my mate got the sack. help please!

djdido2

hi there


my mate has been sacked from her full time job. she is very shocked as it was a bit unexpected. there reason was gross misconduct (she had been sending internal emails at work, non offensive and only the odd one) everyone has been doing this but she is the only person to be sacked.

today she got her letter and it stated gross misconduct but there was no reason given. it also says therefore you are not entitled to notice pay. she has been there just over 12 months.

she asked me to post here on her behalf as she knows i,m on here regularly.

thing is she is a single mum and claims wtc. she rents a house and it isnt cheap. i am really worried for her as she wont be able to pay her rent.

she categorically does not want to go back to income support and will more than likely find a new job soon but with it being so near to xmas she might struggle. could she carry on claiming wtc until she finds another job.

if she tried to claim housing benefit surely this would fail if she is no longer employed??


sorry its a bit long

any help/support really appreciated!!

thanks

d

shellsuit

If she has young kids then she will have no problem claiming for housing ben/CT and if while she is not working she may aswell claim income support just to tide her over until she finds something else.

djdido2

she has a nursery place for her child and they require 4 weeks notice so how will she get the money for this. i'll let her know about claiming IS.

cheers shell

x

jobbingmusician

This sacking sounds a bit iffy to me. I can't see how sending emails comes under the heading of gross misconduct (which is the only grounds on which you can be sacked). Does your mate have a copy of the firm's disciplinary policy? If not, the sacking is likely to me automatically unfair. If the disc policy does not mention emails as a gross misconduct offence, the sacking is also likely to be unfair.

If your mate takes the employer to tribunal for unfair dismissal, it is EXTREMELY unlikely to cost her anything. look here for more details. She has only 3 months from the date of dismissal to file a tribunal.

Chewbacca_3

She could contact ACAS for advice regarding the job loss. From her housing point of view try calling the charity Shelter for advice. My partner is a core advisor for them and they deal with advice on housing related issues as this and not just homelessness as some people believe. They will tell her her rights and standpoint, as sometimes councils and stuff try to fob people off when there are legal requirements that they try to ignore. There free helpline is open from 8am to midnight everyday so theres still time to call tonight, sorry I don't have the number

Woby_Tide

companies aren't stupid though, they must have fairly damning evidence to avoid running the risk of a case for unfair dismissal. Are all her emails honestly above board etc. and not contravening any policies i.e discussing other staff/wages/accusations. To skip both written and verbal warnings sounds harsh, get as much info as you can if you want to try and fight back, and make sure it's the truth, if the company can provide evidence straight off of something untoward it would really undo any case she might have

Chewbacca_3

Woby Tide is right companies aren't stupid but sometimes they get it wrong. I also go on the sheffield forum and a girl got the sack on their for what semed like dubious reasons and she hadn't been there that long. After seeking advice on the forum she pursued a case for wrongful dismissal. She got reinstated and compensated and someone in the management area was 'moved'. So its certainly worth looking at, and seeking specialist advice. If I remmeber rightly she won because the proper procedures hadn't been followed by the company.

djdido2

she was allowed to use her pc in dinner hour for personal use and she updated her cv. she thinks that someone has found out about this and thats why she has been sacked but i think she is just searching for answers. she is going to contact the employer and ask for the reason(s) in writing.

thanks to you peeps who have replied. much appreciated.

digp

and lodge an appeal?

ManAtHome

Woudn't think it'd be the CV updating - as others have commented, companies are well aware of tribunals etc these days. If the "odd email" circulated contained anything sexist, racist, heightist, whatever-ist (a lot of "ists" are normally covered in computer-use policies), she's llikely to be on a loser.

Normally best first stop is the union - is she a member?

nickmack

As others have said, it's difficult to say without the full facts being known.

With respect, she has relayed to you and you have relayed to us, so the scenario may not be completely accurate.

If she does genuinely believe that she's been unfairly dismissed and/or she has been singled out, she can take them to a tribunal and let them decide.