Unfair dismissal

Amanda12591

Hi all

New to this site, just looking for some advice if anyone has any knowledge in this area.
My partner was sacked on 23rd July following a 6 week sickness absence. He handed in 3 sick lines during this period through a colleague. On his return to work he was told his contract had been terminated due to his failure to attend a disciplinary meeting. He had no knowledge of this. It turned out he had failed to update his address and so had not received the letter asking him to attend the disciplinary or the letter advising him he had been dismissed. No phone calls were attempted even though he has a work phone that is owned by the company and they also have his personal mobile and email address. He appealed internally and they have found the dismissal was unfair and have offered him his position back. The only issue is he has accepted a new job in the time this has taken to resolve and he is a bit embarrassed to return to his position as a lot of the people he works with seem to have been made aware of what’s gone on.
He starts his new job on 3rd September so he has had no pay from 23rd July and won’t be paid until at least the beginning of October.
My question is would he have any chance of a successful appeal for compensation at an employment tribunal, Or would they see the offer of reinstatement as an acceptable and reasonable remedy?
He has been employed by the company for over 2 years so he does have employee rights.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

nicechap

Amanda12591 wrote: »

Hi all

New to this site, just looking for some advice if anyone has any knowledge in this area.
My partner was sacked on 23rd July following a 6 week sickness absence. He handed in 3 sick lines during this period through a colleague. On his return to work he was told his contract had been terminated due to his failure to attend a disciplinary meeting. He had no knowledge of this. It turned out he had failed to update his address and so had not received the letter asking him to attend the disciplinary or the letter advising him he had been dismissed. No phone calls were attempted even though he has a work phone that is owned by the company and they also have his personal mobile and email address. He appealed internally and they have found the dismissal was unfair and have offered him his position back. The only issue is he has accepted a new job in the time this has taken to resolve and he is a bit embarrassed to return to his position as a lot of the people he works with seem to have been made aware of what!!!8217;s gone on.
He starts his new job on 3rd September so he has had no pay from 23rd July and won!!!8217;t be paid until at least the beginning of October.
My question is would he have any chance of a successful appeal for compensation at an employment tribunal, Or would they see the offer of reinstatement as an acceptable and reasonable remedy?
He has been employed by the company for over 2 years so he does have employee rights.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

I doubt it very much.


He failed to update his personal details with work. He has been re-instated but now has alternative employment.


It will take months, if not years to get to a tribunal with no guarantee of success - he would need to weigh up how much would he be claiming for in lost wages against the time and money chasing this loss which he himself contributed to by not updating his details.


What's his union said?

Amanda12591

Ah ok, thanks for your reply. I guess he will just have to write it off and learn from it.
They don!!!8217;t have a union so he just went to the meetings himself.

DCFC79

Amanda12591 wrote: »

Ah ok, thanks for your reply. I guess he will just have to write it off and learn from it.
They don!!!8217;t have a union so he just went to the meetings himself.

He could have joined a union.

Undervalued

Amanda12591 wrote: »

Hi all

New to this site, just looking for some advice if anyone has any knowledge in this area.
My partner was sacked on 23rd July following a 6 week sickness absence. He handed in 3 sick lines during this period through a colleague. On his return to work he was told his contract had been terminated due to his failure to attend a disciplinary meeting. He had no knowledge of this. It turned out he had failed to update his address and so had not received the letter asking him to attend the disciplinary or the letter advising him he had been dismissed. No phone calls were attempted even though he has a work phone that is owned by the company and they also have his personal mobile and email address. He appealed internally and they have found the dismissal was unfair and have offered him his position back. The only issue is he has accepted a new job in the time this has taken to resolve and he is a bit embarrassed to return to his position as a lot of the people he works with seem to have been made aware of what’s gone on.
He starts his new job on 3rd September so he has had no pay from 23rd July and won’t be paid until at least the beginning of October.
My question is would he have any chance of a successful appeal for compensation at an employment tribunal, Or would they see the offer of reinstatement as an acceptable and reasonable remedy?
He has been employed by the company for over 2 years so he does have employee rights.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

As his internal appeal was successful (which is unusual in itself) there there is an argument to be made that he should have been paid from the date of his original dismissal until the day when he could have resumed work. In effect, by granting the appeal the firm have admitted that they made a mistake in dismissing him.

It may be worth asking for this and indeed the extra holiday that would have accrued (roughly one day per two weeks) and see what they say.

There is a strict 3 month time limit in bringing employment tribunal claims although this claim could also probably be made in the small claims court where the limit is six years (five in Scotland).

FBaby

Isn't there a risk though of them bringing up failure to work notice time especially if they had to employ agency staff to cover?

Undervalued

FBaby wrote: »

Isn't there a risk though of them bringing up failure to work notice time especially if they had to employ agency staff to cover?

Probably not in this instance. He had been dismissed (either instantly or with notice or with pay in lieu of notice). I don't think it would be considered reasonable to expect him to refrain for other work just in case an appeal was upheld.

Marcon

Amanda12591 wrote: »

My question is would he have any chance of a successful appeal for compensation at an employment tribunal, Or would they see the offer of reinstatement as an acceptable and reasonable remedy?

Employment tribunals are stressful, time consuming and far more unpleasant than you can begin to imagine if you've not been there. The offer of reinstatement, and his rejection of that offer, will loom large in the minds of those sitting on the tribunal. 'Compensation', if any, would be minimal, particularly given his part in ensuring he didn't get the relevant correspondence!

Without knowing what arrangements his company has in terms of sick pay, the chances of a request for sick pay/holiday pay don't look too promising, but there is nothing to stop him sending a polite e-mail asking, in deliberately vague terms, 'what the company intends to do about these'. Might generate some cash, might not - but don't make your own lives a misery by pursuing it when he has another job already, which I hope will be a great success for him.

Undervalued

Marcon wrote: »

Employment tribunals are stressful, time consuming and far more unpleasant than you can begin to imagine if you've not been there. The offer of reinstatement, and his rejection of that offer, will loom large in the minds of those sitting on the tribunal. 'Compensation', if any, would be minimal, particularly given his part in ensuring he didn't get the relevant correspondence!

Without knowing what arrangements his company has in terms of sick pay, the chances of a request for sick pay/holiday pay don't look too promising, but there is nothing to stop him sending a polite e-mail asking, in deliberately vague terms, 'what the company intends to do about these'. Might generate some cash, might not - but don't make your own lives a misery by pursuing it when he has another job already, which I hope will be a great success for him.

I agree with general point in your opening line but I am not sure it really applies here.

The firm have, by allowing the appeal and offering reinstatement, admitted that they were wrong to have dismissed in this case. So there is no unfair dismissal case or grounds for compensation beyond the wages he would have earned between dismissal and winning his appeal.

It seems to me he has a fairy clear cut case for those unpaid wages.

steampowered

This does actually sounds like unfair dismissal to me.

Put simply, the ACAS code has not been complied with. The ACAS code requires a disciplinary meeting, followed by informing the employee of the outcome, followed by a final written warning, before you get to dismissal.

Also, I would also think that failing to turn up to a disciplinary meeting is nowhere near enough by itself to justify a dismissal.

The employer has mitigated the issue by offering reinstatement, and he has accepted another job in mitigation.

This would mean that any award for unfair dismissal would not cover lost wages until the point he started another job.

But I would still think the employer could still be liable for the 'basic award' due in unfair dismissal cases. The employer will also be liable for any lost wages/costs.

I think your husband should ask to be paid from 23rd July until he starts his new job. As a starting point - but be prepared to compromise for lost wages from 23rd July until the date the employer offered reinstatement.

And don't forget any owed holiday pay.

Amanda12591

He asked for loss of earnings but they said they had followed the correct procedure however they didn’t give as much lenience as they normally would so were offering him his job back almost as a gesture of good will and it was a take it or leave kind of deal which he had to reject.
So his employer are offering no further pay however they did pay him for his outstanding holiday pay in week in lieu, this went into his account a few days after he went into work and was told he was no longer employed.