request for private help

[flatulentbob]

im too frightened to post the details here just in case. it's probably quite specific. please pm me. i have a genuine issue.

flat bob

[pt2537]

Why can you not post on here? the thing is that the help which is given in these forums is often very very good, however if someone gives the wrong advice it can be corrected as other people can see the advice given. i suggest that you think about your problem and post what you can on here, as long as you dont use personel details like name and address etc you should be ok


regards
paul

[Rooster-UK]

Originally Posted by flatulentbob

im too frightened to post the details here just in case. it's probably quite specific. please pm me. i have a genuine issue.

flat bob

Nobody knows who you are or where you live on this site. That is the reason for using user names.
Don't be embarassed to tell us what your problem is. If you read some of the various forums and some of the threads in them, you will probably find other users with the same problem.

We do not do one to one on CAG. There are nearly 160,000 users registered on this site. There are not enough Moderators and Site Helpers to do that..

So post your problem and we can start to help you. If we can't help you then we can probably point you towards alternative assistance.

Regards, Rooster.

[Rooster-UK]

This is a self-help forum. We help each other. Every one of us has a problem that we are sorting out.
The beauty of this site is that we can provide the information and knowledge that you need to sort out your problems.
And we are with you from start to finish.

What's more we don't charge you a penny for it.

[GlasweJen]

if something is in open forum we can discuss it and have many peoples views, experiences and interpretations applied, in private you may get some misguided advice. Do what you see on other threads, blank names and places out with *** and refer to people as general things like "a fellow worker", "one of the managers" etc.

[flatulentbob]

i know all too well though, it is so easy to search for common phrases little bits of information, and given that this site is so all encompassing in different areas, it is quite possible to let slip details about a tiny fragment of your life that someone could find then trace back to employment issues.

i'll try to sanitise what i was writing and hopefully post back soon.

see... i nearly gave me name.

[tezza123]

Hi all. My problem is i basically got forced out of my job. I was a engineer for a vending machine company and they are known for treating there staff like poo. After 18 months of being there and asking for training every month and having money being taken out of my wages without notice or permission and not ever getting the correct ammount of overtime, i chose to go down what i thought was the correct route and wrote a grievance letter. After the grievance hearing finished at say 1pm on monday the company took my company van of me at 1.15pm with no notice basically, i had no way off getting to work. I stayed the rest of the day and tried to get a cheap car sorted and throughout the whole day the company were pushing and pushing and in the end i handed in my notice and stated on my notice that i had been forced out by the company. That is basically a brief there is alot more to it all. 18 months infact. So can anyone help what should i do, Do i have a case.

[GlasweJen]

sounds like constructive dismissal and you should have a case at tribunal, you should read the information on the tribunal website just so you know what you're going to have to do and then give ACAS a call, one of their advisors will be able to listen to the details and give more tailored advice. Do note that tribunals have a time limit and if you don't act fast your case could get struck out.

[flatulentbob]

in order to safely protect the innocent from petty recrimination, i shall be changing certain points in order to obscure from those who wish to pry and spy and bring the company into dis-repute. the story remains true.

the wife, shall we say, had been having problems with her employer. she feels that they are victimizing her, singling her actions out for complaint while ignoring others. she also feels bullied that they are placing too much work on her.

they have been insisting then any training which isn't necessary for her to perform her, shall we say, it related job, must be done during personal time away from work. these requests are not subject to reward and are often accompanied by deadlines and threat of disciplinary action if not met.

my wife has only ever tried to help and be an asset but her skills are frequently overlooked. she has been there three years but she has had her job spec changed to another avenue of the sector. she feels it is destroying her career, her happiness and her health.

she has learnt that everyone is on substantially more money than her and she feels used, especially that she has been threatened with the boot on several occasions.

she has tried taking action by airing her issues in a formal manner but they've been ignored after two months.

she feels its heading towards constructive dismissal as she is not valued or respected where she works, but she wants to avoid this due to the cost it will cause for us and the stress and hassle. she would rather walk out with her head held high and leave on good terms.

any thoughts?

she wants to find out her working rights, in whether they can insist with threat of discipline that training is taking during personal time.

she also wants to find out whether they can insist that driving to a client, no matter where they are, 100 miles away or more, is not part of the working day and must be done without reward or recognition during personal time. or whether she can safely say no, my day starts at 9.15am (her normal working start).

flat bob

[mrsfoot]

Originally Posted by flatulentbob

in order to safely protect the innocent from petty recrimination, i shall be changing certain points in order to obscure from those who wish to pry and spy and bring the company into dis-repute. the story remains true.

the wife, shall we say, had been having problems with her employer. she feels that they are victimizing her, singling her actions out for complaint while ignoring others. she also feels bullied that they are placing too much work on her.

they have been insisting then any training which isn't necessary for her to perform her, shall we say, it related job, must be done during personal time away from work. these requests are not subject to reward and are often accompanied by deadlines and threat of disciplinary action if not met. Any training not related to work or career are not (usually) performed within the normal daily hours of the job. If you are saying that she (your wife) asks for the training and they refuse to allow the time off but then puts it to a time scale, review and then threaten with disciplinary action if not completed, then this is unfair. It would be dificult to argue constructive dismissal over this but it should be brought to the attention of her line manager (or their line manager if necessary)

my wife has only ever tried to help and be an asset but her skills are frequently overlooked. she has been there three years but she has had her job spec changed to another avenue of the sector. she feels it is destroying her career, her happiness and her health. Was they new job spec agreed before the transaction took place? Was there a reason for the new job spec (for logistics / promotion / redundancies) If no reason and not agreed then this should be discused with her manager to gain the actual reason it happened. You can then use the reason to move this forward.

she has learnt that everyone is on substantially more money than her and she feels used, especially that she has been threatened with the boot on several occasions. If someone has the same job, and spec and is getting a lot more than your wife then this is discrimination (especially made stronger if the other person is male...sorry but thats how it goes). At first she must make her manager aware of the difference and ask why. There may be a reason for this, although it would have to be very good.
If she has been threatened with dismissal, she needs to ask why. What has she done wrong? What disciplinary action will be taken. Remeber that unless it is gross misconduct then its highly unlikely for her to be dismissed. If they continue to threaten her then she must report this especially if there has been no procedure being followed.

she has tried taking action by airing her issues in a formal manner but they've been ignored after two months.

she feels its heading towards constructive dismissal as she is not valued or respected where she works, but she wants to avoid this due to the cost it will cause for us and the stress and hassle. she would rather walk out with her head held high and leave on good terms.

any thoughts?

she wants to find out her working rights, in whether they can insist with threat of discipline that training is taking during personal time. No they cannot. Any personally paid training taken outside of working hours is not subject to discipline

she also wants to find out whether they can insist that driving to a client, no matter where they are, 100 miles away or more, is not part of the working day and must be done without reward or recognition during personal time. or whether she can safely say no, my day starts at 9.15am (her normal working start). Her job spec will tell you more. If it states flexibility then its difficlt to say no, however there must be travel expenses (or tax deducted) hours given back or paid as wages

flat bob

I would start by making a personal log of everything that has happened..dates, times, who witnessed, what happened, who did the action, what the outcome was.
Then request the disciplinary procedure from Human Rsource Dept. It is your right to have one of these, and there should be one for every job.
Make the complaint in writing and apply the discpiplinary proceudre (so if it says the complaint must go to her line manager then do that, and copy HR ito the letter)
Insist the procedure is followed, by making sure she writes to the HR dept and manager if nothing is done within the agreed timescales on the proceudre.
If nothing happens the give ACAS a call and ask for representation. They are there to work between 2 parties in order to get a lawful and correct result.
If the procedure is followed, she will be allowed to take someoen in with her, either colleague she can rely on, you or a friend. This person should just take notes and help out with what she has to say (organising notes etc) and moral support.
Make sure you keep copies of everything and copy the HR dept into everything. They have to comply with procedures.

[flatulentbob]

thank you for keeping my "wife" in this.

it is not training "she" is seeking, but training they insist she takes and that they request. training that they want her to take during personal time. training that they want her to complete, but isn't necessary for her to do the job as she has been doing it for three years.

there was talk of redundancy action but that came to nothing. she feels like she is being pushed out of her job instead of them doing the honourable thing of making her redundant.

the problems are all caused by the manager and everyone up through the chain including the director and no resolution looks likely.

the employer has suggested that she should find another job if she feels undervalued, threatened with dismissal and disciplinary action unless she lets her employer control her personal life (ie training requested by the company, for the company, and requested to be done during personal time), and threatened for not meeting those targets.

they have also questioned her skills, saying that she is not meeting the needs of the business. but they have never requested those skills before. and in any event, when my wife has asked to be included on the projects for the learning that they want her to do, she is told no and found something else to do instead and then that learning is provided to someone different.

it is like they are telling her off for not doing something that they dont want her to do anyway.

with regards to travelling, travel expenses are paid, but time off in lieu is not given, not even for medical appointments, its not paid or recognised.

[mrsfoot]

I suggest your wife seeks advice from ACAS immediately. If there is unlikely to be a solution due to this neanderthal behaviour right up to Directors then she needs expert help.

Start the diary and keep it going, this will be of great use to the rep from ACAS.
The contract is the vital piece of evidence, and as you are unlikely to write this up on here (read other posts) then she needs to go somewhere that is totally independant.
Hope this helps and the situation gets sorted