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Suspended without pay or explanation
DAKOTA45
Posts: 592 Forumite
Hi everyone... I'm posting for a friend today & hope someone may have some advice that I could pass on, please.
A friend of mine has been working for about 9 months as a mini bus driver for a company called 24/7.
They are based in Stansted, I believe, and provide transport (in this instance) to take special needs teenagers to school.
The job is minimum wage & only pays for hours worked, but he was called in every day, so that was ok.
Initially, he was accompanied by a PA whose job was to ensure that the passengers were secured by their seatbelts, and to help the driver load and secure wheelchairs and in general, ensure that they did not interfere with or distract the driver, and also to take phone calls, (on their personal mobile phones), relating to whether there were any changes to the route or number of passengers to be dropped off or collected at home time... very important, as the vehicles are not fitted with hands free equipment.
My friend took some annual holiday, but when he returned to work, he was sent out without a PA, so there was nobody to liase with the office whilst he was driving.
One day, on his way to collect his passengers, he received a call on his mobile. He saw that it was the office number, and as he was stationary at the time, (in a traffic queue), he picked up the call, thinking it might be important & that a vulnerable passenger might be left stranded, for instance. In the event, it was something trivial... the office was asking if he had attended a course, but this question had already been answered in a previous email, so they didn't need to call him about it, especially as they would have known that he was working without a PA.
He thought no more of it, but a couple of weeks later he was called once more by the office and told that he was in serious trouble. They said he had been caught on camera whilst using his mobile. They asked who he had called, so he said the only time he'd used the phone, (he checked the history which was still listed), was when they had called him...they were a bit taken aback by that.
With that, they told him he was suspended from work until further notice. That was about 8 weeks ago. They have provided little information as to whether he still has a job, or how the investigation is progressing.
My friend has received no notification from the Police about using his phone at the wheel, and he knows he shouldn't have done so. But neither should the company have sent him out without a PA, (it might even be unlawful as these are special needs children who need supervision), & without hands free equipment, knowing that he might need to liase with them whilst driving.
He is in limbo and doesn't know what to do. If he resigns to look for other work, the company will make him pay back the fees for the induction course as he has been with them for less than a year.
Shouldn't there be a tribunal or something if he is under investigation?
I hope somebody can advise, please... or if anyone else has worked for this company, perhaps they could say how they got on...?
Many thanks!
Dakota45
A friend of mine has been working for about 9 months as a mini bus driver for a company called 24/7.
They are based in Stansted, I believe, and provide transport (in this instance) to take special needs teenagers to school.
The job is minimum wage & only pays for hours worked, but he was called in every day, so that was ok.
Initially, he was accompanied by a PA whose job was to ensure that the passengers were secured by their seatbelts, and to help the driver load and secure wheelchairs and in general, ensure that they did not interfere with or distract the driver, and also to take phone calls, (on their personal mobile phones), relating to whether there were any changes to the route or number of passengers to be dropped off or collected at home time... very important, as the vehicles are not fitted with hands free equipment.
My friend took some annual holiday, but when he returned to work, he was sent out without a PA, so there was nobody to liase with the office whilst he was driving.
One day, on his way to collect his passengers, he received a call on his mobile. He saw that it was the office number, and as he was stationary at the time, (in a traffic queue), he picked up the call, thinking it might be important & that a vulnerable passenger might be left stranded, for instance. In the event, it was something trivial... the office was asking if he had attended a course, but this question had already been answered in a previous email, so they didn't need to call him about it, especially as they would have known that he was working without a PA.
He thought no more of it, but a couple of weeks later he was called once more by the office and told that he was in serious trouble. They said he had been caught on camera whilst using his mobile. They asked who he had called, so he said the only time he'd used the phone, (he checked the history which was still listed), was when they had called him...they were a bit taken aback by that.
With that, they told him he was suspended from work until further notice. That was about 8 weeks ago. They have provided little information as to whether he still has a job, or how the investigation is progressing.
My friend has received no notification from the Police about using his phone at the wheel, and he knows he shouldn't have done so. But neither should the company have sent him out without a PA, (it might even be unlawful as these are special needs children who need supervision), & without hands free equipment, knowing that he might need to liase with them whilst driving.
He is in limbo and doesn't know what to do. If he resigns to look for other work, the company will make him pay back the fees for the induction course as he has been with them for less than a year.
Shouldn't there be a tribunal or something if he is under investigation?
I hope somebody can advise, please... or if anyone else has worked for this company, perhaps they could say how they got on...?
Many thanks!
Dakota45
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Comments
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Having worked with special needs clients before, I am almost 100% sure he should not have been out without a PA. I would imagine it would be fairly easy for him to check on this - most likely with the local authority, as they're probably the ones who contract the service.
I think he was probably in the wrong to answer his phone, even if he was stationery in traffic?
My suggestion would be that he makes a written request to the company to provide details of the reason for his suspension, likely timescales for investigation, etc. Set a reasonable timescale for a written response, and advise that if no response is received, he will take further action. All of this depends on what sort of contract he has, but his next step might be the CAB.
It is possible that this is some sort of scam that they use to make people have to pay for the course you mentioned, or that they realised they messed up sending him without a PA and are looking for a way to get rid of him. Had he met any of their other drivers, and did they seem like a good employer?
He certainly needs to do something to resolve the situation one way or the other.0 -
He was 100% in the wrong answering his phone whilst driving, it’s against the law. It’s even worse that he had a mini bus full of passengers.
That’s not to say the company isn’t in the wrong with how they have dealt with it.0 -
bettyboo71 wrote: »Having worked with special needs clients before, I am almost 100% sure he should not have been out without a PA. I would imagine it would be fairly easy for him to check on this - most likely with the local authority, as they're probably the ones who contract the service.
I think he was probably in the wrong to answer his phone, even if he was stationery in traffic?
My suggestion would be that he makes a written request to the company to provide details of the reason for his suspension, likely timescales for investigation, etc. Set a reasonable timescale for a written response, and advise that if no response is received, he will take further action. All of this depends on what sort of contract he has, but his next step might be the CAB.
It is possible that this is some sort of scam that they use to make people have to pay for the course you mentioned, or that they realised they messed up sending him without a PA and are looking for a way to get rid of him. Had he met any of their other drivers, and did they seem like a good employer?
He certainly needs to do something to resolve the situation one way or the other.
Thank you... I thought the same thing... it's unheard of for these drivers to be without a PA, because passengers sometimes get aggressive & disruptive...
I was thinking the same thing about the scam...because although he knows he messed up by answering the phone, their phone call was pointless as he'd already spoken to them about the subject which they had brought up previously by email...
Even though he admits to answering their call, the firm has provide no photographic evidence... the Police should have contacted him by now, too, I think...
Very odd...0 -
He was 100% in the wrong answering his phone whilst driving, it’s against the law. It’s even worse that he had a mini bus full of passengers.
That’s not to say the company isn’t in the wrong with how they have dealt with it.
Thanks....Just him in the bus...he was en route to picking up the passengers.
He admits to being in the wrong in answering their call... but the company seems to have messed up by not providing a PA when it knows there must be someone to supervise disabled passengers & answer calls if say, a new passenger needs picking up, etc...
I think they are hoping that he will get fed up waiting, then they can claim back the fees for his course if he resigns...0 -
Thanks....Just him in the bus...he was en route to picking up the passengers.
He admits to being in the wrong in answering their call... but the company seems to have messed up by not providing a PA when it knows there must be someone to supervise disabled passengers & answer calls if say, a new passenger needs picking up, etc...
I think they are hoping that he will get fed up waiting, then they can claim back the fees for his course if he resigns...
Two wrongs do not make a right! The fact that the company apparently didn't provide this "PA" is not any excuse for breaking the law (with or without passengers).
Had he not answered the call and the company tried to discipline him for failing to do so he would have had a cast iron defence.
As it is he has no defence at all. With only nine months service he has no protection against unfair dismissal. Even if he had been there for more than two years this could still be a perfectly fair dismissal.
I suspect the course fee is a red herring. It is almost certainly repayable in the event of dismissal for gross misconduct (I suggest he checks his contract and course fee agreement).
Sorry, but pleading for forgiveness is the only option here!0 -
Undervalued wrote: »Two wrongs do not make a right! The fact that the company apparently didn't provide this "PA" is not any excuse for breaking the law (with or without passengers).
Had he not answered the call and the company tried to discipline him for failing to do so he would have had a cast iron defence.
As it is he has no defence at all. With only nine months service he has no protection against unfair dismissal. Even if he had been there for more than two years this could still be a perfectly fair dismissal.
I suspect the course fee is a red herring. It is almost certainly repayable in the event of dismissal for gross misconduct (I suggest he checks his contract and course fee agreement).
Sorry, but pleading for forgiveness is the only option here!
Yes, you're absolutely right...
For whatever reason, it seems they needed rid of him. Strange as he was reliable and punctual...perhaps they were overstaffed.
He appears to have been set up... (by sending him out without a PA to answer calls....) perhaps it was simply a test to find out if he'd be tempted to pick up the phone.
If so, he failed. He was told by the boss that it's a sackable offence, so why not just fire him on the spot... why say that they will carry out further 'investigations' as to whether he still has a job or not? It's a bit odd... Maybe they want to keep him in reserve... shouldn't they cover his wages at least until a determination of some kind?
The council hasn't been in touch to ask for his licence back, and neither has there been anything from the police, yet.
He broke the law so it should be instant dismissal, I would have thought. Any further delay deserves an explanation.
Eight weeks without any wages will leave him in debt & he probably needs to look for another job, I think.
Seems a rotten way to treat someone.:(0 -
Undervalued wrote: »Two wrongs do not make a right! The fact that the company apparently didn't provide this "PA" is not any excuse for breaking the law (with or without passengers).
Had he not answered the call and the company tried to discipline him for failing to do so he would have had a cast iron defence.
As it is he has no defence at all. With only nine months service he has no protection against unfair dismissal. Even if he had been there for more than two years this could still be a perfectly fair dismissal.
I suspect the course fee is a red herring. It is almost certainly repayable in the event of dismissal for gross misconduct (I suggest he checks his contract and course fee agreement).
Sorry, but pleading for forgiveness is the only option here!
Though the term PA is the abbreviation for Personal Assistant in this case it probably does not mean an office type personal assistant (= secretary in those far off days) provided to assist the OP's friend but would be to assist the children.0 -
I suggest he turns up at the offices of who ever employs him, and asks to see the managerBreast Cancer Now 100 miles October 2022 100 / 100miles
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Minimum wage, only paid for the hours he works and "suspended" without pay. I suspect this is a zero hours contact, he's a worker not an employee, and he's simply never going to hear from them again. They don't need to dismiss him - they'll simply never offer him any hours again.0
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Strange situation.
I think your friend may be on a hiding to nothing with less than two years service.
Don't know what others think, but if I thought they were going to get rid of me whatever (or wanted me to resign), I think if I wanted to be awkward I'd be making a SAR (or whatever it's called) to see the photographic evidence. Seems a bit coincidental that he should be filmed on the one day that the kids' personal assistant isn't there to answer the 'phone. Also I assume the photographer is a "member of the public" if he's heard nothing from the police. (Mind you, as I also assume neither he nor his employer is the registered keeper of the vehicle, a NIP may be working its way towards him if it was an "official" photograph. But then, I'm not sure if his employer would have seen the photo if it was official).
If he gets sacked I think I'd also report to the council that these vulnerable kids sometimes get transported in breach of what I presume are the contract terms.
Only downside would be if the police are not currently involved, but the employer decides to involve them - if they have photographic evidence.
[EDIT: Blatchford's #10 is probably right. Your friend needs to look for another job.]0
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