Just Been Sacked & I Have No Money

Little_Ol_Me

I can't believe it just like the title says I have just been sacked. I am so upset I have been crying for over an hour now and can't seem to pull myself together. I remembered a friend mentioning this site and thought I would have a little rant to you about it. I hope you don't mind.

Basically I started working for an internet company, which meant I could work from home which was well a luxury to be honest I got a decent pay and was very happy. Then a guy that I didn't get on with at work became my boss, he started to pick on me, he then started to talk about me to the directors of the company. He had another guy from the firm sacked so I was very weary of upsetting him, I tried my hardest to be polite and pleasent to him. But Nothing worked, he hated me and I don't know why. i have to travel to London once a week to speak to the bosses etc and lately every time I went to London he would pull me aside and have a go at me about the smallest trivial matters. Then today out of the Blue the directors phoned me up and told me they would have to let me go. They said they thought I was a great person but basically I wasn't doing my job probably. Which is a joke because lately I have been working my socks off to make sure I did things as best as I could. I feel so let down by these people.

I am having money troubles as it is and can just about afford to pay my rent, now without this job i don't know what to do. I will never find a job that paid the same as this one did, that let me work from home and gave me the flexibility to have a day in the week off.

Christmas is just around the corner. I have debts which I can't pay off and I am finding the whole thing so upsetting. Not too mention I now have to find a new job.

Sorry for going on, thanks for letting me rant on and on about this, I just needed an outlet.

Thanks

Natasha

dmg24

Hi Natasha,

Really sorry to hear what has happened x

How long have you been with the company?

On a practical note, you need to contact the Jobcentre straightaway, and claim JSA. The reason given for your dismissal should mean that you can claim straightaway.

getcarter

Right then, sit down and have a cup of tea...contact the CAB ASAP, how long were you working there, did they give you any notice or warnings?

Secondly Christmas does not mean spending big, just spending time.

Go onto the debt free and old style boards for money saving advice...

Let us know how you are getting on!

Carter

dearbarbie

Don't worry about the rant. Perhaps things can only get better from here, you can get a new job and don't have to worry about that boss anymore *hug*

Little_Ol_Me

Thanks you guys, your support means alot

newcook

oh hun :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I'm sorry to hear that.


how long were you with the company?? surely there is meant to be a notice period??? had you been given any warnings??

aeuerby

I agree you need to get in touch with the CAB. They maybe can check what discipline procedures they should have followed. If they can't then they may be able to put you in touch with someone who can.

I am no expert but you may have a case for constructive dismissal.

Scarlett1

How awful Natasha

As well as applying for JSA, get a housing and council tax benefit form from your local council and fill it in asap and send it off or take it down there, it can take a few months to come through but at least it will be happening whilst you look for other employment, might be an idea to register with a temping agency and doing any work until your find a suitable job, good luck

JasonLVC

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=906

This link is important. Regardless of how long you have worked (be it 1 month or 10 years), if the employer does not follow this STATUTORY procedure then your sacking (dismissal) is an automatic dismisal and so you have an 'automatic' claim for wrongful dismissal.

"An employment tribunal will automatically find a dismissal unfair if the statutory procedure has not been followed where it applies. The tribunal will also, except in exceptional circumstances, increase compensation for the employee by between 10 and 50 per cent. Equally, if the employment tribunal finds that an employee has been dismissed unfairly but has failed to participate in the procedure (for instance they have failed to attend the disciplinary meeting without good cause), compensation may be reduced by usually between 10 and 50 per cent."

It doesn;t sound like they followed this procedure. The mere phone call to you is enough for them to have breach the law in this respect and you can make an unfair dismisal claim against them.

If it is a performance matter, the employer should have offered you guidance and training to bring you up to speed BEFORE they then start the dismissal procedure. That doesn;t seem to be the case here either. If it is becuase you don;t get on with your boss, that is not enough reason to dismiss.

At the very least they need to write to you to tell you why and it'd be interesting to see what reason they give that justifies the dismissal. Also, they still have to give you the right of reply (with you or you and an advisor/solcitior/friend) and if that's not forthcoming then perhaps an approach to a local newspaper to do them so extra damage.

You ain;t going to get your job back so start looking elsewhere, meanwhile contact CAB and get the forms to start a claim against the employer. You'll get some cash for sure, but not a career. Best focus on the future.

Ishtar

Great advice suggested above.

I just wanted to say that I worked as a PA in an HR department quite a few years ago, and the HR officers always followed the disciplinary procedure to the letter. They were just too concerned about any comeback.

Even in cases of alleged gross misconduct (which is obviously not in your case), the member of staff was suspended while an investigation was carried out, so I can't understand why your employer behaved the way it did. What I'm trying to say is that no-one can sack you on the spot like that.

As has been said, get along to CAB, contact ACAS, and if you are a union member, get in touch with them. I'm not sure, but you might even get some advice from the relevant union, even if you aren't a member (but don't quote me on it!).

Good luck,
D.

Badger_Lady

The only time I've seen this happen is when a member of staff is within their "trial period" at work, and can therefore be sacked without notice or specific reason until they've passed probation.

The company (and team!) I worked in:
- Sacked a girl who just griped about colleagues all the time,
- Transferred a girl to a lower role while she was off sick (told her when she got back),
- Extended probation for an extra month on a girl, then sacked her for joining in with griping about colleagues.

It did leave us with a very happy, efficient and hardworking team but was pretty darn harsh on the girls that could be sacked without notice.

Is that legal? Is there any chance that this could be the unfortunate situation you're in, Natasha? I hope not - I'd be delighted if you could get automatic compensation at tribunal!!!