Basic rights at work & Redundancy

LittleVoice

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative wrote: »

Hi

Firstly there is actually no statutory right for employees to take bank holidays or public holidays, with or without pay, apart from special rules for shop workers on Xmas day .Any rights that an employee has to bank or public holidays, with or without pay, will be contained in their contract of employment. Where someone is given bank or public holidays off and is paid for them, they will count towards their entitlement to statutory holiday unless the contract states they are extra.

A women on ordinary maternity leave continues to accrue holidays because all of the employee's usual contractual terms continue to apply at this time. This means that she will continue to accrue her statutory and contractual paid holidays during ordinary maternity leave in the same way as if she were at work, and that her usual conditions regarding holiday entitlement will apply.

Follow the link to further information on the CAB website advice guide :

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_time_off_work_e/holidays_and_holiday_pay.htm#holiday_and_maternity-paternity_if_you_are_sick

I think the key part of the question was about deducting the "bank or public" holidays during the time of receiving ENHANCED maternity pay rather than when receiving statutory maternity pay only.

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative

lozz1963 wrote: »

Hi, i work for the Government and 4.5 years ago was overpaid by about £3000. I was told by the head of admin when i was promoted to put in a certain form at work to claim extra money. I did this and the forms were checked every couple of months when i submitted them and signed off . The money was then paid into my wages. When i was first told i could claim it i queried it but was told to claim it. After claiming this for around 8 months i was suddenly told that it was a mistake and that they wanted it back. I resisted this saying it was there mistake. They said that by law they could take it back from my wages and wanted an amount that i couldnt afford. I said i would pay back £5.00 per week as it was their mistake . They refused this offer and pressured me for more. I stood my ground and reiterated my offer. They then went quiet for 4 years and i didnt hear anymore until this week when they emailed me demanding to know how i was going to pay. I havent replied yet but four years is a long time to wait before asking for it again. What should i do ? Lozz.

Hi

The answer to this question is essentially the same as that posted above in post 111 to dimp81.

The bit about the employee having 'changed her/his position' as a result of receiving the money means for example, s/he may have made financial commitments that s/he otherwise wouldn t have made, so that if s/he were forced to pay the money back, s/he would be in a worse position than if the overpayment had not been made. This is a complex area of law and this argument will generally only rarely succeed.

Suggest you visit your local CAb for further clarification and interpretation if needed.

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative

deeleys wrote: »

Hi, I've been at an organisation for 5 years. Last July a consultation process commenced to harmonise the terms and conditions of staff across the whole organisation. We were asked to sign an agreement/non agreement form for the proposed changes. I signed to disagree and passed a letter stating these disagreements to the person in charge of the process and he said he would have a look and get back to me. In August I emailed him for a progress report and he said that there was nothing to report as yet. In the mean time everyone who originally disagreed had meetings and finally they all signed the proposal (but not an actual contract). They have all automatically gone over to the new terms which including a pay rise. I am still on my old contract. My grievances were unique to the other staff, one of these was I currently have several months notice period. They want to change it to 1 month.

At the same time as the harmonisation process, the organisation employed consultants to look at our department (IT) and 2 other IT departments in the same organisation based elsewhere. The organisation will not communicate the consultant’s findings or recommendations but they want them to return to carry on their work. In the past, other services were centralised and some jobs were lost. If there is a restructure and redundancies, currently I believe they have to give me the several months notice and I assume 5 weeks redundancy pay. If I sign the new contract then I get 1 months notice plus the 5 weeks redundancy. This massive difference in notice together with the current job uncertainty is forcing me not to sign. I feel undermined and that they are trying to make me leave even though I have been a good employee and a recent report has stated how well the IT department is doing. The HR manager has already jokingly said that she and I are on too much money.

After looking at various websites, I believe they could terminate my contract, giving me notice, if I don’t sign?

If so, would this be classed as redundancy with redundancy pay or dismissal without any recompense?

Would I then have to take them to a tribunal for unfair dismissal/constructive dismissal? If so, would the creation of uncertainty, by introducing consultants, forcing me to not to sign my notice away, be grounds for this type of tribunal case?

What is the usual recompense outcome if a case like this was won i.e. a few weeks/months wages?

Am I fighting a losing battle as I am not in a union?

Should I just sign the new contract and be thankful I have got a job for now?

Thanks, any advice is appreciated.

Hi

You have a difficult situation but you are not fighting a losing battle because you are not in a union. Your employer could indeed decide to give you notice and terminate your contract. This would be a dismissal and generally with all dismissals certain criteria need to be met otherwise as you say a case for unfair dismissal potentially arises.

It is not possible in this environment to give detailed advice on your situation as the merits of your case would need to examined in detail if your employer did take the action you feel they might so we would suggest that you see an employment specialist at your local CAB taking all your documentation and contract of employment with you. You will then be in a better position to make an informed decision as to what to do next.

However here is some general guidance…………………

Follow the link to the section on adviceguide below which details the process to follow when determining if someone has case for unfair dismissal as well as the rules and situations that are considered by employment tribunals. How compensation is made up is also covered.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_work_comes_to_an_end_e/dismissal.htm#Step_four_what_is_the_reason_for_the_dis

Section 5 “some other reason your employer has given for dismissing you” covers the situation you are in and relates to what is known as “some other substantial reason” for the dismissal. An example of a reason found to be substantial is – reorganisation of the workplace for business efficiency reasons. However that in itself doesn’t make it fair as you will see from the information on adviceguide because an employer must still act reasonably if they wish to dismiss for that reason and that depends as stated on the individual circumstances of your case.

deeleys

Thanks for your help and advice.

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative

misslondonno1 wrote: »

hi
i recently heard my boss calling me sneaky for having my annual leave signed off by the deputy manager. what legal rights have i got. i have been off work due to stress at work and I am finding it hard to trust her. Could i sue them for the effect it has had on my mental health? I work for a NHS Mental Health Trust, of all the places! I have worked for them for over 12 years, they have no compassion at all, total disgrace

Hi

The problem you describe may initially be best addressed by raising a grevance with your employer including if there is a wider issue of bullying /harrassment

Follow the link below to the section on adviceguide that explains how a grievance can be raised:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_problems_at_work_e/dealing_with_grievances_at_work.htm

Also see the ACAS website for info on bullying/harrassment:

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1864

Please visit your local CAB for further help and clarification if you are not able to resolve this issue or if you feel that your job has contributed to your illness.

crazy1

Hi
I have worked for my presnt company for the past 19 years, i am on notice of redundancy, and will finish in 4 weeks time. I currently earn 26,000 per annum, and my husband doesnt work. My husband has now been offered employement and will earn approx £240 per week after deductions, will we qualify for tax credits and housing benefit, we have 1 child aged five, worrying how we are going to survive. We currently rent from a private landlord and pay £485 per calender month.

Mrsw44

I work for a local authority and have just through a selection process for redundancy. I have been informed that I have been unsuccessful at the interview stage and have not been slotted into a role in the new structure. I have since been told that my two colleagues, who carry out exactly the same role as I do, we're slotted into 3 posts, and were interviewed thus, whilst I was only slotted into 1 post. When I asked my manager why this was he admitted that it was an error on his part. These posts have been offered to other people. Surely I have been put at a disadvantage by not having the same opportunity as my colleagues?

Also, there are 3 contractors carrying out exactly the same roles as myself and my 2 colleagues. The company plan to continue to use these contractors whilst making me redundant. Is this legal? Surely if the company needs to employ consultants to do my job this goes to prove that my job still exists?

I really do appreciate your advice, thanks very much.

india

I work for a charity commisioned by the local authority to provide services.

I am a single parent and I am having problems with my child that will now have to attend a different school 2 days a week. I have no choice in this but I will have to reduce my working hours by 5 hours on those 2 days but have offered to make up the hours on the other 3 days as I normally finish at 3 I could work till 4.30/5. (so still in working hours)

My workplace have refused. We are being threatned with redundancyies and i think they'd prefer me to leave know so they dont have to pay me redundancy pay.

Can they leagally say no. knowing no one else can take my child to school and he legally has to go?

Thanks in advance

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative

crazy1 wrote: »

Hi
I have worked for my presnt company for the past 19 years, i am on notice of redundancy, and will finish in 4 weeks time. I currently earn 26,000 per annum, and my husband doesnt work. My husband has now been offered employement and will earn approx £240 per week after deductions, will we qualify for tax credits and housing benefit, we have 1 child aged five, worrying how we are going to survive. We currently rent from a private landlord and pay £485 per calender month.

Thank you for your post

if you feel that you may have problems managing your finances you may wish to look at the information on CAB website adviceguide which gives suggestions on how to do this more effectively ie drawing up a budget, prioritising expenditure and debts if you have any. There is also a budget calculator on the site.

Follow the link for further information on this:http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/debt_e/debt_help_with_debt_e/debt_budgeting_e/debt_budgeting_tool_e/guidancenotes.htm

If you think you need help to deal with any debts that you have then please contact your local CAb for help with this.

Additionally if you have been awarded some housing benefit then you may possibly be eligible for a discretionary housing payment if after going through the budgetting exercise described above you would have difficulty in paying your rent/council tax

Follow the link for further information on this :http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_help_if_on_a_low_income_ew/help_with_your_rent_-_housing_benefit.htm . Go to the section on further help with housing costs

If you have any further benefit questions please post them on the benefits board.

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative

Mrsw44 wrote: »

I work for a local authority and have just through a selection process for redundancy. I have been informed that I have been unsuccessful at the interview stage and have not been slotted into a role in the new structure. I have since been told that my two colleagues, who carry out exactly the same role as I do, we're slotted into 3 posts, and were interviewed thus, whilst I was only slotted into 1 post. When I asked my manager why this was he admitted that it was an error on his part. These posts have been offered to other people. Surely I have been put at a disadvantage by not having the same opportunity as my colleagues?

Also, there are 3 contractors carrying out exactly the same roles as myself and my 2 colleagues. The company plan to continue to use these contractors whilst making me redundant. Is this legal? Surely if the company needs to employ consultants to do my job this goes to prove that my job still exists?

I really do appreciate your advice, thanks very much.

Hi

If your employer is selecting individuals for redundancy then this must be done fairly otherwise a potential case for unfair dismissal arises ( assuming you meet the basic qualifying criteria ) if your job subsequently comes to an end. Follow the link below to the CAB website - adviceguide which gives information on the procedures that should be followed by employers when they select individuals for redundancy. For detailed advice on this issue you would need to visit you local CAB taking all paperwork as your case would need to be considered carefully.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_work_comes_to_an_end_e/work_redundancy_e/redundancy___procedures_your_employer_must_follow.htm

In respect of whether you are actually redundant please follow the link to the section on what counts as redundancy for more guidance:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_work_comes_to_an_end_e/work_redundancy_e/when_can_your_employer_make_you_redundant.htm

In addition you may wish to consider raising a grievance in order to try and resolve this problem. Follow the link to guidance on how to do this.

:http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_problems_at_work_e/dealing_with_grievances_at_work.htm