Dismissal at work

cpfc1972

I was dismissed from my retail job as an assistant manager on the 27th January and although had had disciplinary action before have never felt this was fair. i am going through the companys appeal procedure at the moment and cannot decide whether to proceed with an employment tribunal or not. I had worked for this company for 10 years and 9 years in a previous spell as employee, supervisor and assistant manager. I had been pulled up by a line manager the previous year to the extent where I felt I was being picked on and placed a greivance against him. This was turned down and the manager moved to another branch due to personal reasons.I also had time off work due to stress which was the first absence of my career. A new manager came in and had little contact with me as did field managers who visited and I seemed to have no problems as there was little feedback to say otherwise until I was asked to attend a investigatory meeting for poor job performance which was followed by a disciplinary meeting when I was dismissed with 10 weeks wages which have not been received yet. I am worried about references being bad and although I loved my job would not want to return as I feel i have been hounded from this job. i have attended CAB who have been great but would like to know if anyone else has been in this position and if it is worthwhile continuing to fight this as I feel I was treated differently to others in the same position at work who seemed to to get away with whatever they wanted. Most of the staff have stated they will back me up and most helped and gave statements in the last grievance which were looked at. I dont want the job back, just my name cleared

frances23_2

Hi,
i havent been in your position but i regularly am involved in disciplining staff and managers in other branches in the business.
This seems unfair to me, normally you get sacked for gross misconduct (which i would consider theft, bringing company into disripute, bullying, etc). Poor performance could be considered as gross misconduct but for me the best solution would be a warning. Have you ever had any other meetings regarding your performace be it minuted meeting or a performace action plan or a disciplinary? I would believe that most employers would give some kind of action plan and if you didnt meet it then go to disciplinary.
An employment tribunial would look to see if other employers would have dismissed you, but they can be tough, i know that some people have been turned down because they havent looked for work elsewhere.
I would carry on with the company appeal, you should have a meeting with someone more senior than the person that conducted the disciplinary, and then if that doesnt get anywhere then, go to a tribunial

Jarndyce

frances23 wrote: »

Hi,
i havent been in your position but i regularly am involved in disciplining staff and managers in other branches in the business.
Really? then God help your employer, because you clearly do not know what you are talking about.
This seems unfair to me, normally you get sacked for gross misconduct yes - if it is a conduct dismissal - (which i would consider theft, bringing company into disripute, bullying, etc).
Poor performance could be considered as gross misconduct
No it couldn't. Poor performance would be a dismissal on capability grounds.
but for me the best solution would be a warning.

Have you ever had any other meetings regarding your performace be it minuted meeting or a performace action plan or a disciplinary? I would believe that most employers would give some kind of action plan and if you didnt meet it then go to disciplinary.
An employment tribunial would look to see if other employers would have dismissed you, but they can be tough, i know that some people have been turned down because they havent looked for work elsewhere. "Turned down"? What does that mean? A tribunal will look at what the claimant has done to mitigate their losses when they are assessing compensation, but that only happens if they have won their claim.
I would carry on with the company appeal, you should have a meeting with someone more senior than the person that conducted the disciplinary, and then if that doesnt get anywhere then, go to a tribunial
But OP - don't forget to get your claim in to a tribunal on or before 26th April - don't wait for the appeal to be concluded.

OP there is clearly a lot here you are not telling us. Like what went on before the investigatory and disciplinary meetings, what led to the grievance you took out, and what your previous disciplinary record was (whether you thought your previous disciplinary action was fair or not is immaterial).

I would not be surprised if your employer contrived the circumstances in which they would get rid of you - if they go about it properly there is nothing you can do. Only you know the truth, whether you will admit it to yourself is another matter. But don't rely on others to back you up. If I had £1 for every employee who has said this and then been very disappointed when it comes to the crunch, I would be a very rich man.

tizerbelle

cpfc1972 wrote: »

I was dismissed from my retail job as an assistant manager on the 27th January and although had had disciplinary action before have never felt this was fair. i am going through the companys appeal procedure at the moment and cannot decide whether to proceed with an employment tribunal or not. I had worked for this company for 10 years and 9 years in a previous spell as employee, supervisor and assistant manager. I had been pulled up by a line manager the previous year to the extent where I felt I was being picked on and placed a greivance against him. This was turned down and the manager moved to another branch due to personal reasons.I also had time off work due to stress which was the first absence of my career. A new manager came in and had little contact with me as did field managers who visited and I seemed to have no problems as there was little feedback to say otherwise until I was asked to attend a investigatory meeting for poor job performance which was followed by a disciplinary meeting when I was dismissed with 10 weeks wages which have not been received yet. I am worried about references being bad and although I loved my job would not want to return as I feel i have been hounded from this job. i have attended CAB who have been great but would like to know if anyone else has been in this position and if it is worthwhile continuing to fight this as I feel I was treated differently to others in the same position at work who seemed to to get away with whatever they wanted. Most of the staff have stated they will back me up and most helped and gave statements in the last grievance which were looked at. I dont want the job back, just my name cleared

What disciplinaries had you had before?

Were you already on a final warning?
It makes no difference whether you feel those prior disciplinaries were fair or not - there is nothing you can do about them.

Only you can decide if you want to take it to tribunal or not but it is often reported to be a very stressful time with little gain especially for those who do it without legal representaton. So you need to be clear on what you are claiming and why.

The tribunal will not look at what other employers would have done. They will look at whether a fair (as in the legal definition of fair) process was followed and whether the outcome was reasonable given the situation. Other employers / employees do not come into it.

dickydonkin

OP - You stated you did not want your job back - so why are you appealing against the decision to dismiss you?

What would you do if you are successful with your appeal and you are reinstated?