Legally is an employer allowed to.....

ILW

Is this an employment matter, or some sort of vendetta?

sho_me_da_money

ILW wrote: »

Is this an employment matter, or some sort of vendetta?

Well the person who made the original allegations doesnt like my wife and stirred the pot so to speak. It was personal grudge and had nothing to do with the business.

We are making it business not personal. We aren't prepared to be shafted because some silly cow went around making up rubbish.

Do we like them? No.
Do we hate them? Yes.
Do we have a vendetta against them? No.

As I say, she was prepared to hand in her notice 2 days ago.

It's a question of principle. It's time to make a stand and defend our position and expose a corrupt organisation.

lulu650

Bullying and harrassment is highly unlikely to result in a dismissal without a lot of evidence including witness statements. If someone feels bullied, then they feel bullied, but the employers may think otherwise and offer conciliation. Given that the person making these allegations against your wife was the other person in the room, is it likely that your wife has been discussing the case with her and it's been interpreted as harrassment? This could be why she's been suspended.

A child protection issue is usually gross misconduct which could result in dismissal. In educational settings, the suspension is immediate.

With regard to the child protection issue and given there was another person in the room albeit behind a curtain, with an unblemished record I would think it likely to be a final written warning and not dismissal.

sho_me_da_money

lulu650 wrote: »

Bullying and harrassment is highly unlikely to result in a dismissal without a lot of evidence including witness statements. If someone feels bullied, then they feel bullied, but the employers may think otherwise and offer conciliation. Given that the person making these allegations against your wife was the other person in the room, is it likely that your wife has been discussing the case with her and it's been interpreted as harrassment? This could be why she's been suspended.

A child protection issue is usually gross misconduct which could result in dismissal. In educational settings, the suspension is immediate.

With regard to the child protection issue and given there was another person in the room albeit behind a curtain, with an unblemished record I would think it likely to be a final written warning and not dismissal.

Correct - And there is ZERO evidence other than the claimants word. The witness statements do not even corroborate the claims made.

Correct - One mistake most employers make is not realising they can be heavily criticised for not considering a less severe action where possible.

Off the record, I believe this was initially going to result in a warning or FWW however, during her sick leave, the whole case has changed - new letters, new allegations, a suspension etc. I can only presume they are going for dismissal.

For the record, my wife has made no communication with this other person regarding this matter. After being informed of the disciplinary back in March, my wife continued working with this individual for 4 weeks before going off sick. It was really hard for her to be polite and look at the devil in the face but she did so despite coming home crying every night.

flashnazia

Seriously op, you need to get some perspective.

It's people like you that have made the government consider charging for tribunal applications...

sho_me_da_money

flashnazia wrote: »

Seriously op, you need to get some perspective.

It's people like you that have made the government consider charging for tribunal applications...

Cheers mate I'll keep that in mind.

I'll tell my Mrs it's ok for her to be ill and not pursue this matter because flashnazia is worried about an application fee.

If there was a fee, i'd still pay for it.

Savvy_Sue

TBH, I'm really surprised that a childcare professional would NOT know what the ratios should be. Seems pretty basic for me.

Mara69

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

We aren't poor and we don't really need the money

Generally, people that feel the need to say this, actually do need the money - if not, you and your wife would walk away. I've been through the dismissal and tribunal process (to a point) and it is massively stressful.

sho_me_da_money

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

TBH, I'm really surprised that a childcare professional would NOT know what the ratios should be. Seems pretty basic for me.

Not saying she doesnt. She accepts that she was at fault for not being as observant as she could have. That isnt the issue.

The issue is why have they singled her out and not held any of the other members of staff responsible for making decisions that affected and increased the risk regarding the safety and wellbeing of children? It is totally unfair to solely blame someone for not looking up as much but not place any blame on someone who decided to put children to sleep knowing that she'd be leaving the room out of ratio.

What should be more surprising is the owners/managers of the company allow the rooms to stay out of ratio, day in, day out. Lead by example is what I was taught - if the company doesnt practice its legal obligations, why should the onus be placed on the employee.

If OFSTED turned up and witnessed this monstrocity, will the manager say "oh its not our fault, its the teachers fault, go and ask her".

sho_me_da_money

Mara69 wrote: »

Generally, people that feel the need to say this, actually do need the money - if not, you and your wife would walk away. I've been through the dismissal and tribunal process (to a point) and it is massively stressful.

Trust me mate we dont. We aint rich by no means but we are making a tidy sum between my job and a sideline. And no, why should we walk away? Its pusycat approaches like this that allow companies to shaft people. I understand its a stressful process but the result offers far too many rewards (non-monetary) to make it worthwhile.

Win or lose, this is a selfless approach to expose a crooked employer. The money means jack all (although, we wouldnt say no to it )

My wife has already changed the course of how this company operates. They were originally dealing with crappy internet templates. Now they have a professional HR body advising them.

+1 to us and the other members of staff.