Need employment advice

Hugomac

Hi Guys, here is my situation:

Been with current company for 8 months.

Came into work this morning to find Area Manager in the bar, sat me down and said.

'this isn't going to be easy, but at the end of this conversation you will no longer be the manager in this bar'

I am giving you 1 months notice, which you don't need to work.

I asked what this is based on and am i getting the sack, he said no we are just giving you 1 months notice.

Based on poor sales over past 2 months.

Now i know the sales have been poor and we have had the odd chat over the phone saying that it needs to get better. He said that i am not the right manager for this bar.

I have never had any warnings, or any official written documents to sujest having poor preformance.

When i kept saying so i am being sacked, he said no you are getting 1 months notice to leave.

Then he starts saying stuff like i know you are angry, but you need to put that anger aside and find yourself another job as you have a family (you think mate!!!)

So....... went to local citizens advice and as i have had under 1 years service, they can just give me notice and thats it.

Surely they cannot turn up and just give me my marching orders after having zero warnings etc.

Advice would be great.

LadyMissA

yes they can - they can just pay you the notice and any holiday owed and what you have worked.

Pete111

Sorry but unless there is a discrimination angle here (is there?) then you can't do much about it. With less than 1 years service (shortly to rise to 2 years I believe) then you cannot claim for unfair dismissal and this would be the main angle of attack given the lack of process etc.

19lottie82

OP, I'm afraid CAB are right. if you have been there under 12 months, your employer can sack you with no notice and doesn't have to give you a reason. So in that respect it seems that your ex employer has been reasonably fair, on the grand scale of things.

If it's any help, I worked in bars for 11 years and know that A) ALL bars are struggling right now, sales are poor everywhere and Employers are often very fickle when it comes to their staff. Staff turnover is VERY high in this game!

I've been in places where staff have just been called and told not to come back, for nothing more than the manager thinks that they don't "fit in".

Take your one months wages, and leave with dignity, hopefully you can still get a reference? Good luck with the job hunt!

Hugomac

Thanks for the advice, the thing that really gets me is that is this is completly out of the blue, i have had no prior warnings or anything to sugest poor performance at all.

Should i get something in writing as again, i was told this morning, and wasn;t given anything in writing that i had been given a months notice.

heretolearn_2

You can't really say they didn't give you any warnings or discuss this with you as

'Based on poor sales over past 2 months.Now i know the sales have been poor and we have had the odd chat over the phone saying that it needs to get better.'

So they did tell you they weren't happy with sales and performance needed to improve.

I don't know how he can say they aren't sacking you though, he's just being a bit funny there.

Sadly, yes, they can just tell you to go under a year. Over a year they would have been wise to be a little bit more formal about warning you on performance/improvements, but you can still be sacked for this.

It's hard right now in bars/pubs but try and move on from this. If they are willing to say they made you redundant instead of sacked then that's good as it sounds a lot better (you won't be entitled to any redundancy pay so no skin off their nose).

Hugomac

Thanks again for the advice,

Should I be asking for it in writing?

Sambucus_Nigra

Hugomac wrote: »

Thanks again for the advice,

Should I be asking for it in writing?

Yes, so that you can claim JSA.

MarkBargain

It does seem harsh and most of the government's arguments about reducing red tape and escaping EU laws are really about making it easier to get rid of people.

The only thing I can think to add is that if you worked for a big company then you could complain to the HR department about company policy (if there is one) not being followed.

BlueIsTheColour

You can ask for written reasons for dismissal, but there is no legal obligation to provide it with less than one years service.

Are they expecting you to work your notice or are they paying it in lieu? You are also entitled to any accrued, untaken annual leave.

Reality is a lot of businesses behave in this way, and as previously posted after 6th April, people will require 2years service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Unless it is possibly discrimination related, based on one of the 9 protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act.

With regards to a reference, most companies now only provide a factual one anyway "Fred Bloggs worked as a Bar Manager from May 2011 to February 2012" is about the limit in an awful lot of cases...

dizzyrascal

I know that this won't be of any real help but ALL bars are quiet in Jan & Feb, this is a normal seasonal trend. Most of them struggle to keep going in these 2 months every year so I think your manager is just using this as an excuse to get rid before the year is up.
Most bars or pubs only survive because they've had a good December/Christmas but since people have really cut back on spending these last few months that may not be the case for many bars.
My question would be how do your sales measure up to previous years figures, especially if you consider the harsh recession that everyone is suffering from at the moment.
Having said that, bars are notorious for believing that getting "new blood" in will overturn their fortunes.