courts have held that provided the company had a reasonable belief at the time of the dismissal, (aside from having followed a proper procedure) then that is what counts. I appreciate that this is not what you want to hear but there is little point in avoiding the fact.

Thirdly, few companies of any size do not have a computer use policy. A company has every right to protect its postion - imagine if an employee was using a company computer to run their own business from rather than the company's, for example, or was downloading or viewing !!!!!! (and this is by no means a rare event). Policies of this nature inevitably (IME) reserve the right to monitor computer usage. Although this is something of a prickly area you cannot expect the level of privacy at work one might otherwise expect at home when posting on FB, for example.

As for a compromise agreement, frankly, forget it. You have been dismissed and unless you appeal and this opens up otherwise previously unaddressed matters and the company falters it simply isn't going to come to anything approaching such an agreement. A CA is extremely unlikely IMHO as far as a psychological injury is concerned.

Do not bother with a NWNF solicitor for your potential PI claim. If that is an avenue you continue to want to explore then you need some very specific advice and may have to pay for it. As has been said attempting to prove a psychological injury is difficult, will not be settled overnight by any manner of means and is far more likely to drag on for many, many months. So rare are these cases that your previous employer is unlikely to roll over and are far more likely on the basis of any sensible legal advice to put you to "strict proof" which will oblige you to prove that a psychological injury has actually been caused and that there is a clear and direct causal link between it and the actions of the company (through its managers). IMO this will create a substantial legal mountain to climb much of which you are likely to have to fund yourself as I cannot envisage many NWNF merchants taking it as far as court (despite what they may say at the outset and before they get you sign up for the inevitable legal insurance such deals entail).

If you want some far more definitive advice I suggest that you contact ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) via their Helpline on 08457 474747 Mon-Fri 08.00-20.00, Sat 09.00-13.00. Their advice is free and in my experience is clear, concise and reliable. You could try the CAB but much as I applaud their efforts generally the chances of you getting to speak to an employment specialist are small and actually speaking to any member of staff - other than briefly by phone - may involve a wait of a week or two. Many of their advisors also work from crib notes which are sometimes out-of-date and far too general and to my way of thinking this hardly instils any great confidence.

Uncertain

HO87's post is excellent.

The only area where I would differ is regarding the possibility of CA. IME this depends not only on the strength of your case but also on the company's desire to avoid hassle and possible bad publicity.

Yes, in a perfect world, this should not come into it. There is sometime a paranoia about possible litigation that is out of all proportion to the risk. "Warning contents may be hot" on a coffee cup is a good example! The fact that you are pregnant and there are medical issues may well increase the possibility of a settlement.

Fighting a case such as this will cost the company money, win or lose. I agree that is not "right" but is is a fact. I agree a NWNF lawyer for the PI claim is not ideal if you really want to go the distance. However it may be enough to provoke a settlement. Also an ET claim for UD will cost you nothing to instigate. They will make threats about costs but they will know that the chances of them being awarded will be next to zero. You would have to do far more than just lose. You case would have to be considered vexatious or totally without merit which seems unlikely. Their costs will clock up all the time and, as I said above, they will not want the possible publicity given the pregnancy issues. If they offer a modest CA it will include a confidentiality agreement so they may take the path of least resistance.

Best of luck.

HO87

Uncertain's comments are fair but I would add that were the OP to pursue an unfair dismissal claim to Tribunal then she will have to appeal the dismissal via the company's disciplinary process first. My fear there is that she may already have run out of time although this obviously depends upon the time limits the company has set out.

ssp_while_pregnant

Annisele wrote: »

I'm afraid that, the way I read your post, it suggests that you can't actually do the job that you were employed to do. You may well have extremely good reasons for that, and you may have worked extremely hard, but the fact remains that your employer can't be expected to pay you indefinitely for a job that you're not doing.

Sometimes (certainly not always) when people suffer work related stress it's a sign that they're not suited for that type of job - it doesn't necessarily mean that the employer was at fault.

From what you've posted, I suspect that if it's possible to obtain a compromise agreement, that might be your best option. You mentioned a union rep - what does your union say about all of this?

I was employed to do a job which I did do successfully by hitting target. I was then moved to a different team and dispite asking for training several times I never got it.

I agree that the stress is usually a sign that the person is not suited to the job however the distress I suffered had nothing to do with the role but the fact that I was being asked to go above and beyond any other member of staff in the same role and then penalised when I could not achieve the impossible.

I would be happy with a compromise agreement. No matter how I feel I have been treated by this company I have no intention in attempting to extort rediculous amounts of money out of them, just enough to compensate me for the company maternity benefits I will now not receive which does not equate to much but will make all the difference in those first few months of my baby's life and also any lost wages that they didn't pay me while I was away with work related stress.

My union rep has said this shouldn't be a problem. And that they do not take cases to tribunal unless they are sure of a win.