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[sinussoother]

Well, this is my second post, on advise, I am re-posting with a little more detail.

 

The story is a long one, taking place over a year long period, starting with my initial employment and ending in my unceremonious sacking, a day after handing in a pretty serious & lengthy grievance letter.

 

Everyone always says that there is a straight forward case, that it is pretty black & white & an easy win. To me, mine is. This is because it is mine, and I have been dealing with it for so long now. I also know most of the facts.

 

To highlight, my grievance raised 5 key points, outlined below, with some examples:

 

1. Discrimination
   


1. Disability
   Making statements like - You can't go on site anymore, you have become a liability to the company,you can get them into a lot of trouble if you fall in a hole or off the scaffold.
   
2. Sexual Orientation
   Telling me to be careful who I am open about being gay with & excusing the comments of others due to there age & how they were brought up.
   
3. Age
   Constantly undermining desicions based on my age & making comments like: "I have been in this business for 25 years and I know what I am doing" (Actually, he had been an architect, and never done a day of PM in his life)
   
4. Sex
   Comments like, "You know what it is like, they are used to dealing with men, having to deal with a woman is a new thing"
   

 

[*]Failure to Make Reasonable Adjustments

1. No workplace risk assessment undertaken on my return to work, no meetings, no attempt to make any form of reasonable adjustment. I requested a larger monitor for 3 months (We were even being given a free one from a supplier, so it wasn't like they needed to fork out money for one.) I worked on the 3rd floor, no lift, only stairs, and carpeted, which, when you are adjusting, can be quite a hairy experience
   
2. No occupational health visit as required
   

 

[*]Incorrect Procedure

1. Failure to consult with me that all my duties were being formally handed to another employee or informing me of what my new scope of works would be
   
2. Failure to consult or notify me that my position was being advertised
   
3. Failure to place an internal advert that this position was coming available
   
4. Failure to notify me that my verbal application for the above to two directors was acknowledged or that I was unsuccessful
   
5. Failure to notify me that the position had been filled & that I would be reporting to a new superior. (I got an email along with the rest of the company on Thursday saying this new guy was starting on Monday, I only got told on the Wednesday after he started that he was my new superior)
   
6. Failure to provide appraisals & salary review as scheduled on my appointment
   

 

[*]Dispute in Job Description

1. Differences in what I was originally employed for & my current remit as based on various meetings, both formal & informal in the past 12 months
   

 

[*]Breach of Contract

1. Failure to provide me with a company car as tabled in my contract of employment
   

 

So, I gave this in in the morning on a Thursday, by 1pm the following day, I was being told that the company was in liquidation (voluntary) and that my position was no longer available and I was no longer needed with immediate effect. Basically, they gave me a cheque & told me to sod off.

 

This is where the confusion comes in, where it goes from being a straightforward case to slightly more involved.

 

1st Respondent - Company A

2nd Respondent - Company B

 

When I was originally employed, my contract was with Company B. Within my 1st week of employment, my direct boss told me that the CEO of company A had set up Company B and then signed over all 'shares' to him. As a result, he was the director, but all decisions came from the CEO of Company A and it's Directors, basically, CEO & Financial Director/Managing Director.

 

I started out as a PM and within the first month my role changed to that of Property/Facilities/Estates Manager. I started out with a portfolio of 50 odd properties, which ended this year with about 100.

 

It was an uphill struggle from the beginning, various occurrences, some mentioned above, some not. Coming into work daily, never knowing if your job was secure.

 

As was discussed with my boss, it was very apparent that Company A was indeed my employer, even if on paper I was employed by Company B.

 

Then it came to the time of the occurence that brought all this to the head, it wasn't during working hours, but on my way to work. I went to work one day 'normal' and when I returned 5 weeks later, my entire life had changed. The only reason I returned so quickly was that after various 'informal' meetings with my boss, I became aware of the fact they were trying to work me out.

 

Before my return to work, I requested a few minor changes, like, working on the groundfloor for awhile. A larger monitor. Nothing, not a thing was done. I wasn't allowed to work downstairs, as it was actually a 'directors office' Said Director coming in once every 2 weeks.

 

So, I start working again, my work is slowly but surely taken away, I am told I can't go on site, and I become aware that I am not just being paranoid, they are actually trying to replace me!

 

Anyway, this all happens, I hand in the grievance, we eventually get to a case management hearing in the week & Company A says that they never employed me, so I can't bring a case against them & they will fight it to the bone. They state in this meeting that no directors of Company A were involved in the running of Company B, they were merely clients of Company B. Company B is in liquidation & so I can't do anything there either.

 

So, if this is the case,

 

1. Why did the CEO of Company A say in the meeting where they sacked me "I decide who works in this company, and I say you don't"
   
2. Why was I made to sign a Company A Employee handbook, and when I mentioned that my contract was with Company B, told I had to sign it anyway
   
3. Were all decisions always deferred to Company A
   
4. When I, at the minute I was told that I would need to move, as they were moving our office to a new town, said that I wasn't willing to respond immediately, and what if I said no, was told that "You know what they are like, they will just get rid of you" my boss referring to the 2 "super Powers" of company A
   
5. Why did the Financial & Managing Director of Company A resign as Company Secretary on the board of Company B 2 months after I was sacked & Company B was put into voluntary liquidation?
   

Ending my grievance I told them that there actions were tantamount to constructive dismissal.

 

So, that is part of the whole sorry tale. We are going to Pretrial, at which point I have to prove that even though my contract was with Company B, I was really employed by Company A.

 

Sorry it's so long!

Edited October 2, 2008 by sinussoother
Name Change