Problems at work after returning from jury duty

Jude57

alidai said:

diystarter7 said:

JCS1 said:

The person may think it is unfair, but it is not discrimination in law as it does not relate to one of the protected characteristics.

Therefore fail to see what ACAS could do?  

ACAS job is to mediate, help, easy the process and it is their bread and butter helping/guiding people through stuff like this.

At times one's manager may not be up to the task and or rude/bully to cover their incompetence. What this manager is saying or trying to do may be the best way forward but they lack the capacity to deliver ina decisive and constructive manner that is not seen as bullying/condescending etc.  ACAS will guide both sides and at times it's easier to take notice of a third party.

ACAS is the way forward.

Jesus, I’m very glad you are not in my workplace.  It does not surprise me one bit that you have used ACAS a lot, as it sounds like you are the type to raise hell when a very minor “issue” occurs.

And yes, this is a minor issue, not one for ACAS, just something that is evening out all of the “late” shifts that the other employees have had to do for the last 3 months.  How anyone can see this as discrimination is quite frankly astounding

I couldn't agree more. I'd add that, while the call centre staff at ACAS may be very nice to speak to, they're not qualified to give legal advice. Even ACAS caseworkers won't generally take on individual cases, no matter what some might fondly imagine. ACAS deal with the bigger issues, those which impact substantial numbers of people or have a wider impact on employment law.

It's unhelpful to people who have real life problems with their employer to over-egg a situation like this into a major case of victimisation. Victimisation has a very specific and narrow meaning in employment law:

https://worksmart.org.uk/work-rights/discrimination/harassment-and-bullying/what-victimisation#:~:text=Victimisation is a specific term used in discrimination,given evidence against the employer at a tribunal.

On the information given here, there's no victimisation.

I'd also point out that there's no such thing as 'fairness' in law. 'Fairness' is a nebulous concept, especially in employment law because employers absolutely do not have to treat employees 'fairly' in the generally accepted sense of the word. They have to treat them equitably, which isn't always the same thing. It seems entirely equitable, and in my view fair, that OP's friend carries out a block of closing shifts to give his colleagues a break. The fact his absence wasn't his fault is irrelevant. It wasn't his colleagues' fault either and surely, 'fairness' would have seen him volunteering to do more closing shifts to 'catch up'.

Finally, an employee's home life is not, in most cases, any concern or business of their employer. If the hours or location your employment requires don't tie in with your home life, that's your problem, not your employer's. I can't think of a single person who couldn't come up with a valid (to them at least) reason to not have to work late, work nights, work weekends. I speak as someone who used to have to schedule rota's covering 24 hour working. Everyone thinks their reason is important. It is to them but it's not to the employer.

Ath_Wat

Undervalued said:

diystarter7 said:

elsien said:

diystarter7 said:

What many have forgotten here and are being very harsh to the OP is the fact that he feels hard done for doing what was right, IE Jury service.


I've seen discrimination at work and from what the OP has posted this is what it is.

Why should the OP lose out. Yes, there is no reason the OP should lose out for doing their public duty from which many shy away from. The OP should not be penalised and this is what it is.

I recall returning from 2 weeks holiday and needing time off a few days after that and as I was telling the manager about this she blurted out "you've just returned from your holidays" -  I had to tell her if she would kindly let me finish. It was a combi boiler total breakdown appointment from the makers of the bolier and it was a morning appointment between 8 and 1pm.  As I often started early and finished by 4pm half a day would not make sense so she agreed but there was no need for the crass intervention.


Managers at supermarkets are under stress I've seen them running around like headless chickens and all have their favs, it is what it is.

Your boiler is not your managers problem,

My organisation has duty of care to accommodate our needs/appointments within reason.
People got time off when their children were unwell as did we and having hot water/heating in the winter
with young children in the home is essential where we lived.

I actually had to have two days off as they needed parts. I had previously consulted HR
who were in agreement that with children in the house if the boiler stops working it is deemed reasonable to have time off as our previous boiler kept on breaking don and I was fed up with the snide comments so we got a new boiler. and that broke as things do at times. and
as long as you have considered alternatives which I/we had it was ok to take time home with 24 hours notice which I was giving more than 24 hours actually

The OP's manager is clearly picking on them for doing their public service. Perhaps the manager can't cope and needs to get another job with less responsibility.

Have a nice day.

No it doesn't. It has a obligation to comply with the law. Anything above or beyond that is, at best, a contractual right or otherwise a gesture of goodwill.

I actually find it pretty easy to believe that this poster works for an organisation which has a very special duty of care for its employees.

diystarter7

Jude57 said:

alidai said:

diystarter7 said:

JCS1 said:

The person may think it is unfair, but it is not discrimination in law as it does not relate to one of the protected characteristics.

Therefore fail to see what ACAS could do?  

ACAS job is to mediate, help, easy the process and it is their bread and butter helping/guiding people through stuff like this.

At times one's manager may not be up to the task and or rude/bully to cover their incompetence. What this manager is saying or trying to do may be the best way forward but they lack the capacity to deliver ina decisive and constructive manner that is not seen as bullying/condescending etc.  ACAS will guide both sides and at times it's easier to take notice of a third party.

ACAS is the way forward.

Jesus, I’m very glad you are not in my workplace.  It does not surprise me one bit that you have used ACAS a lot, as it sounds like you are the type to raise hell when a very minor “issue” occurs.

And yes, this is a minor issue, not one for ACAS, just something that is evening out all of the “late” shifts that the other employees have had to do for the last 3 months.  How anyone can see this as discrimination is quite frankly astounding

It's unhelpful to people who have real life problems with their employer to over-egg a situation like this into a major case of victimisation. Victimisation has a very specific and narrow meaning in employment law:

How do you know what is exactly going on?
When people seek help like this, rightly or wrongly they feel cheated, victimised, mocked, belittled, isolated, marginalised, etc.
I've been there and until you have, sadly many people won't see things like this as a problem.

When I had problems with my workload IE i complained, I was picked on/bullied/etc/etc and even set up to fail. Thankfully as I was older and wiser and had two great workmates that supported me behind the scenes, I was able to see it through.

Talking to people/ACAS will help, helped me as they made me think of things I was not aware of and I used those against my manager. The manager set her cronies on me but as I was really good at what I did, I just about made it through. Bad managers etc can make your life miserable with the aid of their cronies.  They will unnecessarily check , not pick your work and all I had to do to HR was give them examples of this and demonstrated my cases were heavy and could not be compared with one of visit caes. I got my way and the manager was moved to my surprise as HR interviewed others it turned out they were going through the same stuff unknown to me.

If you feel shortchanged you most probably are no matter what the friends of the manager say.

Victminsation or not, it's not right and it needs to be investigated.