Informal chat with manager handled badly, advice please

Green2014

I told the owner in an email I couldn't work my notice because they told the chef what I had said. I have been told my tips have been sorted out by another manager and I can arrange to be collected or go in myself. Ill get my knifes and tips then move on. Is a shame it all happened but I accept it. Thank you

Les79

I'm surprised that nobody has brought up the possibility of constructive dismissal tbh...

I mean you've very clearly thrown your toys out of the pram here, but then again it was only precipitated by a poor workplace environment. There is a possibility that you are a Drama fan, so that is another factor which needs considering (is this a non issue which has been turned into something bigger? Or is it a genuine issue?).

But yea, constructive dismissal is really a weird one sometimes.... Your employer can treat you like dog muck and force you out of the job, but a lot of people on the outside will always be extremely skeptical about whether this has happened to you. That's why you haven't been advised to look into that possibility on here just yet.

I'm making no guarantees about your chances like, but I would certainly recommend speaking to ACAS about this possibility. You don't have anything to lose by at least enquiring!

Kayalana99

Les79 wrote: »

I'm surprised that nobody has brought up the possibility of constructive dismissal tbh...

I mean you've very clearly thrown your toys out of the pram here, but then again it was only precipitated by a poor workplace environment. There is a possibility that you are a Drama fan, so that is another factor which needs considering (is this a non issue which has been turned into something bigger? Or is it a genuine issue?).

But yea, constructive dismissal is really a weird one sometimes.... Your employer can treat you like dog muck and force you out of the job, but a lot of people on the outside will always be extremely skeptical about whether this has happened to you. That's why you haven't been advised to look into that possibility on here just yet.

I'm making no guarantees about your chances like, but I would certainly recommend speaking to ACAS about this possibility. You don't have anything to lose by at least enquiring!

She might have had some ground, but I think it's not really the company that would get blamed here. She should have raised a formal complaint about the person in question, then seen what they did about it.

They haven't been given chance to rectifiy the complaint, she had already given her notice in. You'd be hard pressed for her to class as 'dismissal' when she gave her notice in and lied about why - then walked out the next day.

Not sure on a legal stand point if them giving confidental information away would get her anywhere, but it still wouldn't be grounds for her to say she was dismissed due to sexual hassasment. End day the company can't do anything if they wern't given chance to do so and she had already given in notice when she did.

It really needed to have been handled better, as it stands her getting her stuff + tips sorted and them being helpful in siuation is best she can hope for.

takman

Green2014 wrote: »

I told the owner in an email I couldn't work my notice because they told the chef what I had said. I have been told my tips have been sorted out by another manager and I can arrange to be collected or go in myself. Ill get my knifes and tips then move on. Is a shame it all happened but I accept it. Thank you

That's not a valid reason to not work your notice, there was no reason why you couldn't continue working there.

Les79

Kayalana99 wrote: »

She might have had some ground, but I think it's not really the company that would get blamed here. She should have raised a formal complaint about the person in question, then seen what they did about it.

They haven't been given chance to rectifiy the complaint, she had already given her notice in. You'd be hard pressed for her to class as 'dismissal' when she gave her notice in and lied about why - then walked out the next day.

This is what I was referring to in my last post! People on the outside sometimes have this odd habit of completely writing off the possibility of constructive dismissal!

That's why I referred OP to ACAS (they can also go to union), because they'll be best placed to advise on that.

You could be entirely right, but then again the behaviour of OP could be borne completely out of being mis-treated. Absolutely reasonable response in testing circumstances if you do things like:

- Lying about reason for leaving (I've done it with past employers. "Why are you leaving"? "[STRIKE]Because you treat me like a nobody and pay me low wages [/STRIKE]Because I would like to further develop in a different field")
- Handing in notice immediately
- Being affected to the point where you can't even last out the notice period.

And if your boss/head chef is making sexist remarks then I highly doubt that you'd be motivated in taking them through formal grievance processes, especially as this sounds like a small business where they probably only have 1 manager and 1 owner etc, not a large company who have set policies and a plethora of managers ready to hear your case. Maybe the problem is also fundamental in that the whole company (ie the owner) act like this as well.

Not sure on a legal stand point if them giving confidental information away would get her anywhere, but it still wouldn't be grounds for her to say she was dismissed due to sexual hassasment. End day the company can't do anything if they wern't given chance to do so and she had already given in notice when she did.

Yea maybe, you could be absolutely correct in OP not getting anywhere. But they can happily consider ACAS. Nobody should have to put up with sexual harassment in the work place (though I do wonder whether OP exaggerated a bit or not).

It really needed to have been handled better, as it stands her getting her stuff + tips sorted and them being helpful in siuation is best she can hope for.

Potentially, yes!

Tiddlywinks

Green2014 wrote: »

I told the owner in an email I couldn't work my notice because they told the chef what I had said.

How childish that sounds.

You made a serious allegation against another member of staff so a manager should investigate that allegation... and speaking with the subject of your complaint seems a perfectly reasonable start.

Your next challenge will be finding that they have, factually, reported in a job reference that you walked away without working your notice.

aife

Best to move on.
If you find yourself in the same situation again try and resist the temptation to get things off your chest till the last day ...
and don't pay too much attention to 'supportive' colleagues. Wouldn't surprise me if some of the same people were agreeing with this guy about what a !!!!! you were the minute you were out the door

motorguy

Green2014 wrote: »

I hear what you are saying but all the staff agree with me and others have been complaining about the head chef so I do stand by what I did even if it wasn't right legally. Thanks for your response.

I suspect your colleagues have set you up to do something they themselves wouldnt.

motorguy

aife wrote: »

Best to move on.
If you find yourself in the same situation again try and resist the temptation to get things off your chest till the last day ...
and don't pay too much attention to 'supportive' colleagues. Wouldn't surprise me if some of the same people were agreeing with this guy about what a !!!!! you were the minute you were out the door

Thats wholly it. If theres an exit interview on the last day then thats the time to bring it up, or to make the relevant people aware. If you'd already decided to leave, bringing it up at the start of your notice period wasnt the best idea.

Mr_Noodles

I think the key takeaway here is that you would have been better off with the support of a union. Please join one now in order to protect yourself in the future.

You could perhaps bluff, write them a polite letter saying that you've spoken to your trade union representative, who has advised you you have a good chance of claiming constructive dismissal, and that under the circumstances you think it would be reasonable for them to pay you even though you feel unable to work out your notice period.

There is nothing that puts the fear of God into an employer more than the phrase "trade union rep". I imagine they would rather just pay you two weeks' wages rather than have to pay a lawyer to advise them on this, or call your bluff.

If you haven't been working there long, you could just erase the whole thing from your CV and pretend it never happened.