Age discrimination?

TBagpuss

Jillanddy said:

paigesand said:

Since the new owners took over I and other staff don't have a contract.

It's looks like I'm going to be a building attendant.

You have a contract. They don't have to give you a new one. Employers seldom do. They bought the business. With all the contracts. 

This - if they bought the business, your contract is the same - do you have a copy of your original contract of employment.
Check what it says, particularly with regard to bank holidays , entitlement to overtime and what your normal hours of work are.

Be aware that the contract can be amended and you can be deemed to have accepted those amendments - e.g if they tell you thy now want to stay open until 6 instead of closing at 5, and you stay till 6, then you are deemed to have accepted  that change, however you can 'work under protect' - e.g. explicitly state that you o not accept the change in the contract, but work to it pending discussions / any grievance being dealt with (see https://www.acas.org.uk/changing-an-employment-contract/employees-if-you-do-not-agree-to-changes )

Moving forward, document - write down now in as much detail as you can, exactly what was said at the meting you had with them, save that at home (not on a work computer!)  do the same with any similar comments or requests and encourage your co-worker to do the same - dates time, exactly what was said (as close as you can recall - so document as soon after it happens as you can. Remember that your employer is normally entitled to access any e-mails etc you write or send using a work account, and that if you were to leave or were dismissed, you wouldn't have access to anything saved on their systems, so also copy any relevant documents such as any employee handbook setting out grievance procedures, holidays / working hours etc.

Job roles, not people, are redundant, so you cannot be made redundant if what they want is a younger or more botoxxed receptionist .

However, you might be able to negotiate a settlement agreement where by they pay you a sum similar to what you would get on redundancy in return for you not suing them for age discrimination. However, it's too early for that at present.

As others have said, the fact that they are Asian is irrelevant - focus on what they do and say, not who they are or what preconceptions you have.

Them wanting you to work on Christmas Day is not race discrimination - it might be discrimination on religious grounds if you are a Christian and they treat you less favorably on that account - for instant, if the refused to allow you to be off on Easter Day but did accommodate a Jewish employee asking for time of on Yom Kippur or a Muslim asking to take Eid off. However, if they are opening on Christmas and others bank holidays that's a perfectly legitimate business decision although they may need to negotiate to change your contracts if your existing contracts say you have bank holidays off (unless explicitly protected in your contracts, they can almost certainly require you to work between Christmas and New Year as only Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day are bank holidays) 

For constructive dismissal you have to be able to show that they breached your contract , that the breach was serious enough that it justified you leaving - depending on circumstances, it may be reasonable for you to have used their grievance process to try to resolve matters first.

It's always likely to be harder to make a successful claim if you resign than if you are dismissed or indeed if you start the process while still employed, so definitely get some proper legal advice before you give notice, if you get to that point. 

Also, make clear that their comments are not oK. So if they say to you that a role elsewhere might be more suitable, a response such as " feel I am well suited to this role, I've got 11 years experience, why would you think I'm not suitable?" which both makes clear that what they are saying is not OK but also may mean that they are more explicit about this being age-related, in which case document it.

paigesand

The atmosphere at that surgery today was terrible.

The nurse works full time and when she came in this morning she was warned by both of them she must not disclose what was said to her to any other staff, patients or outsiders and if she does they will have her in court for bringing the business into disrepute.

I have had replies to the two positions I applied for at the university.
I have been offered a interview for the building attendant role for next Monday.

Marvel1

Personally I would start recording these conversations - without their knowledge, is this allowed?

General_Grant

Marvel1 said:

Personally I would start recording these conversations - without their knowledge, is this allowed?

Yes.  Provided the person doing the recording is part of the conversation.

(It is not permissible to leave a device recording in the room when you are not there.)

Undervalued

General_Grant said:

Marvel1 said:

Personally I would start recording these conversations - without their knowledge, is this allowed?

Yes.  Provided the person doing the recording is part of the conversation.

(It is not permissible to leave a device recording in the room when you are not there.)

That is all correct however there is no guarantee that such a recording (or a transcript from it) will be admissible at an employment tribunal. The have been allowed in certain circumstances and that has been upheld at appeal. However there are also plenty of cases where they have been ruled inadmissible. Expect a battle to get such a recording admitted.

That said, providing you don't get caught making the recording, it is always better than have one than not. When the respondent finds out that one exists it may concentrate their mind about telling the truth as otherwise it could be proof of perjury which is a serious criminal offence. 

bap98189

elsien said:

bap98189 said:

What they have said is probably age discrimination, but you have zero proof. If you pursue anything, they will deny it and you will get nowhere.

Given that you clearly don't want to contnue working there your best bet is to get a redundancy payment and leave. Since you have been working there since 1997, that will be a reasonable sum. Your quickest route is to talk to the new owners about it. Tell them you understand they want you to go and that you will be willing to leave if they pay you your full redundancy settlement. They may agree, come back with a reduced offer, or decline, but at least you will know where you stand.

It’s not a redundancy situation as the role the OP is working is still there. 

No, but a settlement agreement could be signed in which they pay out the equivalent of redundancy in return for the OP resigning. It's pretty standard when both parties want to part ways.

lincroft1710

paigesand said:

The nurse works full time and when she came in this morning she was warned by both of them she must not disclose what was said to her to any other staff, patients or outsiders and if she does they will have her in court for bringing the business into disrepute.

That I would love to see!!

Jillanddy

lincroft1710 said:

paigesand said:

The nurse works full time and when she came in this morning she was warned by both of them she must not disclose what was said to her to any other staff, patients or outsiders and if she does they will have her in court for bringing the business into disrepute.

That I would love to see!!

It wouldn't stop them from fairly dismissing her for that reason though. Would it? Even if what was said was true,  that didn't mean she can repeat it with impunity. 

Alanp

It looks like this is going to get very messy, if you can get out then do so, life’s too short, you might love your job, but it’s changed now so even if you stay, it sounds like you will detest working there, they’ll be trying every trick to trip you up so they can dismiss you, why work in a toxic place, I wish you luck in your forthcoming interview…

longjohnjohnson

Undervalued said:

General_Grant said:

Marvel1 said:

Personally I would start recording these conversations - without their knowledge, is this allowed?

Yes.  Provided the person doing the recording is part of the conversation.

(It is not permissible to leave a device recording in the room when you are not there.)

That is all correct however there is no guarantee that such a recording (or a transcript from it) will be admissible at an employment tribunal. The have been allowed in certain circumstances and that has been upheld at appeal. However there are also plenty of cases where they have been ruled inadmissible. Expect a battle to get such a recording admitted.

That said, providing you don't get caught making the recording, it is always better than have one than not. When the respondent finds out that one exists it may concentrate their mind about telling the truth as otherwise it could be proof of perjury which is a serious criminal offence. 

Don't submit a recording then, submit a transcript of the recording.  The defence can only grill you as to the veracity of its contents, which they will know is true anyway, so won't do.