Casual worker dismissed

Comms69

nickylabron wrote: »

I queried from the first time my shift was cancelled, to the next time, in several emails, calls and informal and formal meetings why I wasn't being offered work anymore and no explanation was given. It was only ten months my last shift in December 2017,after an arduous grievance appeal did the findings come back and it was stated by my manager that she thought I was guilty of gross misconduct. There was no disciplinary hearing, no discussions, nothing.

Fact it, the manager didn't like me because I've whistle blowed about people, procedure and health and safety. This is the real reason I'm not being offered shifts, they came up with gross misconduct after ten months of saying nothing as they had to come up with something for the grievance. I worked two more shifts after this 'gross misconduct'. And point to note again, the control room calls were all diverted and the relieving operator came in minutes later.

As for the bullying, there was a lot more, would have taken a very long time to explain it all.

It just seems highly unfair casual workers get no rights of employment.

Because casual workers are NOT an employee...


Unless someone held a gun to your head, this is a voluntary exchange of time for money.

sangie595

I agree. You were not an employee, and you "knew" that to be the case - you knew that you weren't entitled to shifts or payment. As a result of that knowledge you did not challenge your status. It is too late to do so now.

Casual workers do have some rights. And some freedoms to refuse that employees don't have. Fair or not, I'm afraid this is the law.

And no, they didn't have to "come up with" anything. Your grievance could have been thrown in the bin. Only employees have the right to a grievance- hearing yours was discretionary on their part.

nickylabron

My union have told me to pursue unfair dismissal. In the grievance outcome, they stipulated I am still an employee of the council. I get payslips, pay tax, contribute towards my pension from it and accrue holiday pay. Am I calling myself casual incorrectly?

nickylabron

I've been told that I should be subject to the full council policies and procedures, and there is definitely such a thing as suffering a detriment of being a part time worker?

Comms69

nickylabron wrote: »

My union have told me to pursue unfair dismissal. In the grievance outcome, they stipulated I am still an employee of the council. I get payslips, pay tax, contribute towards my pension from it and accrue holiday pay. Am I calling myself casual incorrectly?

Workers get all this.


I think someone called you an employee incorrectly.

Undervalued

nickylabron wrote: »

I've been told that I should be subject to the full council policies and procedures, and there is definitely such a thing as suffering a detriment of being a part time worker?

It is unlawful to treat a part time employee differently just because they are part time.

The first think you need to properly clarify is your employment status. You say you are being advised by your union. Unless you have reason to believe they are giving you bad advice why are you asking here?

pmduk

I'm still not sure why you expect to have a job after leaving an emergency control room unattended.

Potbellypig

pmduk wrote: »

I'm still not sure why you expect to have a job after leaving an emergency control room unattended.

Or doing this ''Fact is, the manager didn't like me because I've whistle blowed about people, procedure and health and safety. This is the real reason I'm not being offered shifts''

OP - this is real life. If you get your managers back up, it's probably not going to end well for you. Take this lesson into your next job.

sangie595

nickylabron wrote: »

My union have told me to pursue unfair dismissal. In the grievance outcome, they stipulated I am still an employee of the council. I get payslips, pay tax, contribute towards my pension from it and accrue holiday pay. Am I calling myself casual incorrectly?

No you aren't. Your union appear to not know what they are doing! There is no way on earth, under any interpretation of law, that you are currently an employee. I can swear to that on a stack of Bibles right now, just based on what you have said! And I never say that I am certain about something unless I am! If, and I emphasise if, as a union official, I had the slightest doubt about your employment status, unfair dismissal would only be one of the cases I'd be bringing! And the crucial test is - are they telling you to bring a case, which is what you appear to be saying, or putting their money where their mouth is and paying for them to bring the case (which is what we do!) on your behalf?

You were advised, by me, that there is no such thing as in law for a casual worker. There isn't. There is for a part-time employee. But you aren't one of those. Casual workers receive all the things listed here, so these are not a test of employment status. Surely your union know that? If not, pm me and I'll send you a list of better unions!

Here's the critical test that applies to you. You had no guaranteed hours of work. You could work 50 hours a week, or none. That depended solely on what hours you were offered on an ongoing basis. No offer of hours for a period, then no pay either. You could refuse any shifts you wanted. Just the same thing - no work, no pay. You knew all these things. That is why you did not challenge the fact that you received no pay since January. Asking why you had no shifts is not the same thing - you weren't entitled to any shifts unless asked to work some, and they owed you no explanation for failing to offer you any shifts. That "on demand" working pattern is a casual worker status .- Not an employee. And your case would be thrown out of a tribunal on those grounds alone.

Then, let's put that to one side. Your work involved covering an emergency contact centre. I do not care what your good reasons for leaving it unstaffed were. Not for how short a period it was left that way for. Or anything else. Including employment status. That is gross misconduct. Even if this went to tribunal, it would still go to, regardless of anything else, was there just cause to dismiss. The answer to that is a resounding yes.

Finally, you claim they didn't like you because of whistleblowing, health and safety etc??!! Are you insane then? You obtained another job and resigned doing this job. You volunteered to come back immediately to do casual shifts on top of another job, and you did so to stay working in an environment and in a job that was so bad? For another three years? You could have walked away from this terrible employer at any time. But you didn't. I'm guessing a tribunal would be wondering if you aren't just attempting to find any excuse....

Anyway, if your union are willing to put their money behind such a hopeless case, that's nice of them. We wouldn't. We expect to have a chance of winning!

nickylabron

Hi there.

I was wondering if anyone was au fait with casual worker rights if they were an ex employee? Gov.uk states if an ex employee resigns but assumes casual work in the same role immediately they may be eligible for more rights than other casual workers. It doesn't, though, really explain in detail what these rights would be.

In this case it would be working for a local authority.

Thanks in advance for any help with this