Hi all, I am gathering information on behalf of my 17 year old son. He is 9 ½ months into an apprenticeship. As part of his apprenticeship he is on college day release. He has just received his second quarterly review and has been told that he will be dismissed if his performance at his work place does not improve. His quarterly pay increase was held back. Through out his apprenticeship, and as parents, we quiz him on his day at work, and what he has been doing and taught. It is hard to get information out of a teenager at the best of times. He has said that he is been doing the same task day in day out, but with little training or supervision. He has asked for more training and to shadow another in the work place, but it never happened. The alarm bells never rang as being an apprentice you always carry out repetitive tasks. When he went into the meeting last week he was on his own, and with no representation. Present at the meeting was the manager and a secretary. There is no question of his time keeping or attitude. He was told he was not up to scratch and if thing did not improve, he would be dismissed in five weeks time. Whilst my son was on holiday recently, his manager contacted the college and asked was it possible for my son to continue on level 3 at college with no apprenticeship training at work. My son college tutor made this clear to us. We feel the manager has been planning this dismissal for some time. We feel that the manager does not want an apprentice at the company, so why was he taken on in the first place? From the contract of employment, if we can call it a contract, nothing is mentioned about dismissal. The contract is based on pay increases and term of the apprenticeship. The day after the meeting the manager spent two hours training my son. We will monitor this training as it seems to be unusual. What we feel is the manager is covering his back and trying to prove the point of dismissal. What protection rights are there for apprentices, should my son have received something in writing, and should my son have representation at the final meeting? Sorry for such a long message. Thank you for any advice you can provide. Raycas

Hi All, my OH has been working at a small shop/deli beginning 14th oct, 2011; she was called on Monday morning and told she was no longer needed and not to come in the next Friday, Saturday and Sunday (the days she works), but she'd be paid for them as it was her one-week notice from the company. There has been no warning / disciplinary, and she has a full contract with the company. We wrote an email to the company owner asking for a reason (and a formal letter of dismissal), which we received and which stated my OH was aware "there would be a probationary period" and that her work had been "unsatisfactory"; there is nothing in her contract about a probationary period, and she was often left in charge of other staff members so as to her work being unsatisfactory this is highly dubious... On a related note (we believe), she had had a few days absence the week before (for which she had a note from her doctors due to flu) and a friend of the owner had filled-in, who seems to have been given her position! This seems like a very unfair course of action - how should she proceed with this matter?

Some help would be appreciated in the following circumstances... I work in tech support call centre and have been charged with Gross Misconduct but due to my performance over the last 12 months my employer has chosen not to terminate my contract; I disagree with this being gross misconduct and while partly being my fault it is not all my fault. I shall outline the situation below. Business A calls for some configuration details to be added to their marketing program which I cannot find anywhere so I check with some body in the department who specialises in this side of the business who advises me it is actually Business B. I ask Business A if this is them and they decline although as we dont have account numbers we just go by business name there is lots of room for human error and mistaken identity from business to business... I went ahead and entered Business B's details into Business A's program thinking that it is all okay and no problems... 3 Months down the line Business B calls up saying that all of these clients are receiving marketing material but they dont know who they are I escalated Business B's issue the first day it was highlighted all the way up the 2nd line support then 3rd line support etc... so that was out of my hands I did not even know that both cases were related. 4th month down the line both business A and B are aware and now want to Sue my employer; my employer pins this all on me as gross misconduct and I must sign this later this week should i? I dont think this is gross misconduct as it is an accident and just mistaken identity along with checking with another member of staff, my employer says i should have challenged the member of staff because in teh initial call Business A advised tehy were not business B. Around the time of initial call we had Business C change ownership to a very similar name to Business A. Can I get some advice on this? I am not so good with legal things and when I had my interview with the "Boss" i had nobody present nor was i asked for somebody to be present. At the end of the day They put me down as Gross misconduct i will probably have to sign this and confirm i was at fault but they will not fire me due to my performance over the last 12 motnhs and they know its a mistake. I dont really want this on my file; but apparently it will be destroyed in 6-12 months, i am afraid on Thursday they will tell everybody in the company about this naming myself also would this be slander? Please give me some advice I really need to know if it is worth taking legal action and leaving or just keeping my job ang getting on with it.

quick question need answered people. partner employed for 49 weeks, dismissed for time off (ill health).been given 4 weeks payment in leiu of notice.would the 4 weeks notice take her over the year for unfair dismissal or will her empolyment be terminated on her 49th week and the 4 weeks just to pay her off.look all over the web and can't find and definate answer on this one.

Hi Briefly I have submitted a lengthy formal grievance to my employer. They have sent acknowledgment and said they will deal with it when they return from travelling. A week has passed and the thing is I am not prepared to be in this position anymore and need to resign immediately as the last straw has happened and I have lost all mutual confidence and trust for my employer due to the aspects of my grievance. Anyway can anyone throw any light on this..... Do I wait for the meeting whenever that may be? Do I resign and threaten an ET1 and coverage? Do I send a Without prejudice letter saying I am leaving due to the content of my grievance and this will be as at .........date, I could offer that I am prepared to discuss compromise? Any help appreciated Thanks jansco

hi im hoping for a bit of help 15mths ago i was diagnosed with copd i informed my place of work in the last few months my symtoms have got worse i have problems with chemicals we use in work and stairs are a problem for me once again i informed work and they put me on restricted duties which have been working for me now after seeing a oh doctor who has advised that i could continue to work for yrs with the restricted duties in place now some people i work with have complained that they are having to do extra work with me on the shift it now seems work want to finish me on what they call ill health dismissal which means a one month notice and thats it can they do this? work have a insurance policy which pays out 75% of my basic salery but they tell me i do not meet the criteria for this but have not told me what the criteria is yet i have not been off work unreasonably due to my illness i no this is long winded but just hoping for some advice thanks in advance

It is my belief that soon I am to be Capability Dismissed by my company. They are coming down on me very hard and wanting me to return to work after being off since January of this year but I cannot give them an answer as to when I can come back to work as I simply don't know. I am classified as disabled and have been for some time. I have Spinal Stenosis and my consultant asked me last week if I worked and I said that I have been off sick since January and he said that was good because he is now sending me to the Pain Management Clinic. He said it was better I did not work and will operate on me if necessary. I would like to know if I am dismissed down the Capability route will my company give me a letter or something to enable me to claim Contribution based ESA? or is there something else I can claim instead? I am on high rate DLA Mobility and Low Rate Care. Many years ago I was on Incapacity Allowance but I know that this does not exist any more. I would welcome any advice.

Hi Guys, I’d really appreciate your help with this.- sorry to blab!!!! I have just been dismissed from my job after 12 months (first 6 months was through an agency), for Gross Misconduct. The background is this: I When I started with the company, I filled in an application form for the agency so I could start. I now know that I made an error on my paperwork. I wrote “redundant” instead of “resigned” as reason for leaving one of my employers. I didn’t notice at the time and it wasn’t brought to light until 2 weeks ago. Anyway everything was fine, my attendance, working practice, timekeeping etc were brilliant, and in early January, it came to pass that the new rules surrounding agency workers came in to being, and the company rushed through rolling 3 month contracts for us. I was given an application form to fill in, and it had to be done there and then. The call centre is exceptionally busy and I had about 10 mins to fill it in, as that’s all the time I had off the phone. So I just copied the agency paperwork that I had and handed it back in (to be honest after 6 months, it seemed like it was ‘going through the motions’. No interview again was held and I went back to work without a second thought. 2 weeks ago, the company checked my reference, and the ex employer advised that I was NOT made redundant and due to the nature of me leaving would not re-employ me. This was when it came to light that I had made a huge mistake on my application form, I apologised and advised the background of why I resigned, and offered another employment reference. And thought no more of it. Two days later I was suspended for 5 days pending an investigation, due to dishonesty on my application form. I was gutted. I had a meeting on the Friday with a third party (I was advised I could have someone with me) where I explained how sorry I was and that it did look dishonest, but I t was a genuine mistake. They then dismissed me for this on Monday this week and I am now job hunting with a dismissal on my record. I have received a transcript of a so called informal meeting I have with my manager, at which she took no notes, and seems to have recalled very badly from memory, as there are many inconsistencies. Bearing in mind that my contract was up on 30/06/12 – I don’t understand why they just didn’t renew it – if I didn’t meet the criteria (based on successful references), why go to all the trouble of dismissal procedures. My problem is this: • Why I was never interviewed – where I certainly would have noticed my mistake on my form. • It doesn’t have any bearing on my capabilities at work; I was consistently top in the call centre for work resolved. • I received my performance bonus just the week prior so there was no problem with performance. • Why has this taken a year to be resolved? • Why didn’t they just end the contract? • It doesn’t have a negative bearing on the Company. • If I wanted to be dishonest, I would have omitted this employer completely from my form, as it was I have nothing to hide. • The meeting that was used for a transcript – was not recorded in any way, no notary present, I have 5 minutes warning that she wanted a ‘word’, so I was not able to ask anyone to be present. Surely if this was informal, a transcript could not be used? • It looks as though there is an ulterior motive, as the decision was made before my meeting on Friday as nothing I said seemed to make any difference. Do you think I have any grounds to appeal this decision? Please help, I feel a bit lost Thanks a lot- i appreciate it. xxx

If an Employer dismisses an employee at a disciplinary hearing, without informing them they had a the right to be accompanied by a Trade Union representive (he was told once in writing and once verbally that he could ask a colleague to be present), would an Employment Tribunal automatically find this dismissal unfair ?

I believe my employer has unfairly dismissed me. The events: A work mate at the time took two drinks from the shelf at work, then went to the back of the store were no cameras could see. I then went out the back and chatted with him, he drank both of the drinks then put them in the bin, the security guard then came down seen the two empty drinks in the bin. We were both then called up stairs to have separate meetings about the incident, during this I told them that I didnt see the work mate drink them and said they were just placed on the side then we left. Following these meetings we were both suspended so the case could be investigated. While we were suspended he handed in his resignation before the disciplinary hearing, I attended my hearing told them that he had drank both of them. However I was believed to have been guilty as I changed my story and they fired me on the grounds that they believe that I consumed one of the drinks. Since this conclusion I have expressed that I wish to appeal the decision and will bring a letter to them tomorrow stating this. I have also got a signed statement from the work mate that drank the two drinks saying he did so to take as evidence of my innocence. Just writing to ask is there any advice on my situation anyone can give, I've went to the citizens advice bureau and they said to first give them my appeal letter then get in touch with the employment tribunal. Thanks for your time

I was made redundant last year due to an alleged restructure of which i maintsined i did not understand why the company needed to do. Out of 6/7 employees i was the only one put on garden leave. The newdirector whom advised the restructure and his managers have been sacked for curruption. I was the longest serving member of dept, as well as being the best performer. I be,ieve the reason for my redundancy was to ensure expeirenced staff who would not turn a blind eye were managed out myself included. Nothing much has changed in the dept iworked in, the restructure did not really happen I did signa compromise agreement,

My partner holds a management position in his company and in the last four months had been being shut out from major decisions and meetings directly affecting his role. He has come to suspect he was being constructively dismissed. He was pretty worried about his future but thought he might be able to startup his own business if he could get a sensible severance package. He had spent a bit of spare time thinking up a name and logo for said business but he had never done anything to turn it into reality--no clients, no product, no financial transactions--and at work he continued to market his company's product intensively and positively despite the situation. Came the day when things got so bad he decided he must take action and told his boss he would claim constructive dismissal (he has documentary evidence and witnesses) unless they could reach a compromise over a severance package. Two days went by and they charged him with gross misconduct, based on his name and logo for the company he hoped to found if he had to leave his job, and on an email he had forwarded to me which had been marked confidential but which showed how he had been excluded from decision making. After the hearing he has now been given three months' paid notice as a 'gesture of goodwill'. We suspect the whole process is part of the constructive dismissal and they want to get rid of him as cheaply as possible. There has been no attempt to prove that he actually developed a competitive product or harmed his company financially or in its reputation, in fact he can produce witnesses to the contrary. Anyone got any suggestions as to whether producing a logo and company name are fair grounds for dismissal? He has five days to appeal. The whole thing seems very odd including the 'gesture of goodwill' part, if they felt he had really committed gross misconduct, why not just sack him? So he doesn't know whether to reject the offer and sue them for constructive/wrongful dismissal, or to settle.

Hi All Thanks so much for the information on Redundancy. I thought I'd post the full story so you could give me some advice as I'm writing my final grievance letter and I'm sure you'll have points I should raise. I've been in communication with my employers about my workload since April 2011. At the time they agreed it was excessive and not evenly spread but that the other person in the department wasn't up to the job. I was asked to give them time to resolve it...I did. June 2011 I have am exemplary review. Another employee was recruited but the other member of the department was reduced to two days a week. I asked for the workload to be sorted and was asked to let the new employee settle in....I did. August 2011 I asked for help and a portion of my workload was lifted but extra procedures were introduced along with more responsibilities. The net result was extra workload. I was asked to "see how it goes". October 2011 I mentioned stress but in passing (think I hoped they'd help without me having to admit that I needed the help - I'm a very strong character and this is a total shock for everyone that knows me!). November 2011 I openly discuss I'm not sleeping and feeling stressed and need some time off. I book holidays to reduce my working week to 3/4 days a week. Jan 2012 I return from Christmas and discuss that I'd be really ill all Christmas with ulcers and coldsores and was really run down and obviously my immune system was suffering. I have my review - excellent comments but my payrise is a fraction of what has been promised! During the reivew they delay telling me the result of my payrise for 6 weeks ("we'll tell you Friday", I ask on Friday, "we'll tell you on Monday"..I subsequently spend the whole weekend worrying about it) which I tell them is adding to my stress and I'd like to help them minimise this if possible....falls on deaf ears. Feb 2012 I apply for flexible working hours. It is refused for business reasons. Everyone becomes very hostile towards me. I appeal the flexible working decision and formally tell them that this is making me feel very stressed. March 2012 My appeal meeting doesn't go well, they are very intimidating and hostile. After the meeting the atmosphere gets worse and worse by the day. I start to not be included in communications. At meetings I don't know the full information and start to look incompetent and unprofessional in front of clients. I bring this up with my Manager and he agrees he has 'forgotten' to include me in some communications. I don't get a response to my flexible working appeal by the required date but the following day I receive an email that they'll try to get back to my by the end of the week. ACAS advised that I inform them that I can now take this to employment tribunal but would avoid this if they are planning to uphold my claim...they tell me to take it to employment tribunal! By this point I've been to the doctors twice to discuss stress as I've virtually stopeed sleeping now and I'm feeling unable to cope. The next day I'm out on business and receive an email at 6pm asking for a breakdown of my day....alarm bells. I've never been asked this before so I list my day and ask why this is being asked and my Manager passes the buck to his Manager. That night I didn't sleep a wink, didn't feel capable of making my meeting the next morning and drove home to my husband and kids and slept for the first time in weeks. I just couldn't do it anymore. I got signed off by the doctor and was off in total for 3.5 weeks because of stress. When I returned no one would speak to me. It was annouced to the office that I needed to be interviewed because of my absense...I nearly cried. Finally my Manager asked to speak to me, attempted to deny I was overworked but then conceeded that he had failed me and reduced my workload immediately and told me to take it easy and he'd reintroduce work as and when we were both ready for it. I felt like a weight had been lifted. Then I had my 'return to work' meeting with my Managers Manager. He was so hostile, abrupt and bullying. I answered all of his questions then he informed me that I had never been overworked and that my workload would be completely reinstated in time. I asked for a timescale and he stated "soon maybe 2/3 weeks". When asked if I had anything else to say I asked that my medical problems are kept confidential and not annouced to the office....he stood and left the room without saying a word. He's refused to speak to me since then. On my desk I find a response to my flexible working request and I email my Manager to ask to discuss it as it does not reflect my request and isn't a workable solution. It also demotes me to a trainee....which I'm not. One week after my return I was asked into the boardroom to be informed I'm being made redundant. I'm informed within this meeting that my flexible working request is final but if I want to discuss the contents of the letter then they are fine with that. Next day I have a meeting re flexible working. There is no option to discuss anything as it is so hostile. All problems with the letter ie trainee are explained away as typo's. I ask to discuss the atmosphere in the office and state that its really not helping. I tell him that everyone ignoring me is horrible. He deny's he is ignoring me and will speak to the others. Day after consultation for redundancy. Opinions??? Advice on points to raise in grievance or consultation? I need to do both before I see my solicitor which isn't great, I'd prefer their advice first.

This is a question for a friend. She has been in her job 10 months as a temp then on a 12 month contract with the company itself but she has only done 4 months of the 12 month contract. As a temp she was with an agency not direct like she is now. Can you tell me if she has got enough service to put in an unfair dismissal claim please?

I was employed to work as a kitchen manager for a newly opened franchised business. The franchisee's put into place by head office had invested a large sum of money into the business which was packaged as a stand alone, freehold opportunity. My contract of employment was drawn up by the franchisee's which I agreed with and signed. However, it became apparent that the owner of the franchised company had other ideas for the business and decided to remove the franchisee's from the business, rendering every bodies contracts null and void and ultimately without a job. No offer of payment has been made nor any clear or concise reason behind the management decisions made. I would like to know my rights and seek full reimbursement of wages owed as well as possible damages to rectify the vulnerable position i've been forced into. I am currently now in arrears with my rent. Do I go after the franchise or do i go after the already out of pocket franchisee's who were ejected from the business? Please help!

Hi everyone, This is my first post on here, and the first time I am sharing this news with anyone, but I need some assistance. I am a Canadian immigrant to England, I moved over in July, so my knowledge on employment rights in UK are a bit foggy. I started my employment with a company, as assistant manager, in mid-November 2011. Fastforward to 3rd December 2011, the store manager realised there had been a theft (approx. 3pm) from the store's safe. It was only the previous nights deposit, all the floats were still there (heavy coin). I closed up shop the 2nd December 2011, with another associate. Together we counted the tills, put deposit in safe, locked up and etc. I should add that the store itself has no CCTV or alarms. I was told by the store manager to have a bit of a lay in on the 3rd, because I had come in on my day off. When I came into work, the store was already opened (tills put out, etc). Now. It's company policy to have 2 people whenever you go into the safe, and 2 people must sign off on any safe logs (for money coming in and out, inluding the till floats and deposits) First mistake the store manager made was 1 - not checking the safe at all in the am, and 2 - not having someone with him while putting out the tills. Anyways. I had my formal disciplinary on 28th December 2011, went through everything again and they've essentially made it down to that I should of ASKED the store manager to do a safe check (do his job) when I came in that morning. I should point out, he was sacked for potential to of stolen monies, breach of trust and confidence and not following company proceedure. Another guy, supervisor, was sacked for potential to of stolen monies and breach of trust and confidence. I was sacked for opprotunity to of stolen company monies and breach of trust and conifdence. That's all 3 of the key holders. I've also been in contact with the police, as the company notified them of the theft. They actually called me down to the station on the 28th December 2011, funny enough. The PC flat out said I had nothing to worry about with the police, and he believes I had no part in the theft - my partner and I are quite well known in the village we live in as he owns his own business. And he also pointed out that I would obviously have no record and good character references since I managed to get a UK visa, which is absolutely true, it's a very complicated process. I truely believe the company went in looking to sack all 3 of us, and started nit-picking. Problem is, we were all under our probationary time still. I am new to UK however, and it's going to be quite the stain on my rather new work history. Anyway, I obviously want to appeal. I recieved thier 'confirmation' letter today, and have 5 working days to do so. Just a bit tied up on which points are valid and which arent, I need to make sure I have a valid case I suppose and a fighting chance. Thank you in advance for any input, if anyone wants more details please dont hesitate to ask.

Hi, I work for xxxxx and feel as though I have been unfairly selected for redundancy. The business plans were to reduce the headcount in my department by 13 people and I am now confirmed as one of the 13. The selection process was based on the performance rating for 2010 and an interview. The rating for 2010 was on a scale from 1-6, where 6 is the best. I achieved a rating of 4 (above average) I was told in a 1-2-1 meeting with my line manager at the beginning of that period (early 2010 before any targets had been set or work completed) that a 5 rating would not be possible for anyone. (At the end of the period I learned that several people were given a 5 rating) My work for the year included a lot of excellent process improvements along with my 'Business as usual' tasks being completed. A standout achievement that I had included the design of a database that increased efficiency in my job by upwards of 50%. Upon completion of this database I was told by my line manager that although it is good it can not be used in an official capacity or to go towards my rating because it would not be supported by IT. (The particular job that I had was subsequently moved to our Birmingham office in January 2011 and they still use the database that I created, presumably fully supported), from that point I was then left on a team that did not have enough work for the amount of staff and was moved a month later to another team (without even being consulted) where the only similarity was the job title. 2 Months later an announcement was made that the department was reducing by 13 heads. When I questioned this recently I was told that I should have appealed the rating at the time, however at the time a higher rating would have only meant an extra £150 annual bonus and I deemed it not worth it. Had I known that it meant the difference between losing my job or keeping it I most certainly would have appealed. The interview was conducted by my new line manager and another manager that was new to the company. I already know that I do not perform well in interviews due to control of my future being in the hands of others; However, I planned well, Dressed well, arrived early, was calm and performed at what I would rate as mid range. When I was told that I was selected as one of the 13 (now 12 as someone had left for another job) I requested the scoring breakdown, as I could not understand how I could be in the bottom 12 ranks. When I received this I was very surprised to find that out of everyone interviewed I had performed worse than them all and only had gained 10 points from the interview aspect of the selection process. I find it absolutely unbelievable that I would be the very bottom performer out of 50+ colleagues. I have been with the company for 4 years which is longer than most and have always had higher than average ratings, it is my feeling that once my main job had moved to Birmingham I was like a 5th wheel that they did not know what to do with. I also feel that as I was interviewed by 2 managers with whom I had virtually no relationship with that this was detrimental to me. My biggest concern however is that even before the interview they knew that I was going to be selected and that the entire process was carried out with a good idea of the 12 heads that would be leaving. I am seriously feeling victimized and mistreated and believe that this may equate to unfair dismissal. I have informed my management of all my beliefs and observations, but I only expect standard answers. I would appreciate it if anyone has any advice on how to proceed with this. Many thanks JP

I work for a very large company with an archaic sickness procedure. "Stages" are issued for each absence that occurs. Basically, I have had a couple of odd days off recently due to migraine. It's a pre-existing condition but it's been getting worse recently. A few months ago I actually ended up in the EAU of my local hospital after being referred by my GP, but nothing was done as the hospital were having a busy day... Today at work I've been told my last absence has triggered a stage 3 warning. This is the highest stage and generally results in dismissal. Nobody survives, the interview seems to be a formality. I'm in a right state over this. I cannot afford to lose my job. I'm in debt up to my eyeballs. But it looks like that will be the outcome. I've not been given a date for the interview yet. I don't have a copy of my sick record and don't know how to obtain one - HR say they can't give it to me. A few things though: I didn't have a "return to work" interview after my absence. I always thought this was mandatory as it involves fact-finding and signing documents. No idea if they can issue a stage without, have been told they probably will anyway. I don't remember getting a stage 2. I may have though, as over the last year my personal life has been all over the place so I could have forgotten. I know that sounds stupid. I don't have doctor's notes etc to take in as getting an appointment at my GP is awful. I made an appointment when I was last ill but it hasn't rolled around yet. I don't know what to do here. It seems that I'm going to lose my job and I can't do anything about it

Hello im seeking advise.....a few days ago i got a risk of redundancy letter from work....now im one of two receptionists at a hotel that between now and xmas is busy my letter says that due to a turn in business my role is no longer financially sustainable! ( wtf ) i will make every effort to find suitable alternative position blah blah so then it went into consultation period and i was told at my second meeting that one of us has to go and then he scored me on a matrix chart thingy. i have found out 2 other girls are being trained on reception that work in the hotel and i am one of few cross trained members of staff that can work well elsewhere. i know it will be me due to recent events of me making a formal complaint of victimization from a manager whos just horrid to me.... shouldn't that be addressed first? where do i stand if i get replaced? apparently he sends this matrix thing to a legal who chooses.....cant say alot is on the form tho pretty drab tbh PLEASE HELP

Hi, I hope that someone can offer me some advice. I am facing dismissal from work for viewing pornographic material in works time. I am currently suspended, and have not yet been disciplined. Although I have been informed verbally that a letter will be dispatch soon starting formal disciplinary proceedings. It started when a workmate was witnessed watching porn during works time on his company issued laptop. He was working alone on the day in question and no one else from the department was present. As part of the investigation the company suspended all 4 members of our department, leaving just the supervisor, and took all 4 laptops for investigation. The workmate was dealt with very swiftly, within the first week, and agreed to resign. After three weeks of investigations the company has informed me of its findings. These are; · Excess internet use · Having inappropriate images · Searching for porn using Google images. My explanations are as follows · Most of the systems used in our department are web based and my internet connection is running virtually all day. I often leave my laptop unattended whilst attending shop floor callouts, from anywhere between 10 minutes to an hour. During this time other people may have access to the laptop. My logon is sometimes used be others on different machines to allow them to use web based software. · On 20/12/10 I received a personnel email via Gmail to my private online email account which contained a PowerPoint presentation from a friend outside of the company. I opened the mail not aware of its contents as the email was headed, “Seasons Greetings Just click on the numbers”. The first slide in the presentation was an advent calendar which showed a cartoon of Father Christmas crashing his sledge. I assumed that the rest of the calendar would follow a similar content, i.e. funny Christmas cartoons. However, when I clicked on a date an inappropriate picture was revealed. I immediately deleted the presentation from the hard drive of the computer. I assumed that by deleting the presentation that I had removed all traces of it, as I had no wish to view, retain or distribute it further. · This is the one that I’m not sure about. They claim that they can tell that I was deliberately searching for pornographic images. I am certain that I didn’t but how can I prove it? They claim that by using Google images and running a mouse over an image that that image will be stored on my hard drive. I have used Google image search, but not for porn. Sorry for the long post. Having read some of the others posted here I believe someone will have some positive replies. Thanks for reading this and I look forward to your response.

Experts of CAG, I hope you can assist ... I'm embroiled in a ET claim against a former employer for unfair dismissal. But, I'm encountering significant resistance from the Respondent's representatives. Their solicitors were ordered by the ET to prepare the Bundle. However every piece of incriminating evidence I have against their client that I want included, they challenge the relevance over. Even after I explain the relevance, they still reject the explanations and refuse to include them. Plus, their male solicitor has been incredibly condescending to me as well, making me feel a proper fool almost every step of the way! Even though, I *KNOW* I have a strong case, and I think tat is why he is giving me such a hard time and pushing back. As the Claimant, I am 100% positive these documents are relevant and critical to my case!! I think their solicitor is intentionally dragging this out, wasting my time and trying to bully me. I really have few options now, and I thought I'd come to the good people of CAG for some help. I know there are some very smart people on here who might, in the interest of the holidays, help me out. I really will be grateful for any, any, ANY time you can offer! It the solicitor and I cannot agree on the Bundle, what recourse do I have? Can I take over responsibility for putting the Bundle together myself, so I will be in control? The ET Order stipulated the Respondent should put it together since it appeared they had most of the original documents. Over time, however, that has not been true; I actually wound up being in possession of most of the original documents. If I did that, other than costs, what other risks are there? Will their solicitor be ale to make demands of me now in an attempt to start driving up my costs? I think most of the documents have already been exchanged - disclosure has been ongoing since 12/09 - so I think we're at the end. I just want to ensure the documents I want are included. Should I apply to the ET for a Case Management Discussion (CMD) to have the Tribunal decide what should go in or not? What would that request look like? Lastly, if I have been sent documents which the solicitor later claimed were covered by privilege, but I feel that these documents demonstrate that the Respondent is intentionally violating the law, how can I get those considered for inclusion by the ET? I would be eternally grateful to anyone out there who could assist this poor woman in distress!! Happy Christmas and Holdiays to you all, and thank you, thank you, thank you for whatever hep you can provide! Ever Yours, Emma P

June 2008 I started with a billion Euro multi national. I found I was physically and mentally weakening and took a lot of sick leave. Work sent me to Occupational Docs and I explained myself and was examined. I continued to become more ill. Eventually, on the verge of suicide etc. I begged my doctor to find out what was wrong with me. He took my blood on a hunch and discovered I had a brain tumour. MRI scan confirmed I had a macro Prolactinoma and it was massive but totally treatable over time. How long? I cannot get a definitive answer but it looks 3-5 years. A year on I had to return to work because I had no benefits etc and the first day back, I was ignored by my collegues and one actually accused me of taking the ****. I tried to explain myself but was just sworn at and shouted down. The entire staff seemed against me and I was immediately moved to another department and they weren't happy with my prescence either. I put in a grievance. Investigation took place and I stated that all I wanted was to be happy and be allowed to recuperate. Workmates weren't happy. Meanwhile, I make sausages as a hobby and used to give some to various people at work and also sold some at work-about £25 worth because people ordered them. I thought nothing of this as other collegues sell rabbits that they've shot, fish they have caught,chocolates and knock off clothing. 3 months from my grievance they charged me with gross misconduct and suspended me. This really set me back immensely. I was given a final written warning valid for 12 months but my health and well being really took a beating. Told the doc what had happened and he booked me off. My consultant also saw the change in me and said I had depression. I have put in another grievance against management for not dealing with my situation properly. Ignored and now they want to dismiss me on medical grounds. I am still in a lot of pain and I am still depressed over being a social outcast at work. Any ideas? They have requested my med records now but I am reluctant to give them my permission. By the way, had my condition been diagnosed when I first displayed symptoms, I would have probably been healed by now but because the docs hadn't detected it, the disease really caused mayhem in my body and mind. I can honestly say that I would have preferred to have been crushed and spent 10 months in hospital than this horrible disease. It has cost me dearly.

Hi there, I am trying to help my daughter with an issue and hope that I have come to the right place on the Forum to get some advice! I'll try to keep this short. Feb 2010 - Daughter succesful at Interview with Large Bank She then completed their "Screening Process" and was given a start date. April 2010 - Daughter starts at Large Bank. Training Course for 6 Weeks. May 2010 - Having completed Training and (in the words of her line manager) exceeding all targets, she is called into a Meeting and told she lied on her Application form re her Exam Results and therefore she's going to be sacked if she doesn't resign. Union were involved at all stages of the internal resolution process. Daughter discovered she was pregnant two weeks after leaving Large Bank and therefore unable to get further employment for the time being. Applied to Employment Tribunal during the internal process due to Large Bank dragging their feet and that fact that she would have been out of time if she had not. So, Large Banks Solicitors are now getting nasty as the internal resolution process has come to and end with a big fat "no" and no supporting information or documents. Whereas Daughter can PROVE she provided her grades, but they will NOT give her a copy of her online application form to PROVE that she "lied" (their words) Via Employment Tribunal we have requested an Order to get them to disclose the Online Application Form. Now their Solicitors have said they will "next week" when Large Bank gives it to them (So why not just show it to us in May and every meeting in which we've asked for it since?) and meanwhile will we agree to show them our paperwork if they show us theirs!? So, where from here? Do we wait and see if the ET Chair will Order them to disclose? Do we Disclose our paperwork? It's a bit complicated, without making it obvious who the parties are, so sorry if it's a bit vague. The claim at ET is for wrongful dismissal (Procedures were not followed, not allowed representation in the "resign or be sacked" meeting, as it was "informal" - apparently!) and Age/Sex Discrimination (Union feel that they wouldn't have treated someone older with more life experience in this way) Problem we have is that due to length of service/membership Union cannot help us from here on in! Any help gratefully received.

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