Overturned Dismiss but New Job

lja14062020

Hi. My OH was fired for "gross dismissal" (performance issues following the birth and subsequent serious health problems of his daughter). He appealed on the basis of a clean record and the fact he'd told the company his situation and was offered no support. The decision was overturned on the basis it had been too harsh and a final written warning applied.

Problem is he has just another job- albeit it's a temporary to potentially permanent kind of gig. His old place are saying he starts again on Monday...and they would back pay the month he was out of employment with them as he was fired without notice or pay which I think they legally have to do. First of all, can he refuse to return? If he does so, does he have any right to the "back pay?" 

He's unsure on whether to return. Although his new job may not be permenant, he's concerned his old place will attempt to fire him for any tiny misstep if he returns. 

Thank you so much in advance!

Undervalued

lja14062020 said:

Hi. My OH was fired for "gross dismissal" (performance issues following the birth and subsequent serious health problems of his daughter). He appealed on the basis of a clean record and the fact he'd told the company his situation and was offered no support. The decision was overturned on the basis it had been too harsh and a final written warning applied.

Problem is he has just another job- albeit it's a temporary to potentially permanent kind of gig. His old place are saying he starts again on Monday...and they would back pay the month he was out of employment with them as he was fired without notice or pay which I think they legally have to do. First of all, can he refuse to return? If he does so, does he have any right to the "back pay?" 

He's unsure on whether to return. Although his new job may not be permenant, he's concerned his old place will attempt to fire him for any tiny misstep if he returns. 

Thank you so much in advance!

Now that he has been reinstated he can obviously resign, if that is what he wants to do. Technically he needs to give them however much notice his contract requires (or one week if it is not specified). I would imagine the firm would waive the notice requirement but they don't have to.

Yes, either way, he is entitled to be paid for the time that has elapsed since his dismissal.

lja14062020

Undervalued said:

lja14062020 said:

Hi. My OH was fired for "gross dismissal" (performance issues following the birth and subsequent serious health problems of his daughter). He appealed on the basis of a clean record and the fact he'd told the company his situation and was offered no support. The decision was overturned on the basis it had been too harsh and a final written warning applied.

Problem is he has just another job- albeit it's a temporary to potentially permanent kind of gig. His old place are saying he starts again on Monday...and they would back pay the month he was out of employment with them as he was fired without notice or pay which I think they legally have to do. First of all, can he refuse to return? If he does so, does he have any right to the "back pay?" 

He's unsure on whether to return. Although his new job may not be permenant, he's concerned his old place will attempt to fire him for any tiny misstep if he returns. 

Thank you so much in advance!

Now that he has been reinstated he can obviously resign, if that is what he wants to do. Technically he needs to give them however much notice his contract requires (or one week if it is not specified). I would imagine the firm would waive the notice requirement but they don't have to.

Yes, either way, he is entitled to be paid for the time that has elapsed since his dismissal.

Thank you very much. They're refusing to waive the notice period if he does resign so it may be in his interests to return. 

Thrugelmir

Is returning to his old employer what he wishes to do? The new position allows him to start afresh with no baggage hanging over his head. 

Undervalued

lja14062020 said:

Undervalued said:

lja14062020 said:

Hi. My OH was fired for "gross dismissal" (performance issues following the birth and subsequent serious health problems of his daughter). He appealed on the basis of a clean record and the fact he'd told the company his situation and was offered no support. The decision was overturned on the basis it had been too harsh and a final written warning applied.

Problem is he has just another job- albeit it's a temporary to potentially permanent kind of gig. His old place are saying he starts again on Monday...and they would back pay the month he was out of employment with them as he was fired without notice or pay which I think they legally have to do. First of all, can he refuse to return? If he does so, does he have any right to the "back pay?" 

He's unsure on whether to return. Although his new job may not be permenant, he's concerned his old place will attempt to fire him for any tiny misstep if he returns. 

Thank you so much in advance!

Now that he has been reinstated he can obviously resign, if that is what he wants to do. Technically he needs to give them however much notice his contract requires (or one week if it is not specified). I would imagine the firm would waive the notice requirement but they don't have to.

Yes, either way, he is entitled to be paid for the time that has elapsed since his dismissal.

Thank you very much. They're refusing to waive the notice period if he does resign so it may be in his interests to return. 

I would guess (and I may be wrong) they have reinstated him through gritted teeth because they are concerned that they would lose had he taken them to an employment tribunal. He still has a Final Written Warning hanging over his head and they have just demonstrated a distinct lack of goodwill over his notice period.

Frankly I would take the other job!

lja14062020

Thrugelmir said:

Is returning to his old employer what he wishes to do? The new position allows him to start afresh with no baggage hanging over his head. 

He doesn't want to return but I think the concern is it's only officially a temporary job he now has and so he'll be more likely to be let go, whereas his old job is a permenant position he's held for three years. Being paid for the time he was unemployed is a pull as well, hence why I'm trying to find out if he's still entitled to that if he refuses to return to try and simplify things a bit! 

lja14062020

permanent^

Thrugelmir

Current employer will not tolerate any further poor performance or conduct issues. With such a heavily marked card I would make the observation that he'll be under such intense scrutiny that he may well not survive. 

Undervalued

lja14062020 said:

Thrugelmir said:

Is returning to his old employer what he wishes to do? The new position allows him to start afresh with no baggage hanging over his head. 

He doesn't want to return but I think the concern is it's only officially a temporary job he now has and so he'll be more likely to be let go, whereas his old job is a permenant position he's held for three years. Being paid for the time he was unemployed is a pull as well, hence why I'm trying to find out if he's still entitled to that if he refuses to return to try and simplify things a bit! 

Yes, he is. However that is not to say he won't have to battle to get it if the employer is minded to be awkward!

Strictly speaking if he refuses to work his notice he is in breach of contract. Theoretically if they can show that they suffer a financial loss as a result they could make a claim against him. It is unusual but it does occasionally happen. However to succeed they would need to show an actual quantifiable loss, despite having made reasonable efforts to minimise their losses. 

The problem is if they come up with a figure and deduct that from what they owe him, he will be the one having to take legal action to recover the money. Only he know their likely mindset. Most employers wouldn't go down that route but some will try it on.

lja14062020

I'm more inclined to believe it's in his best interests to move on thanks to the opinions is this thread. Thank you all! 

oh_really

I would move to pastures new as he could be a dead man walking.