Fixed Term contract not renewed due to miscommunication regarding positive COVID result

ssbjham

I'm sorry but this may be a long post but I really need some advice :
My son has been working on a fixed term, claims based contract which usually finishes at the the beginning of January and then employees are asked back.. Unfortunately I was sent home from work to self isolate due to being in contact with a positive contact .I then started to feel unwell and sent for a test which unfortunately came back positive so my son had to also isolate.
During this time he had kept his employers informed that he was having to self isolate and that I had received a positive and he had ordered a test and was being tested. (which actually came back positive) This is where it starts to go wrong ,although he had contacted work and gave the names of the colleagues who he had been in contact he sent an email (or so he thought) informing them that he was postitive .It was not until he returned to work that he realised that the email was sitting in drafts. The app said that he had to isolate until 28th (he went to work on 28th) which he showed them when he got to work, however it does say that you have to isolate 10 days from the test or from when you start displaying symptoms so he had been isolating for 14/15 days.
He was sent home as no one was aware of his test result and was told that the manager would contact him to arrange to speak to him but she was currently on holiday. He sent an email explaining all the time lines .He did not hear anything back until last week asking him what shifts he would be available for in the new year, all good we thought but then he received a letter yesterday stating that
"After a thorough investigation relating to your conduct upon receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, the decision has been made not to offer you further employment " He replied saying that he did not know that there had been an investigation and requested the copies of the investigation. The reply was as you are not currently in the employ of ---------------there is no legal requirement for me to provide evidence for this. However in light of your request for information, the following informed the final decision:


The absence of communication with a manager upon confirmation of a positive COVID-19 result

• The absence of communication with a manager to arrange your return to work following a positive COVID-19 test result
• The high level of risk to people and business associated with the two points above
• The approach to communication with colleagues and management upon your return to work

We have a duty of care to protect our employees and members of the public, and as we continue operating within this pandemic we must be able to fully trust our team to follow correct procedures at all times.

Can anyone help please ?

Diamandis

He might have thought he contacted them but he didnt. Drafting an email and not checking it was even sent doesn't seem like hes taken enough action to ensure his employer is aware. He didnt even give them a call to discuss returning to work. As hes on a fixed term contract they dont have to extend it anyway and this is their reason for not doing so.

tooldle

Of the four points you list as informing the final decision, what does the last point refer to?
”The approach to communication with colleagues and management upon your return to work”.
it seems points 1 and 2 are correct, and hence 3 also, from the information you have already provided. 

Jsacker

ssbjham said:

He replied saying that he did not know that there had been an investigation and requested the copies of the investigation. The reply was as you are not currently in the employ of ---------------there is no legal requirement for me to provide evidence for this.

Potentially only a side point, but under GDPR* he would be entitled to a copy of his personal information that the company holds:

Your right of access | ICO

I'm not fully sure whether this covers "copies of the investigation", but that is probably his personal information and could therefore be worth a Subject Access Request (even if it turns out that he isn't entitled to it; but let them legally justify that). You could also consider things such as requesting copies of internal emails between managers which mention your son (asking them to redact anything not related to your son). 

*I don't know how leaving the EU has impacted on this.


Aside from that, it sounds like he's screwed up a bit to me.

superbigal

Did he also at least tell the contract tracers the name of the workers he was in contact with.
That surely would have helped alert the situation in the workplace.

Marvel1

To be fair, I would be phoning my employer not emailing.

Marcon

Marvel1 said:

To be fair, I would be phoning my employer not emailing.

Fair to whom? If an e-mail is correctly sent (as opposed to left sitting in the drafts folder - and we've all done that!), there is no reason that would not be adequate. The problem is that it wasn't sent and the employer has, quite understandably, been less than thrilled. His conduct could lay them open to claims from other employees.

I don't think there is much he can do, given that he didn't follow the correct procedures and given the increasing levels of concern about infection rates, it is hard to criticise the employer.

ssbjham

My concern is the affect this may have on any references. He graduated from University in May and this is the only job he has since then. I just feel that although I agree  and understand that the main point is the fact that he didn't send the email, at no point was he allowed to state his case officially.

Diamandis

Official in what way? He wasnt sacked, his contract was up and he wasnt offered another contract. Even if he was dismissed with under 2 years service they do not need to provide a reason.

He can ask what information will be given in a reference, many places only confirm job role and dates but as long as they provide factual information there is no other recourse. 

Marcon

ssbjham said:

My concern is the affect this may have on any references. He graduated from University in May and this is the only job he has since then. I just feel that although I agree  and understand that the main point is the fact that he didn't send the email, at no point was he allowed to state his case officially.

Given the short time he's been there, I'm afraid he hasn't acquired any of the employment rights a longer-serving employee might have. Employers are under massive pressure at present, and they aren't going to be spending too much time worrying about what they will see as a short-term worker who didn't stick to the rules. If he is asked at future interviews (and hopefully those won't be too long in coming), he needs to think now what he's going to say. A short and honest answer along the lines of 'I left an e-mail in my drafts box instead of sending it, which meant I didn't follow the right process for notifying my employer that I was shielding/COVID positive. I felt an absolute idiot and I've learnt my lesson'. 

Thrugelmir

A harsh life lesson as to what's expected of you when at work. Tell him to take it onboard and move forward.