Can you be sacked for no reason?

WilliamO

Hi All,

I have a friend, who is aged 76, who has worked in a company for over 10 years now as a "casual worker". The company has recently been overtaken by a new company, so my questions are:

1) What rights does a "casual worker" have? Do they have the same rights as a full time worker?

2) Can they be sacked due to their age? or some other reason(s) whereby they have done nothing wrong?

3) If they can be sacked for nothing, under what law etc would that come under? Also, could they go to a tribunal for unfair dismissal?

Regards

WilliamO

molerat

A lot would seem to depend on whether or not they are an employee. http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/06/10/46258/casual-workers-rights.html

LadyMissA

A company took them on after retirement age?

McKneff

I think since legislation last year they cant make him retire, he needs to speak to someone at ACAS relly

LadyMissA

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/work-and-learning/discrimination-and-rights/forced-retirement/

SarEl

WilliamO wrote: »

Hi All,

I have a friend, who is aged 76, who has worked in a company for over 10 years now as a "casual worker". The company has recently been overtaken by a new company, so my questions are:

1) What rights does a "casual worker" have? Do they have the same rights as a full time worker?

2) Can they be sacked due to their age? or some other reason(s) whereby they have done nothing wrong?

3) If they can be sacked for nothing, under what law etc would that come under? Also, could they go to a tribunal for unfair dismissal?

Regards

WilliamO

Making the assumption that this person is being sacked (and making no assumptions about whether they are an employee or not) - what is the "nothing" that they are being sacked for? There must be more to this story than is stated here - such questions are generally not hypothetical. So telling us the whole story may get an answer that is worth having.

WilliamO

Yes! He was hired after retirement age. He works in a Cloakroom. Because of cut backs they are pushing people to leave, without the harrassment that would normally get them into trouble. In other words, they know how to push legally (i.e. by giving more tedious jobs, etc).

Would this be classed as "harrassment to leave" or can they get away with this bad practise?

What is the best way to avoid this pushing scenario?

WilliamO

There is no other story. I simply asked the question as my friend feels he is being pushed out. At 76 he is worried that even by doing nothing wrong he may be pushed out for "nothing". Hence why I also asked if they can get him out due to age, etc.

WilliamO

No he is not being sacked, he just gets the feeling he is being pushed out. He is an employee, he is allowed to work 40+ hours when/if needed.

Emmzi

same cloakroom that banned the tips bowl? honestly I think they are simply professionalising which is not that same as pushing out. Things don't stay the same forever.

WilliamO

Yes, the same cloakroom that stopped the bowl. On the outset it may seem like professionalising but the way the company has behaved in pushing others out (basically making their jobs hell, as opposed to professionalising) is not a good sign. I will give you an example:

My friend's new human resources started dictating to him "do this, do that", in a way where the HR thought they knew better and/or were trying to "improve " things - This lead to the HR's own manager pulling him up (the HR) for his bad policy and told the HR to "Listen to the staff that have been here for years and know what they are doing for this company instead of dictating to them".

The HR has done this professionalising (bad policy making) to other departments with similar stern wordings from other managers. Not only that, people have been leaving this company left, right and center due to these kind of "dictating/pushing out" tactics. They are also getting rid of full time employees in place of agency workers. Agency workers who have no clue about the job.