My Employment Tribunal CLaim: A Question or Two

Suhari

I am taking my former employer to an Employment Tribunal: unfair dismissal by way of redundancy. ET1 has been completed and accepted.

I have a question regarding a Subject Access Request, and will no doubt have further questions as things progress. I’ll stick the question on a second post to this thread.

My claim relates to redundancy in April 2010. To set the scene….

In Spring 2009 a round of redundancies were announced. It was not undertaken in line with accepted process. Prior to doing the assessment in which members of my team would be assessed for redundancy I was asked, in an ‘off the record’ meeting, whether I would be happy to work at a salary 25% lower than my current one. I said no. I was made redundant. But in the event the redundancy did not happen: company had a change of heart, found some cash behind the sofa or something.

In summer 2009 there was a second round of redundancy. 2 days prior to me going on holiday for 2 weeks I was invited to an ‘off the record’ meeting, and told that if I accepted a 20% pay cut, I would have a job when I returned from holiday. I saw no option but to accept. Someone else was laid off. After a lot of discussions on the specifics of my new contract (including my boss shouting/swearing/threatening me: I then raised a grievance which was ‘swept under the carpet’) I signed my new contract.

Fastforward to Spring 2010: I was asked to take a new role, which would have changed the nature of my job completely: the company said it would not require a new contract. Various meetings followed, with me refusing to take on the new role: it was not in line with my skills, and was not a particularly interesting role. During one meeting I was told that if I did not accept the role I would be made redundant. Given my experience with the company, and the previous ‘off the record’ meetings, I had invested in a Dictaphone……

3 weeks later it was announced there would be cost cutting in the team: I was invited to a meeting to discuss possible cost saving measures, one of which would be redundancy. 4 days later, whilst I was off sick (I was only off for 5 days in total); I was informed that the decision had been made to make 1 member of the team redundant; the letter included some very weak selection criteria against which we would be assessed. 2 days later I received a letter informing me I had been made redundant, and was not required to come back to the office (except to drop of laptop etc). I called the office and my boss confirmed they did not want me to come in.

My ET claim is for Unfair Dismissal, based on a failure to follow process, and my belief that my selection was pre-determined. Specific points being:

• Lack of effective consultation (no consultation at all following announcement of redundancy)
• Failure of the company to allow me to be accompanied to relevant meetings
• Poor selection criteria: and a failure to show how I had been scored, or to discuss the scoring with me
• Failure of the company to give me the right to appeal the decision (I understand this makes it 'Automatically Unfair')
• My boss’s comments that if I did not accept the new role I would be made redundant

2 days after I was made redundant I tried to access the company network to check emails etc (no handover was arranged with the company, and clients were chasing me for work). I was not able to log in: my account had been suspended. Clearly this prevented me getting access to my outlook diary, which I wanted to do to confirm dates of meetings and other emails regarding redundancy.

Suhari

I want to get hold of a copy of my outlook diary for the past few months, along with emails to me from my boss regarding the proposed new role etc. Plus a copy of my personnel file.

Am I entitled to copies of these emails etc?

When I lodge my SAR, do I need to specify the information I want?

Any advice on this welcome.

Quiet_Life

Check out this link for info
http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/personal_information_toolkit.aspx

isplumm

Suhari wrote: »

I am taking my former employer to an Employment Tribunal: unfair dismissal by way of redundancy. ET1 has been completed and accepted.

I have a question regarding a Subject Access Request, and will no doubt have further questions as things progress. I’ll stick the question on a second post to this thread.

My claim relates to redundancy in April 2010. To set the scene….

In Spring 2009 a round of redundancies were announced. It was not undertaken in line with accepted process. Prior to doing the assessment in which members of my team would be assessed for redundancy I was asked, in an ‘off the record’ meeting, whether I would be happy to work at a salary 25% lower than my current one. I said no. I was made redundant. But in the event the redundancy did not happen: company had a change of heart, found some cash behind the sofa or something.

In summer 2009 there was a second round of redundancy. 2 days prior to me going on holiday for 2 weeks I was invited to an ‘off the record’ meeting, and told that if I accepted a 20% pay cut, I would have a job when I returned from holiday. I saw no option but to accept. Someone else was laid off. After a lot of discussions on the specifics of my new contract (including my boss shouting/swearing/threatening me: I then raised a grievance which was ‘swept under the carpet’) I signed my new contract.

Fastforward to Spring 2010: I was asked to take a new role, which would have changed the nature of my job completely: the company said it would not require a new contract. Various meetings followed, with me refusing to take on the new role: it was not in line with my skills, and was not a particularly interesting role. During one meeting I was told that if I did not accept the role I would be made redundant. Given my experience with the company, and the previous ‘off the record’ meetings, I had invested in a Dictaphone……

3 weeks later it was announced there would be cost cutting in the team: I was invited to a meeting to discuss possible cost saving measures, one of which would be redundancy. 4 days later, whilst I was off sick (I was only off for 5 days in total); I was informed that the decision had been made to make 1 member of the team redundant; the letter included some very weak selection criteria against which we would be assessed. 2 days later I received a letter informing me I had been made redundant, and was not required to come back to the office (except to drop of laptop etc). I called the office and my boss confirmed they did not want me to come in.

My ET claim is for Unfair Dismissal, based on a failure to follow process, and my belief that my selection was pre-determined. Specific points being:

• Lack of effective consultation (no consultation at all following announcement of redundancy)
• Failure of the company to allow me to be accompanied to relevant meetings
• Poor selection criteria: and a failure to show how I had been scored, or to discuss the scoring with me
• Failure of the company to give me the right to appeal the decision (I understand this makes it 'Automatically Unfair')
• My boss’s comments that if I did not accept the new role I would be made redundant

2 days after I was made redundant I tried to access the company network to check emails etc (no handover was arranged with the company, and clients were chasing me for work). I was not able to log in: my account had been suspended. Clearly this prevented me getting access to my outlook diary, which I wanted to do to confirm dates of meetings and other emails regarding redundancy.

I am no expert on redundancy - have you looked at this page http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/employment/redundancyandleavingyourjob/index.htm - I used it when I was getting made redundant.

Mark

iamana1ias

As far as I know your personal diary wouldn't be covered by a SAR.

Suhari

Thanks all.

I am comfirtable with the redundacy side of things, and believe I have a very strong case. Just the detail of what I can ask for in an SAR that I am a little unclear on.

Will check out the links....

zzzLazyDaisy

If you can identify the documents that you need, you can ask the tribunal to make an order for disclosure of those documents. However you cannot go on a 'fishing expedition' and just ask for 'all e-mails on my computer' or whatever, you need to be specific.

The first thing you must do is to write to the employer and make a formal request for copies of the documents giving them 14 days to reply.

If you don't get the documents, write again and tell them that if you do not receive the requested documents by 4pm on (insert a date 7 days away) you will apply to the tribunal for an order for disclosure.

If you still don't get the documents, then you need to write to the tribunal, enclosing copies of your letters to the employer, explain why these documents are essential to your case, and ask them to order the respondent to provide copies to you.

But first you should sit down and make sure that you have listed all the documents that you need to see, as multiple requests will be frowned on.

Also, don't be surprised if they say the e-mails have since been deleted from the server. If that happens all you can do is to insist that their letter informing you of this is included in the bundle of documents, and raise the issue at the eventual tribunal hearing as the tribunal can't make a disclosure order for documents that no longer exist.

Hope this helps

Daisy

woody01

Sorry OP, but even though the ET was accepted, which means it is HIGHLY likely you will win, i would bet anything you like that you pick up less than £1000.

zzzLazyDaisy

woody01 wrote: »

Sorry OP, but even though the ET was accepted, which means it is HIGHLY likely you will win, i would bet anything you like that you pick up less than £1000.

OP please don't take any notice of Woody.

Firstly anyone can make a claim to a tribunal, and unless the claim is out of time, it will be accepted. The suggestion that because a case is accepted it has a high chance of success is simply nonsense.

Also it is impossible to give an indication of likely compensation without knowing all the facts as compensation is calculated by reference to your own loss of earnings as a result of the dismissal, including whether you have found alternative employment and, if not, what steps you have taken to do so.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Daisy

Suhari

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

If you can identify the documents that you need, you can ask the tribunal to make an order for disclosure of those documents. However you cannot go on a 'fishing expedition' and just ask for 'all e-mails on my computer' or whatever, you need to be specific.

The first thing you must do is to write to the employer and make a formal request for copies of the documents giving them 14 days to reply.

If you don't get the documents, write again and tell them that if you do not receive the requested documents by 4pm on (insert a date 7 days away) you will apply to the tribunal for an order for disclosure.

If you still don't get the documents, then you need to write to the tribunal, enclosing copies of your letters to the employer, explain why these documents are essential to your case, and ask them to order the respondent to provide copies to you.

But first you should sit down and make sure that you have listed all the documents that you need to see, as multiple requests will be frowned on.

Also, don't be surprised if they say the e-mails have since been deleted from the server. If that happens all you can do is to insist that their letter informing you of this is included in the bundle of documents, and raise the issue at the eventual tribunal hearing as the tribunal can't make a disclosure order for documents that no longer exist.

Hope this helps

Daisy

Great stuff - thanks!

Suhari

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

OP please don't take any notice of Woody.

Firstly anyone can make a claim to a tribunal, and unless the claim is out of time, it will be accepted. The suggestion that because a case is accepted it has a high chance of success is simply nonsense.

Also it is impossible to give an indication of likely compensation without knowing all the facts as compensation is calculated by reference to your own loss of earnings as a result of the dismissal, including whether you have found alternative employment and, if not, what steps you have taken to do so.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Daisy

Many thanks.

So, the SAR has gone in. The company has until 9 June to complete their ET3, and I wait with bated breath.

ACAS have made initial contact by letter, saying the will be in touch in the next couple of weeks.

I fully expect the company will look to defend...all manner of reasons - some of them intersting from a company/individual culture point of view - which I will post depending on what happens after 9th.

Meanwhile, the job search goes on.