Employment law question

stmatt

HI

I have a very long complicated situation and need help.

I am a scientist who has been employed on short term contracts for the past 10 years in academia. About 3.5 years ago I took a period of approx 10 months maternity leave. At this point I had a fellowship but had to end it early to start some new funding which gave me a new 2 year contract which ended 31.01.08. This was the latest date I could start the new funding due to the timeliness of the grant. Last year I took another period of maternity leave which ended 31.01.08 which is the same date as my contract ended. As I am on short term contracts and long service I was expecting a redundancy payment.

In mid-December I discovered from a colleague that the my employer had extra funding to cover my maternity leave and so my contract could have been extended. However I have never received notification of this from my employer. In December I received a letter that is sent to all employees 3 months before the end of their contract asking (1) whether further funds are available and contract to be extended (2) whether I wished to take statutory redundancy or (3) whether I wanted enhanced redundancy. I obvisuly ticked the box stating that I wanted enhanced redundancy.

However today I have received an email saying I not entitled to redundancy because I have effectively resigned because there were further funds available to employ me past the date of my contract.

Where do I stand with this? As far as I see it, I have had no correspondence stating that there were other funds available - was I supposed to turn up to work on 01.02.08 and hope there was a new contract waiting and just go home if there wasn't. I think the whole situation has been complicated by the fact that people know that I have come to Australia for 12 months (husband has a job) but I feel that this is coincidental. If I'd had a job to go back to then we would have delayed our trip.

ALL HELP APPRECIATED (even if its just sympathy at having such a crap ex-employer).

kam1000

Contact a citizen's advice bureau for advice.

May be Kent Law Clinic or another pro bono legal advice service may also be able to advise you.

On an initial reading sounds like the employer has fallen foul of your employment rights, but you must act quickly.

stmatt

Hi,

My big problem is that I'm now in australia so I don't really have access to CAB. I have replied to the email stating that I had no notice that my contract could be renewed because of the availability of funds and have even suggested that they could continue paying me since I am still writing up my research.

I don't really know my rights in this situation and fear its probably a bit of a grey area. I'm just fed up of the entire attitude from my employer- I've only just had my entire maternity pay confirmed as they were trying to just give me 1 bank holiday instead of the 80% I was entitled to (i worked 80% time).

Voyager2002

I do hope that you are a member of the appropriate union (now UCU, until recently AUT). They are able to arrange legal advise, as well as to negotiate directly with employers.

I am not legally trained, but it does sound as if your employer has broken European law (under which anyone who has been employed under more than one contract for five years or more has the same rights as a permament employee), not to mention English law that prohibits discrimination.

If you have no access to help from your union, it would be worth paying a solicitor who specialises in employment law. If you like I could find contact details for such a solicitor from my own union branch.

stmatt

No, I never joined a union although I do now regret that decision after having suffered bullying at work, discrimination after returning to work after my first child and then during my second pregnancy!! Its just never been worth officially complaining before but now I am well and truly P**d off.

I have emailed a company that specialises in employment law in the hope they can clarify the situation.

mountainofdebt

When you say you're employed in academia what exactly do you mean? Do you mean you teach at a FE college or something similar?

I only ask as my night school lecturer mentioned something that might be of use to you in one of our lecturers. I think he said that lecturers tend to be employed on short term contracts say from September to June/July. However if the lecturers are employed on this basis for four years continuously then they are considered to be permenant members of staff.

Does this help?

stmatt

Hi

I was a research fellow in a university. And yes, after 10 years I should have the same rights as a permanent member of staff. This isn't the problem. The Uni are saying that I effectively resigned because there were more funds available in my salary account. However I had no knowledge of this until I had an an email conversation with a colleague a month before the end of my contract even though the Uni had known for a few months.

It seems now that I can push for sex discrimination because I was on maternity leave.