Made redundant - union refuses support

Sambucus_Nigra

Curious person - what answer are you looking for?

getmore4less

curiousperson wrote: »

I had asked for advice / tips about how to get some kind of legal expenses insurance.

Hindsight/retrospective insurance is almost impossible to get and usualy only if you don't mention the claim you want to make.

Think, missed flight , house burning down,car crash etc.

Even if you could get it if they new there was a case/claim it would be expensive(high risk like preexistng condition on travel) and if they did'nt they would find out and cover would be lost.


Check you house policy for cover.


Have you been made redundant or not?

What sort of contract were you on any conditions
how long have you worked etc.

You may be suprised by the helpfull answers you get if you flesh out your situation and it is all free and from people that have a broad range of experience and opinions with employemnt situations and employment law.

Case or not it is not clear if you even have a job and if not how you were terminated.

hcb42

TBH, OP , it sounds like you still have your job.

The best thing to do is get fit (I hope it is something where that is an option) then head down and concentrate on truly improving your performance. When you are achieving their expectations it will open far more doors (both with this current employer and for your future career) than spending time and energy trying to pursue a legal challenge - which has no chance of success anyway as others have pointed out. Unions do not normally back away from an issue where there is a clear wrong-doing - so that in itself is a warning flag.

I am shocked if you were told otherwise at ACAS. Most laypeople can see there is no case to answer here.

Hammyman

hcb42 wrote: »

I am shocked if you were told otherwise at ACAS. Most laypeople can see there is no case to answer here.

Unfortunately the level and worth of advice at ACAS depends on who you speak to. The problem is it has built up a reputation for some reason amongst the general public as being "the law" with what they say having legal standing and what it says being automatically right when in fact all ACAS is is a non-governmental arbitration service with no legal powers to force anyone to do anything.

An employer doesn't even have to give ACAS the time of day.

dmg24

Hammyman wrote: »

Unfortunately the level and worth of advice at ACAS depends on who you speak to. The problem is it has built up a reputation for some reason amongst the general public as being "the law" with what they say having legal standing and what it says being automatically right when in fact all ACAS is is a non-governmental arbitration service with no legal powers to force anyone to do anything.

An employer doesn't even have to give ACAS the time of day.

I recently saw a case where an employer was told by ACAS that, because he did not wish to contest a claim against him, he could just ignore all paperwork and did not need to attend the hearing. The result - a 50% uplift in the award.

SarEl

dmg24 wrote: »

I recently saw a case where an employer was told by ACAS that, because he did not wish to contest a claim against him, he could just ignore all paperwork and did not need to attend the hearing. The result - a 50% uplift in the award.

I know I have said this before elsewhere, but can I clarify again for everyone's benefit? ACAS was, at the time of the repeal of the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures in 2009. reorganised / restructured. This was, at least in part, due to the increasing pressures on the service. The public facing service (the one that you phone) is a call centre. The staff have minimal training and mostly work from "scripts". They have about as much training in employment matters (not law!) as the average advice worker.

ACAS employs some of the finest industrial mediators in the world - not one of them will be picking up the phone when you call About the only thing that can be said for the advice you will get is that is isn't coming from India - yet! I think! You may as well phone BT and get Colin from Banglaore for the benefit you will get phoning the CAS line - they cannot handle anything but the simplest of enquiries, and often not even those.

It is a regret that this essential service has been dumbed down - but it has.

Horace

OP you would be well advised to listen to the legal experts such as Sar El. As an ex-branch secretary of Unison, I would say that you have no valid complaint and certainly not one that would win a tribunal case.

ACAS as a mediation service is ok as an advice service then it isnt it is just like ringing up your bank with its offshore call centre whose staff read from prepared scripts and no matter how you phrase your question the staff cannot deviate from the prepared script.

It is better that you concentrate on improving your health and improving your performance to keep you in a job because in case you haven't noticed we are in the middle of a recession and there are millions of unemployed people out there looking for work. Maybe when you have shown consistent improvement in your performance, your employer may be willing to fund a training course for you.