Hi Paul, As far as I know there is no time limit as such, however it is good practice to bring this to a speedy conclusion, therefore I feel you are well within your rights to ask them how long before a meeting is held.Asking them to hold it as soon as possible. If they take too long I would say you could put in a claim for stress over this, particularly if you are found not at fault Phil

Hi Paul, Yes I would believe it. Only last week I was in a tribunal and a head of HR person had to admit that the company failed in inform an employee in writing of their disciplinary hearing. This HR person said that they did tell his next door neighbour who is a co worker of the time/date and reason and thats all they had to do !!!. Needless to say the company settled. As i said there are some very good HR people and i would not want people to think all HR personnel are like the above but there are more and more people in HR who are like it.Seems to be a growing trend. Phil

Their actions are strange to say the least. I wouldn’t mind betting its an ill trained HR person behind this, giving bad advice etc. There are some great HR personal, who know their stuff however I have come across some that leave a lot to desire. At the end of the day an HR person is not an employment lawyer, their knowledge of employment law is basic, that’s why you should always seek proper legal advice in cases like yours. Just pass on everything to your lawyer paul and sit back and enjoy. Phil

Hi, You would have a case under customs and practice, 14 years of doing a job would prove its an implied fundamental term of contract through custom and practice.In fact 3 years of doing even after your fall just adds weight to it. Put a letter of grievance in and fight this.

Well she has to put it in writing, if you ever wish to take the matter to a tribunal, you have to show that you followed the Disputes Resolution Regulations and Employment Act 2002 to the end.

Please take notes of times etc when the bulling has happened, record everything.You have to follow the grievance procedure if you ever were to take this to a tribunal. Do not put up with this, if all else fails get an employment lawyer and take this tribunal.

A couple of things for him to mention. customs and practice and work life balance.It is totally unfair to change his contract so he never gets a weekend off, this will effect his work life balance and he should take this matter up. I have won two cases now in the same situation as your son using the work life balance.

Hi Paul, Your solicitor makes a good point !! i never thought of that. I would never sign anything letting them make deductions from your pay. Stick with it Paul i`m sure they are trying to deflect the issue so as to get out of paying damages to you. Phil

Hi Paul, They do in fact have a right to ask you to see a company doctor.However you can call into question any findings of that doctor as he will not have all your medical notes ( refuse permission for them to be handed to him ). Only your own GP and the hospital staff will know all the facts. Yes the Regional manager can carry out the investigation, however if you feel that hes not impartial then make sure you state this in the disciplinary hearing and get it noted. It is good grounds for appeal and if it was to go to a tribunal then it shows that they ignored your concerns etc.

First off, it was a company vehical as you stated, therefore you had no right to refuse to give it up.However to " sack you on the spot " is also not right. Now to the problem, is it in your contract that you would have to pay back training costs?If its not then tell them that you are no paying as they ended your contract not you. They would have to take you to the small claims court to recover this and i`m guessing that they are just trying to scare you into paying up. This is so long as its not in the contract to pay back, if there is then sorry but you will have to pay it back.

i have seen this sort of thing so many times.Enjoy the time off Paul. phil

Hi Paul, I`ll help where i can. First off they MUST follow the DDP ( Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures ) This consists of the following.... 1: Letter from the employer to the employee setting out the circumstances which have led them to consider dismissal or disciplinary action. The letter should also invite the employee to a disciplinary meeting and the employee should be provided with sufficient time to prepare for it. 2: Disciplinary meeting. Employee should be notified of decision post meeting and advised of their right to appeal( 5 working days from the date of letter dismissing him ) 3:Appeal. Employer should appoint a more senior manager to represent them at the appeal. Should the employer fail to follow the DDP and proceed to dismiss the employee, the dismissal would amount to automatic unfair dismissal. In the meeting they will more than likely have a manager and a witness, also someone to take notes. You have the right to a witness of your choice, this can be a co worker or a trade union rep ( even if there is no onsite agreement with the union). You can take notes, ask questions and see any notes or witness statments and read them in private. You can call for an adjournment at ANY point in the meeting. So if like you say, they produce someone at the hearing you have the right to have a adjournment and discuss it in private. You can end the meeting at any point so long as its so you can seek clarification with your union etc. If you have not been given a letter about the meeting as per part one of the DDP`s then as the meeting opens state that they have failed to do so and make sure its minuted. You have the right to copies of the notes taken and make sure that they are correct. If you need anymore info then feel free to ask. Phil

I would say you do not need a case law from a tribunal after all Under the Employment Act 2002 (Effective from 1 Oct 2004 ) Statutory Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures became effective, these set out mandatory dismissal and disciplinary procedures - which, if the employer does not follow them, will normally render a dismissal automatically unfair. Part of these is your right to be accompanied, it sure seems like your company likes to dig big holes for themselves lol. Good luck and please let us know how it goes. Phil

Just a small note, has you HGV been suspended or do you still hold it? If you no longer hold an valid HGV then most drivers contracts will have a point stating you must hold a valid licence.

Do NOT go into that meeting with out your rep. Get the full time rep to call your HR dept and remind them of the law, if they still refuse you your rights then enjoy the fact that you will win any case bought to a tribunal.

Don`t worry they have to prove that you did create this document and lets face it, with your claim in for your accident it would look very much like victimization if they did sack you for this without being 150% sure of the facts. Sit back and enjoy your free time off with pay, get your union involved and smile

Well for a purely investigation hearing you do not have the right to be accompanied by your union rep. However check the sites collective agreement as it might give you that right. Now you DO have the right to be accompanied by a work mate, is your union rep a co worker?? if he is you have the right to bring him. The only thing is, as a union rep in a disciplinary meeting, the rep has a right to ask questions,answer points of law etc, the only thing he can not do is answer a direct question for you. AS a work mate he has no right to speak, he can only be a witness BUT he will know when to have a break etc to speak to you and can nudge you at the right time ( you must ask for the break its your right ). If he is not, then take a co worker with you, if at anytime you feel as if things are not going well etc ask for a break and call your union rep and get his advice. Hope this helps.

If its just a note on your file stating that an investigation was carried out, then they have a right to do so. However if this note on file is part of an disciplinary then you DO have the right of appeal.You say it states you were spoken too about your conduct? take this matter up with an employment lawyer asap

Ok your contract for the roles state overtime after 37 hours...........that means if in job one you do 37 hours you get paid overtime for it at that contracts rate of pay. If in job two you also do over 37 hours you will also get paid at that contracts overtime rate and so on and so on.... You should always be paid at the rate stated in the contract which ever one it is but you can not expect to get paid for doing overtime on contract two but get paid at contract ones rate because its higher. As for the overpayment.................seek legal advice you should not have to pay this back.

It is wholly illegal for your employer to make any deduction from your wages which is not either required by law or has been agreed by you. So, income tax deductions and national insurance contributions can (and indeed must) be deducted from your wages before you are paid. These are statutory deductions. Deductions ordered by a court, such as maintenance payments or payments for a fine are also legitimate. Where employers pay a hefty sum of money for training, many of them will require that the employee pay all or part of this sum back if they leave within a certain period of time. Some of these agreements will include a clause allowing the employer to deduct the sum from the final payment made to the employee. Relatively few employers will include a clause within the employment contract that gives them permission to deduct overpayments but if such a clause is included within the contract then the employer is entitled to take back any overpayment by deducting it from your wages. (Though it could be argued that if the overpayment was their mistake and then the deduction left you short, the employer might be liable for ‘damages’ such as bank charges incurred, etc). So, in most cases, employers are not allowed to take money directly from your wages. But can they demand that you give the money back? Well, this is where common sense and the law part company. Many people would think that the money belongs to the employer and the employee must return it but it’s just not that simple. First it depends why the overpayment was made – was the overpayment made as a result of a ‘mistake in law’ or a ‘mistake in fact’? A mistake in law is where the employer incorrectly interprets statutory regulations or legal instruments – no clearer? – well, suppose an employer had to decide whether a particular regulation applied to you, and suppose this regulation regarded whether or not a particular allowance applied to you – so the employer decides that the allowance does apply to you, makes the relevant payment to you, and then later finds out that they were wrong and you shouldn’t have had the money – that’s a mistake in law. And a mistake in fact? You submit an overtime sheet that says you’ve done 2 hours overtime and someone enters the figure as 20. Simple errors of one kind or another. A mistake in fact. If the overpayment is due to a mistake of law then tough – the employer can’t demand their money back. They can ask, and you might decide it is wise to give it back to keep your employer sweet, but they cannot demand you pay it, and if they took you to court they would lose (so long as your solicitor is up on this aspect of the law). But, if it is a mistake in fact, then the employer may be entitled to demand the money back. May? Why only ‘may’? Ah, well, here’s another thing. Even if the overpayment was due to a mistake in fact the employer cannot recover the money if the following three conditions are met - if the employer has lead the employee to believe the money was theirs (one suspects that the provision of a wage slip including the amount would suffice); if the mistake was primarily not the fault of the employee (so you can’t mislead the employer); and if the employee has subsequently spent the money or used the money to change their lifestyle in some way (e.g. bought a car on HP). It is not completely clear cut, however, and, if the sum is large enough and the employer is determined, they may take the matter to court and look for an order demanding that the money is returned. Generally the courts will seek to do what is just in the circumstances. In order to do this the courts will take into consideration the amount of the overpayment, the level of negligence and whether or not the recipient knew or should have known about the overpayment. These then are the legalities surrounding the matter. In general it is very difficult for an employer to recover an overpayment but there are limits. If an individual who was normally paid £500 per month by an employer – this month, however, they had been paid £50,000 and wanted to know if they could keep it!! It is hard to imagine any court accepting this individual had not realised that they had been overpaid............. Need something to impress your employer? Or even prompt your solicitor? Here’s the case law - "Mistake of law" : the Court of Appeal in Holt v Markham 1923 1 KB 504. "Mistake of fact" : County Council of Avon v Howlett (1983 IRLR 171).

Incorrect a employer must also provide a copy of your contract within 12 weeks of any request for it.

No if that was the case then the employer would still be paying full pay as well as sick pay. I`m sorry but deducting sick pay from gross pay is correct.

I agree with Gemspan, it can be renewed indefinitely sorry.

Sorry to hear your daughter has been ill. As she fell ill within the trail period i`m sorry to say they can dismiss her without notice. They do not have to give reasons at all or pay in lieu of notice. Now her pay, its looks as if she was paid sick pay, the reason sick pay has been deducted i expect is because it was SSP. Her salary reflects a pay over and above the national minimum wage and thats what she would of got if not sick. Sorry its doom and gloom but i hope this helps in some way.

Sorry but no employer is responsible to get you into or from work. It is up to YOU to get into your work, no duty of care would cover this, as their duty of care ends as your shift ends and you are off company premises. Now to the question................If the company had a policy in the past to pay taxi fares home then you need to write a letter of grievance, in the meeting you need to point out that is customs and practice for them to cover the cost and as such they have to negotiate new terms or your will bring a case under customs and practice.