Wife told to leave company

Mr_Mike

Hi,

My wife has been employed at a company, a fairly professional white-collar engineering firm, since about June last year. She passed her 6 month probation period without issue and was made a permanent employee in December.

Last Friday she was called into a meeting (in itself nothing unusual) but found instead of just her line manager there, the MD was there too. They then told her that due to a 'lack of personal chemistry' they would be asking her to leave. No warnings, no grievance procedure instigated, nothing in writing, all she got was that they were prepared to give her a couple of months to find something else, and would allow her time to attend interviews.

They said there was no problem with her work, and the regular meetings she has had, both for day-to-day work matters and for management touchy-feely type meetings, haven't led her in any way to believe this may be coming. It really was a bolt out the blue, completely unexpected.

It is true she doesn't always see eye to eye with her line manager, but that's nothing unusual for the manager in question - she's not popular amongst other staff there either! This has never turned into a row or argument or anything like it; it's more that she has a rant in my direction after she's got home in the evening!

Anyone have any suggestions for what to do next? She asked to have the weekend to think about it, and on Monday she wil say she is seeking advice before responding, to buy a little time. We will also be speaking to her union rep for professional advice (she has just joined Unison), but I wondered what the congregation here thought?

Thanks,
Mike

Sulli

She's unable to claim unfair dismissal if she has been there under a year, with the exception of if it's linked to discrimination or trade union membership.
She should instigate a grievance and hopefully challenge them under their disciplinary policy which they may have breached.
Unfortunately the law allows for this in that employers are able to get rid of staff if they feel like it before a year - as she's a woman can she link any of this to her sex, are other male employees treated differently?
Best bet to get a decent outcome is make clear you will challenge this all the way, make a big fuss and cause them problems and they'll compromise her out with a payoff, maybe.

DVardysShadow

No point in fighting with too much invested, basically you are playing it right I feel - unless line manger is way out of line. Play it cool. Let them come back and ask what the decision is, rather than burst to tell them. Then she could fight it as Sulli suggests

Diary note Friday's meeting. As and when she gets another job, she could consider leaving immediately, on the basis that she has been given notice.

dseventy

As she has been employed less than a year, she has no employment rights, and can be sacked for any reason, or not given one! (of course she cant be sacked on discrimination grounds, ie gender, age, race etc).

I would move on and not fight it and put any energies into finding a new job.

I would try to build into any discussions the issues of her reference, either positive and based on her work, or neutral based on her position held, dates etc.

D70

Mrs_Murray_PLC

The only recourse you could potentially have is under 'wrongful dismissal', otherwise classed as breach of contract on the part of the employer. Usually, this happens in relation to not enough notice, but under your wifes circumstances, it sounds unlikely that they are following their normal policy for dismissal. Check the handbook and contract to see what the dismissal policy is. In the vast majority of cases, there is usually a procedure that is followed, including formal warnings etc. It may be that you could get them this way.

Unfortunately, there isn't much else you could do.

shikoku

I suspect a lot of companies are doing this sort of thing at the moment, possibly as a knee jerk reaction just after the accountant has visited, try not to take it personally.

I got a glowing review at my last place, a month later my contract was terminated because my work was 'not up to standard', as was that of everyone else who had been working the same - recently lost - contracts.

We were all given the same letter citing poor performance, only the names where changed!

We are living in interesting times.

Mr_Mike

Thanks to all for their replies - they pretty much sum up what we thought after doing a little research ourselves.

There is however a piece of information I deliberately left out my initial post, because I didn't want it to cloud any reactions. That is, my wife is 2 months pregnant, and at least 2 people at work know about it. We don't believe either of them have deliberately said anything to a manager, but it's possible (they both know the other knows) they had a conversation and it was overheard.

I can't believe the company would be quite so stupid as to sack her having just found this out - it would lay them wide open to a tribunal, and in any case, any problem with personal chemistry more or less solves itself in 6 months time anyway!

It's just so disappointing; the vast majority of the people in the company she gets on well with, it's close to home, pay isn't bad and after years of temping she'd found something permanent - and now this. Also, the work she's been doing for most of the last 9 months wasn't really the work she was taken on to do (lots of recruitment stuff, she's meant to be a PA) and tomorrow a recruitment specialist starts work so my wife could get on with what she was meant to be doing all along. She had actually been quite looking forward to the next few months after not really enjoying the recruitment bit!

System

Nothing changes then. If only 2 people in work know and you are sure they haven't spilt the beans then advice stands.

DVardysShadow

Mr_Mike wrote: »

Thanks to all for their replies - they pretty much sum up what we thought after doing a little research ourselves.

OK, I would suggest that you approach this in a very cynical way. She should go in tomorrow as bright and cheerful as ever possible and announce her pregnancy as loudly as possible to anyone and everyone - as in " I told X and Y last week and now I am telling you all"'

That will make it far more difficult for them to move her on. All she has to do is survive until week 31 ....

If they apply any more pressure, she just has to say "Are you trying to get rid of me because I am pregnant?"

Sulli

I disagree, it changes everything. There's a prima facie case for discrimination, and it is likely that the employers found out and made a cynical move to dismiss to save themselves maternity pay, recruitment etc etc.
My original advice stands, in that you make clear that you will challenge this, and with the fact she's pregnant your negotiation stance is stronger. Raise a grievance stating that you feel unfairly treated to which you can only put down to the fact that you are pregnant, as there are no other performance issues.

Googlewhacker

Sulli wrote: »

I disagree, it changes everything. There's a prima facie case for discrimination, and it is likely that the employers found out and made a cynical move to dismiss to save themselves maternity pay, recruitment etc etc.
My original advice stands, in that you make clear that you will challenge this, and with the fact she's pregnant your negotiation stance is stronger. Raise a grievance stating that you feel unfairly treated to which you can only put down to the fact that you are pregnant, as there are no other performance issues.

Thing is how do you prove that management knew before starting procedures in dismissal, if you can do this then yes you would most likely have a case. If not then management only need to follow through with the dismissal stating that your wife had not informed them before procedures started.