Just looking for some advice. I have a disciplinary this week which I don’t feel is fair, and havearranged for someone from my union (joined after having previous issues withthis company!) to accompany me. Basically, I had issues last year surrounding sickness. My boss took asudden dislike to my sickness and tried withholding pay etc, even though theyhad never followed a return to work progress or warned me in advance. Longstory short, I raised a Grievance, and was told I was in the wrong. I appealedthe decision and it went in my favour. Boss got a bit of a telling off for notfollowing the process. At the time, I detested coming to work as it was a long drawn out process of4-5 months where my boss made life hell. He knew I was suffering with healthissues, but seems he set out to make these worse. Several months down the line, one of my colleagues was promoted to senior,and management now comes through him. As you can imagine, objectives given to me were not the top of my to do listlast year and I failed to achieve these, resulting in having to go on an"improvement" plan to improve performance. I had also failed objectives the year before, but because the boss took adislike he never bothered following the process, leading to me failing themagain. The plan started in April this year, and was supposed to last 12 weeks.every 4 weeks a review should be held and decided at the time whether I havemade sufficient improvement. If sufficient I carry on to 12 weeks. Ifinsufficient I should be sent for a disciplinary. 4 weeks = first warning 8weeks = final warning 12 weeks = dismissal. So I started this in April, had some objectives set and dates set forreviews. In my reviews - for every objective he always found something to moan aboutor hold against me. I put the time and effort in to improve, but he wouldalways say "you’ve done well on this, but you could have done that as well"etc etc He would contradict himself ALL the time - ie "why did you send thatout without getting me to review it" then contradicting another time with"you’re at the level where you shouldnt be asking me to reviewthings". Despite this, I was making progress and he couldnt argue with this. However he was a bit Jekyll and Hyde. I had weekly catchups with him on top of thereviews, where we also had to go through the objective plan. He would changeweek to week his take on things "your not putting much effort in onthis/doing the bare minimum" to "oh your doing really well on thatone" So fast forward to now, and I had my 12 week review. I never heard back at 4or 8 weeks whether I had "passed" or "failed" and as such Inever had any disciplinarys. In my final 12 week review, he picked up on any little thing he could. eg"Oh good job you havent been late to work once, but why are you onlyarriving / leaving 5 minutes before your shift.... you should be showingwilling and working 20 minutes before and after". I did jobs which took other people 6 weeks to complete - it took me 2 weeksbut "I could have done better and done it faster” The same guy telling methis took over 6 weeks! I did work which other people passed onto a 3rd party. I took the time to doit myself "Well done, but you should have done this as well" Everything I did, he counteracted with something which he usually pluckedfrom thin air. During the 12 week process, he has been rude, ignored requests for help, anddone anything he can to make my life hell. We are expected to work on call one in every 5 weeks. He would give menotice sometimes 1 or 2 weeks in advance (always used to be a yearly rota) andnot allow me to change or alter if I had things planned that weekend. He also suggested I should cancel my holidays and any prebooked leave during the 12 week process He is very good at "pot calling the kettle black" as he would pickme up for not replying to emails sent 5 minutes before I finish, or even 20minutes after I have finished until the next day. Yet I sent him emails askingfor XYZ, and would ask him the week after if he has seen this email.... hisreply "I havent seen it yet". I was also laughed at for not understanding how something worked, andridiculed eg "Ill draw you a pretty picture". Yet someone else in theteam asked the same question and was explained politely with no question. My feeling is this guy is out to get me because he took offence when theboss asked me to do something which he wanted to do before he was promoted. Theguy was well known for been late / swearing at people / kicking doors etcbefore the promotion, but he is friends with the boss! My honest feeling is 3 of the 5 objectives were clear passes. He marked medown as fail on one for the tiniest little thing he could. The other two hemarked as "only just pass" . The other 2 I had a feeling might fail as I hadnt had time to finish these -although I made every effort I could to. However the week before my review hesaid "you should be OK with those as youve put lots of effort in on theother main objective" guess what though.... he failed me. Our objectives are usually scored eg 10 points max – 5 points or more is apass, less is a fail. I asked for the scoring for these objectives and he said he“didn’t have to give me these” I work on a remote site away from boss, and there should be two of us doingmy job. The other guy was sacked last year (by the same senior - who took adislike to him) and I have been on my own ever since as they have struggled toeven find anyone to interview. My feeling is they are either: Giving me this one disciplinary so a warning is on my file, making it harderfor me to find another job (which they are aware I am trying). Take it all the way to a final warning so they can easily get rid of me oncethey do find someone else. I also think my age is a factor. I am the youngest in the team by approx 10years or so, and the way he speaks to me/the way my review is written etc... Iknow he would not do this if I was 10 years older. So now the old boss (above the senior) is holding myDisciplinary. I know he has had input into these objectives and the finalreview and has already decided I have failed, so I don’t see how this can befair at all…. The disciplinary should decide whether action should be taken ornot etc. He has already decided this, as he had the overall say. Any help or advice appreciated.

Good news is.... "Sort it" meant - taking wheel off, finding the wheel cylinder had failed & was leaking brake fluid on the shoes. Brake shoes replaced both sides, wheel cylinder replaced both sides, car retested.... all free of charge as a 'goodwill gesture' Result

Hi all, Had my car (oldish worth It failed on front brake imbalance, and corroded/worn discs on the front. Garages quote was extortionate (when isnt it ) so I got somewhere else to do the work at a 1/3 of the price. Car was in today for another MOT as it exceeded the retest deadline, and it has failed. I turned up at the garage, they said the rear brakes were shot and needed replacing, I asked why this wasnt picked up on 1st test & they tried fobbing me off that: 1st answer - I had broke it driving it to/from the garage 2nd answer - It had broke on my drive 3rd answer - the mechanic who fitted front brakes broke it So the garage showed me on rolling road that the rear right brake wasnt stopping the wheel, whereas the left was. He didnt know why without taking the wheel off etc. He showed me the readings on the computer and said that was a fail. I then asked to see the results from the first test which he uhm'd and ah'd about because it was going to take him "forever". When he found them, he found that the 1st tester has since been sacked, and on the first test he had found the right rear brake was faulty - had recorded it on his test sheet but not transferred to the MOT refusal form which I was given. I was therefore only quoted for work to the front brakes. The guy changed from me being at fault to being apologetic at this point and has said he will "sort it" whatever that means. Question is - where do I stand? The car being worth what it is, I have already paid out for 2 x MOT's, front discs/pads fitted, amongst other bits and bobs & the tax is due at the end of the month. If this repair costs another £50 - £100 (which knowing the garage quote it will be!) I would have originally considered scrapping the car and getting something else. I have therefore wasted the front discs/pads and an MOT if this is the case. Having all the work done at the same time would have also cost me less than having two visits. Are they liable to fix this issue, or anything like that? My main worry is if I had taken it back during the retest period, would they have passed it and only tested "the fault" which was front brakes. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for replies so far. I spoke to ACAS and also my home insurance legal advice helpline. Both have said I have a case for unlawful deduction of wages, and next step was to give "notice of further action" giving my employers notice of 7/14 days before I take things further to a tribunal or anything else ACAS may suggest (guessing there arbitration service). The 7 days notice I gave them is due to pass tomorrow, and I still have not had the deducted pay refunded despite showing in black and white that I am correct, I have had the reasons for withholding sick pay changed again for the 8th time. I have also requested a formal grievance hearing, with a manager other than my immediate line manager due to the conflict of interest. This has been scheduled for Thursday am. My question is, as my 7 days notice will expire before the Grievance - and so far I have had no suggestion of the pay been refunded - should I proceed with next steps before the Grievance meeting? If so, what next steps would be best? Also - at my Grievance I am going to be asking for some form of goodwill gesture for the undue stress etc this has caused me. I have taken annual leave as realistically the company have made it impossible for me to take anymore time off sick for work related stress or such. I am therefore going to ask for a couple of days additional leave once I am proved correct. Also credit card interest, and any bank charges - although I have been emptying my holiday savings to try and cover everything - but its now getting pretty close. Thanks for advice

I also forgot to mention, in my recent review - I was told nobody within my team (multi site) liked me and nobody on the site I work at liked me. I was the only person doing my job at the time on this site. In the past 4 weeks a new person has been recruited, and I know that this new person has been asked to report back anything I have not done correctly, or anything I have done that could be done better. I am expected to be training this person, while he is reporting back on my weaknesses. I dont belong to a union - my policy states the company do not recognise a union! Im fine with the policies being changed, as the newer policy goes in my favour!

I am currently in the middle of an issue with my current employer. My contract/policy states I am entitled to full company sick pay for upto 4 weeks, unless I am off sick 3 or more times in 3 months for 1 or 2 days at a time; or off sick more than 5 times in a year. The sickness year refreshes in February. I am also entitled to 8 days bank holiday as per contract. On Bank Holiday Monday 6th May, I sustained an injury requiring me to visit A&E. I had damaged my foot, and was advised by the doctor not to drive or walk too much on it for 2-3 days, and to self certificate until I was fit to return to work. I informed my manager on the Tuesday morning that I would not be able to attend work due to this injury. His reply was that this occasion would be unpaid, as the injury had occurred outside of work. When I asked why this was the case - as company sick pay has never been dependent on how and where you sustained an injury or illness - I was told the company was using its discretion to not pay me. They also said I would not be paid for the Bank Holiday unless I could provide a fit note from a Dr. I was told we could discuss this further upon my return to work. When I returned to work, I had my first ever return to work interview. I was told that I would not be paid for the sickness absence because the manager on site had a 'suspicion' I had been off sick too much. When i argued against this case, I was then told it was because HR didnt want to pay me. When I argued against this excuse by quoting the policy/handbook, I was told that I was 'probably right' and would be paid unless HR said otherwise as the site management were quite insistent on me not been paid. My manager then proceeded through the list of exclusions in the policy trying to find a reason not to pay me. ie "no I dont think we could use that reason". A few days later, I received a response from the discussion my manager had with HR. I was told the policy was wrong, and I was only entitled to 3 periods of absence within any 12 month period - not between Feb - Feb as per the policy. I asked to see this policy, as the policy I was looking at was different. A few days later I was presented with a slip of paper that I signed when I started with the company saying I agreed to the sickness policy. I was told this was proof that I should not be paid. I asked for a copy of this so called policy as I was not provided with a copy. Whilst waiting for this to be provided, I phoned central HR and asked for a copy of the sickness policy which applies specifically to me. The one they sent me states that I am entitled to 5 occurances of sick between Feb - Feb. My manager then sent me a policy dating back to 2008 saying I was entitled to 3 occurances. When I argued that the most recent policy applied to me, I was threatened with a disciplinary for alleged poor performance. I sought advice from my home insurance legal advice helpline, and they told me that as my contract says I am entitled to 8 days bank holiday, they have to pay me whether I was off sick or not. Also, as my contract states I receive full sick pay, I have a contractual right to receive this. I passed this onto my manager, and was told that it would be reviewed, and I would have an update when possible. This was last week. On Friday, I received my payslip and 4 days pay was taken from my wages. This consisted of the Bank Holiday & also the 3 days I had off sick due to the injury. I asked my manager why this had happened, as it was still under discussion and he said it should not have been deducted and he would arrange for it to be reimbursed within the next day or two. Today I received a letter handed to me saying I would not be paid for the bank holiday or the 3 days off sick. It stated that the 3 days off sick - whilst the company do offer pay for sickness, there is no contractual right to recceive as it is at management discretion. I was told the policy had been updated since the 2008 version, but the trigger points remained the same (they dont!) I was told there was a pattern in my absence (there isnt) And that I hadnt followed the correct reporting procedure (I have always emailed/text and offered to ring, but manager has always previously said the text/email was OK) Ever since I first reported my sickness, the reason for with-holding pay has changed a countless number of times. It seems that the company are using whatever means necessary to not pay me for these dates, and have subsequently removed the 4 days pay from my wages. Please could somebody advise me of the next steps to take? I have looked online and think I have grounds for unlawful deduction of wages. I have requested a formal grievance meeting regarding the entire situation, but the 4 days pay which has been with-held needs sorting ASAP otherwise I am going to be unable to pay bills. EDIT - also my policy states my manager MUST hold a return to work interview - something which has never happened. I have also never been asked to complete a sickness form, and as such my manager is unable to provide me with a list of my absence and reasons for absence. From my memory, I have been off twice since January - but my manager is disputing this but still cant provide me with dates. Thanks