Unfair Dismissal During Notice Period

lewiswoollard

I was recently working my notice period as a sales executive at a media company which was due to last until the end of the month, when I was then due to move onto my next employer.

Two weeks into the notice period, they decided to terminate my contract and asked me to leave that week as "it was not worth you being here, your head is in another place". Of course, this was much to my anger as I would consider myself professional enough to continue working through out and contributing towards the company when necessary.

In my notice period, I was due to receive my annual bonus (which was hit two months prior to the actual deadline) as I hit my target and any commission that was paid in the time I was employed, however they have now decided that as they are getting rid of me, they won't be paying either and I will only be getting paid for the two weeks work.

I don't know where I stand with this and whether I should take further action? I have proof of the bonus due to be paid, it is in my contract and I have a solid trail of emails explaining the bonus situation.

They couldn't fire me under poor performance, as I was well within my targets as mentioned and I was offered a promotion after I handed in the notice.

Please could anyone help? Thanks in advance.

anamenottaken

Is the annual bonus in any way discretionary. Check the wording. If it is, they can decide whether to pay anything.

If it is not discretionary, what are the rules about being employed at the time it is paid?

Did they give you proper notice according to your contract?

By the way, it doesn't sound as though your dismissal by the company is technically Unfair.

steampowered

A lot of bonus schemes will say that you don't get anything if you are working your notice.

What does the bonus scheme say? I imagine your contract refers to the company's bonus scheme document.

lewiswoollard

It doesn't say anything in line with a bonus scheme. It also doesn't state how much or when it is paid. I had written confirmation off of accounts that it would be included in this months pay but now they're cutting it out along with commission earned.

steampowered

What is the exact wording of your contract on this?

The email from accounts won't constitute a legally binding commitment.

lewiswoollard

'Commission will be paid only whilst you are employed by *company*, on a monthly basis in arrears, once payment has been received from the customer. You will receive additional bonus payments for achieving annual targets set by *company*'

That is all that is stated on the contract in regards to the bonus and the commission structure.

I'm getting paid for the two weeks I have worked but not for the month I have given as notice.

Undervalued

lewiswoollard wrote: »

'Commission will be paid only whilst you are employed by *company*, on a monthly basis in arrears, once payment has been received from the customer. You will receive additional bonus payments for achieving annual targets set by *company*'

That is all that is stated on the contract in regards to the bonus and the commission structure.

I'm getting paid for the two weeks I have worked but not for the month I have given as notice.

But does it say how much or what percentage? Otherwise £1.00 over and above basic salary would be a bonus! It would be very, very unusual for a bonus not to be "discretionary" in some way.

Also, it is fairly normal only to get you basic salary during PILON and it is for that reason that many contracts give the employer the right insist on PILON. Without such a term it is technically breach of contract on the part of the employer. In most cases this is moot as, generally, people are happy to get paid without having to work! However when significant commission / bonuses are involved that can be an exception.

lewiswoollard

It doesn't state anything in regards to how much the bonus will be or to what percentage of my earnings it will be either. It is all very vague on revisiting the contract.

Again, it says nothing in the contract about PILON and to put it into exact wording it says 'If you want to leave this employment, you must give 1 months notice... *Company* must give you 1 week notice if we want to end this employment.

Undervalued

lewiswoollard wrote: »

It doesn't state anything in regards to how much the bonus will be or to what percentage of my earnings it will be either. It is all very vague on revisiting the contract.

Again, it says nothing in the contract about PILON and to put it into exact wording it says 'If you want to leave this employment, you must give 1 months notice... *Company* must give you 1 week notice if we want to end this employment.

So it seems they may be able to get away with paying a nominal bonus!

Without the PILON clause then they are, technically, in breach of contract so you could, in theory, make a claim for any losses this causes. You may be able to argue that amounts to your usual level of bonus and commission. You would need some professional advice if you want to go down this route.

Regarding them giving notice, regardless of that wording they would have to give the legal minimum of a week for each complete year of service up to twelve.

steampowered

There is a difference between commission and bonus.

I'd have thought you should get commission - unless there is an express statement somewhere that you don't get it during your notice period.

On the bonus for achieving annual targets, there must be a bonus scheme documents somewhere.

steampowered

Undervalued wrote: »

It would be very, very unusual for a bonus not to be "discretionary" in some way.

There is a point of detail here - it is usually the terms of the bonus scheme, rather than the actual amount of the bonus, that is discretionary.

For example many employment contracts give you a contractual right to participate in a discretionary bonus scheme. What this means is that the employer can change the nature of the bonus scheme as it wishes. Yet, once a scheme is put in place, the employee is contractually entitled to participate in it - the employer can't turn round and say actually we are paying you 1p even though the scheme says you are entitled to £1000. If the bonus scheme says the employee is entitled to £1000 that is what the employee is entitled to.

The bonus scheme itself will often say "You get nothing if you are working your notice". That's legal as the terms of the scheme are usually discretionary. But if the bonus scheme doesn't say that, there may be a contractual non-discretionary entitlement for the employee to get whatever the bonus scheme says the employee should get.