Employment Advice Needed

duk3nuk3m

My mum runs a small cleaning business which employs approx. 4 cleaners. All of the employees are on a contract which states that the working hours are variable on a week-to-week basis.

The issue is that an employee has been unavailable to work due to their ex-partner being in hospital. This has been the case for the past 3 weeks with my mum only receiving a text the night before her shift, saying that she is "not coming to work this week". Obviously for such a small business, this has left my mum short-staffed with no time to find cover.

Would there be any problem dismissing this employee on the grounds that she has been unreliable and not forthcoming in telling her employer that she will not be available to work? The employee has only been with the company since October 2012.

All help would be greatly appreciated, as it seems that ACAS have not been at all helpful and have given misleading advice.

silkyuk9

ok, ex-partner is in hospital so there is not really a case for carers leave, however, does this person have children with ex? On occasions if someone is taken into hospital its usually done on spur of the moment such as accident, eg, car, fall or sudden illness so getting a txt night before is not unacceptable. It can be unacceptable 5 minutes before a shift. I'm sure this woman has sent a txt as soon as she could have with the circumstances. As your mum called the person either on the phone or gone to her home?

At this stage not knowing all the details it seems a little harsh that you mum wants to sack someone.

duk3nuk3m

Yes, my mum has tried to call her but there is never any answer. The only time she is contactable is when she decides to send my mum a text.

As far as I know, she doesn't have any children with her ex-partner.

I'm aware of other instances where the employee has been late for work or not turned up at all with no prior notice given, so this is not just a one-off.

getmore4less

There are potentialy a number of options depending on the contract details

how variable are the hours?

Less than 2 years service sack them no need for a reason.

just remember there will be holiday pay and potentialy notice pay if they suddenly become available for work.

Business model needs review it is not robust.

Probably also need to review contract to beef up the expectation and disiplinary

ohreally

duk3nuk3m wrote: »

All of the employees are on a contract which states that the working hours are variable on a week-to-week basis.

So the employee has decided to vary her hours on a week to week basis while her domestic need dictates.

duk3nuk3m

getmore4less wrote: »

There are potentialy a number of options depending on the contract details

how variable are the hours?

Less than 2 years service sack them no need for a reason.

just remember there will be holiday pay and potentialy notice pay if they suddenly become available for work.

Business model needs review it is not robust.

Probably also need to review contract to beef up the expectation and disiplinary

I'm not sure how variable the hours are, but I think they are quite consistent from week to week.

Thank you for clarifying that less than 2 years service part. I was sure this was correct but ACAS told my mum that she cannot terminate the employees contract and will have to go through her disciplinary process.

Thank you for your help.

duk3nuk3m

ohreally wrote: »

So the employee has decided to vary her hours on a week to week basis while her domestic need dictates.

Essentially yes, but without giving adequate notice.

She was aware that her ex had been admitted to hospital on the Wednesday, yet didn't give any notice that she was unavailable.

ohreally

I'm not being pedantic here but tread carefully if you’re looking to dismiss.

She may very well argue that the contract is poorly worded and she is simply exercising her opportunity to vary her hours - although I realise this is probabaly not what your mother intended when she included this term.

The devil is in the detail as the saying goes.

getmore4less

duk3nuk3m wrote: »

I'm not sure how variable the hours are, but I think they are quite consistent from week to week.

What does the contract actually say about hours, can it be varied to zero
it is important to make it clear what the obligations are.

Thank you for clarifying that less than 2 years service part. I was sure this was correct but ACAS told my mum that she cannot terminate the employees contract and will have to go through her disciplinary process.

Thank you for your help.

Disiplinary process If there is one, there should be, why is it not being used allready as there has been lateness and not turning up.

Any contractual probation period.

failing to turn up for 3 weeks on the trot as unauthorised absence and not sick or other legal absense(which are short term anyway) probably gross misconduct.

Takeaway_Addict

Surely if the hours are variable then couldn't the employer just variably offer 0 hours....effectively we have a 0 hour contract surely?

Either way, OP your mum needs to get proper advice, the advice you give her is from a forum which is 2nd hand at best and 3rd hand by the time it get to her.

anamenottaken

getmore4less wrote: »

There are potentialy a number of options depending on the contract details

how variable are the hours?

Less than 2 years service sack them no need for a reason.

just remember there will be holiday pay and potentialy notice pay if they suddenly become available for work.

Business model needs review it is not robust.

Probably also need to review contract to beef up the expectation and disiplinary

The two years requirement is for those where employment began on or after 6 April 2012. If the employee began working before then, they would only need a year's employment to avoid a potential unfair dismissal claim.