Question re unfair dismissal

nomoreboomandbust

My nephew has been on a 12 month contract since starting his job, this was renewed only a few months ago, so he thought that everything was going fine as no issues were raised then

However, he was dismissed a few days ago on the basis that there was a problem with his timekeeping and been given a standard one months notice. This has not been mentioned to him before, there has been no verbal warning or written warning , so have his employers followed the right procedures ?

Any guidance would be gratefully appreciated

sniggings

nomoreboomandbust wrote: »

My nephew has been on a 12 month contract since starting his job, this was renewed only a few months ago, so he thought that everything was going fine as no issues were raised then

However, he was dismissed a few days ago on the basis that there was a problem with his timekeeping and been given a standard one months notice. This has not been mentioned to him before, there has been no verbal warning or written warning , so have his employers followed the right procedures ?

Any guidance would be gratefully appreciated

said to say but they can sack you up to 2 years without giving a reason, thank the tories for that, they have given him a reason but didn't have too, so no, unless it was because of his age, race, sex, stuff like that, then nothing you can do, you could use the companies own complaints procedure but that is them looking into themselves, not many compnies rule against themselves.

nomoreboomandbust

Thanks for that, it is as I had feared I am afraid

sniggings

nomoreboomandbust wrote: »

Thanks for that, it is as I had feared I am afraid

yeah i feel we are going back in time, with regrades to employment protection.

His best bet is to try and get a good reference at least or a neutral one at worst, then he wants to try and get in a good company or better still work for himself.

amiehall

I thought the 2 years only came into force for new employees starting after last April and that current employees at that time still had a 1 year limit? Have I misunderstood?

I'm however not sure how the fact that this involves a fixed term contract that's been renewed affects this.

sniggings

amiehall wrote: »

I thought the 2 years only came into force for new employees starting after last April and that current employees at that time still had a 1 year limit? Have I misunderstood?

I'm however not sure how the fact that this involves a fixed term contract that's been renewed affects this.

you may be right, it still changes nothing really

jacques_chirac

amiehall wrote: »

I thought the 2 years only came into force for new employees starting after last April and that current employees at that time still had a 1 year limit? Have I misunderstood?

I'm however not sure how the fact that this involves a fixed term contract that's been renewed affects this.

You're right, and as long as there is continuity of service the employee could have rights. OP, what was his start date?

nomoreboomandbust

He started around October 2011

lakes17

The change to 2 years came into force on 6 April 2012, so if he started around October 2011 he will have the correct length of service to claim unfair dismissal. Is he in the Union?

lakes17

There also has to be no break in service within that time frame. Also it is worth noting that Fixed term contracts generate the same rights as a permanent employee with same length of service.

agrinnall

You really need to clarify how long he had worked there, did he start in October 2011 on a 12 month contract that was renewed in October 2012 then renewed again in October 2013? If so then he does have employment rights, and the company would have to follow their procedures for dismissal - obviously we don't know what those are, so your nephew would have to find that out if you want more help.