Leaving

[gmail]

Hi all,
I cant go into too much detail as you never know who is reading (i really really wish i could though)
I need some advice about an employment issue.
I have had many problems at work over a prolonged period and have suffered a lot due to incompetent management. Basically i have suffered victimisation, discrimination and bullying for over a year.
I have always been stupidly optimistic and thought all the problems would be resolved but they never were.
I am now at a stage where i cant take any more, all my confidence has gone and i feel worthless.
I am currently on sick leave and receiving full pay but i simply can not go back to work and intend on taking them to a tribunal.
A grievance has not been put in yet as there have been many informal chats but regardless of the outcome now i have been sickened that much.
I am about to lodge a grievance and i also want to leave. What do i do first? Leave, grievance, stay on sick leave? What would be the best option with a view of tribunal proceedings?
If i leave will i be entitled to any benefit to support my family?
I'm not a benefit sponger by any means I'm just really stuck between a rock and a hard place and in desperate need of help as timescales are nearly up.
I feel physically sick having to still speak to my employers.

[cal37]

Hi,

First off, you’re on sick leave; stay on it as long as you can.

Put the grievance letter in, put in there all the details you can, this makes it formal and has to be dealt with.

See it through, if you don’t get the outcome you wanted, appeal. To bring a tribunal case, you have to show that you have done all you can to resolve the problems locally.

Leaving really should be your last resort and your not there yet.

[gmail]

I'm at the stage now where any regardless of the outcome i wouldn't be happy.
They have realised that this could be massive and are trying to cover tracks although it cant be done. They have recently tried to comply with the DDA although they have breached it for over a year. I'm worried that the 1 semi right thing they have decided to do will cancel out all the wrongs they have done in the eyes of a tribunal.
I just want the people that have caused all this mess to answer why it has been allowed to go on and to stop it from happening to other people.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I'm so sorry to hear you have had such a hard time from your employers, we will help you as much as we possibly can to bring about a solution which you feel comfortable with. If you could give a little more information regarding your case it would be help us to advise you properly.

As Cal37 has said, you really need to submit a formal written grievance detailing the problems you have had and how you feel they have not addressed them to your satisfaction. You need to show you have exhausted the internal complaints procedure before you can go to tribunal.

If you need any help with the letter, please let us know and either myself or one of the other experienced members will help you.

Please try to stay positive, if you have been badly treated by your employer then you must believe that it is they who are in the wrong, not you, and there are laws in place to protect you.

You are not alone now you have asked for help here.

Kind Regards

Ell-enn

[Jemms00]

Really sorry to hear about this. You have to try and be strong and if you feel you can no longer work there, make sure they pay for what they have done. I agree that you need to submit a written grievance as soon as possible. Now I just need to be clear on something, you state that your employers have not complied with the DDA; do you have proof of this? Remember that the Tribunal will consider victimisation, bullying etc.. but you do need to have valid evidence to suggest that this was done because of your disability. I’m not a legal expert, from experience I know that when you write the grievance, or following the investigation to your grievance you need to put it in writing in the letter that you feel that you have been treated less favourably/discriminated against – would be good if someone else confirms this.

With the sick pay, you’re on full at the moment, depending on your employers and how long you’ve been working for them I think six month is the maximum they pay you full? You need to find out the sick pay policy as sooner or later you will be on half pay, can you afford that? Also after a certain amount of time your SSP will stop altogether, Tribunals can go on for months, so please make sure you plan accordingly. Once your SSP stops (from my understanding) you are not on pay but you can’t claim benefits either as your still on their payroll – again get this checked out as I’m not 100%. The only good thing about being on half/no wage is that you would be entitled to legal aid, but I’ve found that for employment cases it’s hard to find a good solicitor on legal aid.

We do need more info from you before you can be advised best, if you want to PM me that’s fine. These are the best pointers I can give you though:

Don’t wait around for them; the whole formal chat thing is nothing but delay tactics, the Tribunal are very strict on time limits and if they drag this out they will simply plead your case is out of time. There are exceptions where the Chair/Panel will consider delay tactics being used but you’d rather not have to fight that argument in the first place.

Check if your household/car insurance has legal expense cover. Not only will you get access to legal advisors over the phone, they will also take on the costs of taking it to Tribunal if you have a good case.

Don’t resign, and don’t make any hasty decisions. If you eventually do have to resign you will have to show that you had no choice, you were pushed to do so by the unreasonable conduct of your employers. For now, follow the procedures they put in place, make them work. Let us know how big this organisation is, as you could also ask for redeployment whilst all of this is being investigated (they will hate you for this but you have to remind them that they have a ‘duty of care’ towards you).

Good luck x