could this be unfair dismissal??

[chezwicks]

Hi

My hubby is a HGV Driver, and the last week in October he had an accident which wasnt his fault.......but it caused a fair bit of damage to the lorry and hubbys boss said hubby would have to pay for the repairs. The following week his boss laid him off work......no notice or pay! and was told the lorry would take about 2-3 weeks to get repaired.

Anyway, hubby is still in contact with one of the other drivers, and he has confirmed that the lorry is still in the yard and there are no signs of it going to the repairers. He has also confirmed that he asked the boss if he would have hubby back after the repairs are done and the boss said "you'd have to be a millionaire to have him back!!"

I have told hubby to leave it another week then ring his boss to see where he stands and if he doesnt have im back, he can request his P45 and any outstanding owed holiday pay.

IF the boss says he isnt having hubby back, could this be a case for unfair dismissal?

[ChloeJane]

Hi there,

Can you be a little more specific, would just help in giving a reply.

1) Is your husband self employed or employed by the Company

2) If employed, has he been given any warnings, written or verbal about his conduct.

3) Does your husband if employed, have a contract?

4) If self employed does he have a written agreement for work performed.

If you can answer those it is more specific then to be able to offer some advice.

CJ

[chezwicks]

hi sorry, i should have been more specific

1 hes employed by the company
2 never had any warnings since being employed there
3 no contact was ever signed
4 n/a

thanks

[ChloeJane]

Then yes, on what you have said there would be a claim.

Firstly, if employed the employer holds liability for the damages to the vehicle not your husband. As an employee your husband would be covered under the Employers Insurance policy for driving of the vehicle.

If your husband has no formal work contract, if he has been working with them for a period of time, say more than 4 weeks, by law he is deemed as being employed and contract or no contract he would have some recourse for being put off with no notice.

After one to three months of what is usually a trial period, unless stated otherwise your husband was deemed to be employed and entitled to a notice period. I will check on precisely the periods and what he is entitled to and post back.

The employer leaves himself wide open for a claim with no contract. Can you clarify how long he has worked for them ? I will then tell you about the notice period and entitlements.

A Good link is here

[chezwicks]

Hi, he worked for them for about 5 years, then last august the boss said he was closing the business and made hubby redundant. 2 weeks after hubby had his redundancy pay, the boss rang saying he had decided to continue with the business and asked hubby back. He has been back there now since august 2006

[ChloeJane]

Highlighted are the links to information.

Pay and notice information


Contract information

If you're an employee, you automatically have a contract of employment as soon as you accept a job offer. What you may not have is a 'written statement of employment particulars' setting out your terms of employment.If you're not given this, or if it's wrong or unclear, or if you're dismissed for asking for it, you should first try to sort it out with your employer directly. If you have an employee representative (for example, a trade union official), they may be able to help. Ultimately you may be able to make a claim to an Employment Tribunal.
Dismissal for asking for a written statement will be automatically unfair.


Hope this helps. Post back if you have further questions.

CJ

[Weird Al Yankovic]

He should have had a weeks notice with pay.

As he was not at fault for the accident then he shouldn't have to pay.

Also, as there is no written contract then I presume there is no authorisation from your hubby to have wages deducted for accidents in any case, even if he was at fault.

Even then it would be normal in this industry for your hubby just to pay the excess of the insurance claim and not the whole of the repairs.

What if he did cause an accident and wrote off a hgv? Would he be expected to pay £50k plus or whatever for another one?

[GlasweJen]

This is ridiculous and almost certainly unfair dismissal. I would speak to an employment lawyer or the trade union asap