Can i claim unfair dismissal?

3LITTLEPIGS_2

[ However, the accusation of taking stock without any evidence is slander, and he is taking legal advice over this (that'll scare them!)

Love this bit and will be adding it to the letter!!

dfdemello

Hi Threelittlepigs,

It doesnt matter that he has no paper contract as the "contract" has been formed over the 17 years that your husband has turned up for work, done a days work and been paid for it.

If your husband believes he was a bit hasty (I personally think he was), he should contact the manager asap and say that he was shocked and angry by the accusation but will be returning to work on Monday. Even if he said "I am leaving" or "I resign", I think he should still be able to link this to the "shock and anger" of the initial accusation and that he wishes to continue carry on working and, if they want to pursue this further, they will need to follow their disciplinary procedure. If they refuse to take him back on the basis of what he said, even if your husband says it was due to the shock and anger of the accusation, this will be a bit harsh and may show that someone in the company has a problem with him. I think ACAS will then be able to give advice and probably get involved. You may also then want to consider seeing an employment lawyer (they usually offer the first hour at a discounted rate).
I would also suggest your husband starts making notes of all conversations, including his last one when he left.

If the company still wants to pursue the allegation of theft then it will need to follow a disciplinary procedure. If they are going to take this further I would expect them to suspend him (on full pay) and investigate the allegation further. Once they have gathered any evidence (which your husband would be able to see) through interviews etc. they would be expected to hold a meeting in which they would put their case and your husband his (i.e. he didnt do it and this is why). If your husband is in a Union they can be involved in this whole process from the start and will be able to offer guidance.

If they follow this procedure and from the "evidence" it would be reasonably expected your husband did steal i.e. it was found in his possession, he didnt follow a specific procedure then the company would be in a position to dismiss him without notice. In cases of theft you would also expect the police to be involved. If there is no evidence presented then it can go no further. If your husband did not follow a procedure, for example, he may possibly get a warning.

I really do think your husband should get back to work and see what the company's next move is. I would not write a letter at this stage and still seek advice from ACAS as soon as you can on Monday. What did your husband actually say and do when he left? Why does one of the brothers not believe your husband took anything and how do you know this? Have the Police been called? Your husband may feel he has to eat "humble pie" but in the long term (your financial position, the difficulty he may have in finding another job) this may be better all round (sorry!)

Hope this helps.

prudryden

Very very good post mello!!!

3LITTLEPIGS_2

it would be impossible to return-how could it work.....17 years of trust gone down the drain in a accusation-should this of been dealt with formally-should he of received a warning or letter first or as i would of thought a letter to every employee stating things are going missing and they are taking steps to find out who.....
there is no cctv camera in the whole building and everyone of the 15 men who do the same job as my husband all have a key and could enter the building where the stock is kept at ANY time and no-one would be the wiser as no-one is there at weekends.
i understand where people are coming from about going back but this isn't a big company-apparently everyone was told that he left due to intenting to steal. Only about 20 people work there and he has to work closely with the man who accused him so how could this go on???
Knowing them they will be adamant that he chose to leave but as nothing was in writing how can anything be proved? The boss who accused him told his brother on the phone he had been sacked. The other boss has said no your aren't sacked-you left.(he obviously realises the implications of being sacked on no proof)

3LITTLEPIGS_2

just bumping.........

prudryden

He NEEDS to go back to work as if nothing happened. Then the next move has to be by the partners. By going back, he has put the pressure on the partners to give him a reason as to just why he isn't allowed to continue. If he is going to get anything out of this, he needs to get everything in writing.
He should not speak to anyone or voice any of his opinions (other than I did nothing wrong) to colleagues. Best is to ignore them.

Shazmar_2

Hi 3littlepigs. Be very careful, no where in your post have you mentioned that your husband actually resigned. You stated he left saying he would be "back on Monday to sort out final details". Tell him to go back on Monday and insist on a meeting with boss to clear up the situation, (if he does not go back this may be seen as an admission of guilt). Tell him to say things were said in the heat of the moment by him and (probably) the boss. Say he left so as to diffuse the situation and that he always intended to come in to clear things up. If the boss insists he is guilty then insist on getting the police involved (if he did nothing wrong he has nothing to worry about), you are innocent until proven guilty. If the boss does not want him there while the police investigate then he can put him on suspension or garden leave until the investigation is complete. In any case he must return to work on Monday.

dfdemello

"it would be impossible to return-how could it work.....17 years of trust gone down the drain in a accusation (the accusation should not have been made in the first place to your husband....in any work environment, small, medium or large, a boss going up to an employee and saying your have stolen something with no proof is totally unfair.)-should this of been dealt with formally (Yes, with the procedure, timescale, possible outcomes explained beforehand)-should he of received a warning or letter first (No, without an investigation or an opportunity for your husband to put his case forward this is unfair - he should have received a letter asking him to attend a meeting to discuss and if they are alleging theft which is considered gross misconduct, he should have been suspended beforehand to allow an investigation to be carried out) or as i would of thought a letter to every employee stating things are going missing and they are taking steps to find out who (Depends on the situation, if there is a specific incident that the company is linking to your husband then they have every right to suspend, investigate and hold a hearing based on their disciplinary procedure, if they have one!).....
there is no cctv camera in the whole building and everyone of the 15 men who do the same job as my husband all have a key and could enter the building where the stock is kept at ANY time and no-one would be the wiser as no-one is there at weekends. (On the face of it, without any evidence to prove your husband "stole" something and with no security or checks in place it would be impossible for the company to back their allegation up. Another issue is what they are now classifying as "stealing" may actually be what most of the other workers might be doing or have done in the past.)
i understand where people are coming from about going back but this isn't a big company-apparently everyone was told that he left due to intenting to steal. (I understand why your husband may find this difficult but you say he has done nothing wrong so why should he feel uncomfortable? If I was him I would be pi$@ed off and want to set the record straight!) Only about 20 people work there and he has to work closely with the man who accused him so how could this go on??? (If your husband did not do anything wrong then he should expect an apology)
Knowing them they will be adamant that he chose to leave but as nothing was in writing how can anything be proved? (Without checking first you will not know - if nothing was in writing then it should be put down, as per my previous post, to the shock/anger/frustration of being accused of stealing after 17 years of good conduct....having now had time to get over the initial shock he is now prepared to go through the companies disciplinary procedure if they are still willing to pursue the allegationThe boss who accused him told his brother on the phone he had been sacked. (How do you know this?....you seem to have very good information about these two directors discussions...are you in contact with one of them without the other knowing? The other boss has said no your aren't sacked-you left.(he obviously realises the implications of being sacked on no proof) (This is confusing but a very, very important point....If one of the directors has said "you are sacked" or "please leave and do not come back" or anything else of a similar then this would be a fairly straightforward case of unfair dismissal and I would expect a tribunal to find in your husbands favour as no process has been followed....Are you able to clarify what was actually said? However, you still need to consider the main point of whether your husband wants the job...if they realise they have made a mistake they may also want to be able to resolve this.

Optimist

I agree with the rest he MUST go into work Monday and sort it from there.

3LITTLEPIGS_2

Think i didn't write correctly- he is returning on mon to sort it out but i mean he cannot return as in going back to work there permanantly after the trust has gone.
One of the directors told my husband's brother on the phone he was sacked.
My husbands brother phoned him as was fuming that he had accused his brother of taking stock for him.