unfair dismissal

[Radjenovic]

hello

I have worked for a bar since march 2008,starting off as part time then going full time, i have found out tonight i am going to be dismissed,

 

the incident involved myself and an underage drinker he went to attack me and i defended myself, but according tothe manager from cctv he believes i was the aggressor. this incident occured last tuesday night, i then worked weds fri and saturday night and asked on three seperate occasions if i was in trouble over the incident, eachtime he replied

"no not at all",i decided to write an incident report at home and gave it in the next day even though i was not asked for one, just to cover myself i thought.

however my hours were cut from an average of 30 a week, to 16. my close friend is the assistant manager and found my letter of dismissal on the pc and showed it to me on monday the letter was typed up on the 8th july the day after the incident saying i violatedcompany policy and it was gross misconduct therefore they are dismissing me but will honour my hours and pay me for the remainderof the week.

 

at the bottomof the letter it states quite clearly "as you have not worked for the company for over a year you have no right of appeal"

 

i believe they have used this as an excuse to get rid of me as my partner was theformer manageress and he does not like the fact i workedthere before he took over. As i have worked there over 17 months i believe i have employee rights including a disciplinary before dismissal,ifthis incident wasso bad why was i not immediatley suspended pending investigation, as far as i am aware he has done no investigation and i have had no indication of this action being taken.

 

what should i do should i just take the letter then go for a tribunal or should ipoint out that i have fuill employee rights?

 

any helpwould be appreciated

[patdavies]

hello

I have worked for a bar since march 2008,starting off as part time then going full time, i have found out tonight i am going to be dismissed,

 

the incident involved myself and an underage drinker he went to attack me and i defended myself, but according tothe manager from cctv he believes i was the aggressor.

What he believes is not relevant - it is what he can prove that matters. He needs to be reminded that if you go to an ET, his 'evidence' will need to stand scrutiny in that forum.

 

this incident occured last tuesday night, i then worked weds fri and saturday night and asked on three seperate occasions if i was in trouble over the incident, eachtime he replied

"no not at all"

Was this statement witnessed?

my close friend is the assistant manager and found my letter of dismissal on the pc and showed it to me on monday the letter was typed up on the 8th july the day after the incident saying i violatedcompany policy and it was gross misconduct therefore they are dismissing me but will honour my hours and pay me for the remainderof the week.

You friend could find himself in deep trouble if this is found out. And the letter cannot be issued to you without a proper disciplinary process being gone through first.

 

at the bottomof the letter it states quite clearly "as you have not worked for the company for over a year you have no right of appeal"

They are wrong. I suspect that your manager believes that he only needs to count your full-time employment,

 

 

what should i do should i just take the letter then go for a tribunal or should ipoint out that i have fuill employee rights?

 

any helpwould be appreciated

For the moment, you do absolutely nothing but continue to work as normal. From your post, all you have seen is this letter on a PC; you haven't been issued with it.

 

Until you are given the letter and dismissed, nothing needs to be done.

[Vindicated]

What Pat says is spot on, very good advice.. also, if i remember correctly..you have the right to view the CCTV footage if this is to be used as part of the evidence for your dismissal.

 

Again, wait until you have been formally served the notice of dismissal before going down the tribunal route, but it may be prudent to ask if you can see the CCTV footage.

 

Again as Pat says, in an ET; the evidence has to stand up to intense scrutiny; they will take into account whether there is any audio; they are not going to say "Bang, yes the company is right just because they show us a fussy CCTV image with no audio etc" seems silly but you get my point

[Radjenovic]

thanks for the advice, i know its coming tonight, when he serves it do i immediatley appeal or do i leave it for a day?

[patdavies]

thanks for the advice, i know its coming tonight, when he serves it do i immediatley appeal or do i leave it for a day?

 

You should appeal in writing - if it comes to this.

 

If you are simply dismissed and served with the letter, than you have a slam-dunk ET case as the company has failed in any way to follow the statutory disciplinary requirements.

 

Under the law, you cannot simply be dismissed for this tonight. You must be invited, in writing giving reasonable notice, to a disciplinary meeting. The invitation must make it clear what the disciplinary is for; what the possible outcome might be (ie dismissal); remind you of your right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union official. It should also have copies of statements/evidence that the employer on which the employer is relying for their case.

[Radjenovic]

so if i am dismissed appeal then go for an et or just go straight for a tribunal as i believe i have no chance of keeping my job.

[flipper79]

You have to go through the appeal before you can go to the ET.

[Radjenovic]

ok and if they refuse an appeal?

[Vindicated]

They shouldnt refuse an appeal as its a basic right, however if they do not change their initial decision you should then go through the process of an ET

[Radjenovic]

really wish it hadnot come to this, but i can see them trying to get away with it.

[flipper79]

If they refuse the appeal then an ET will automatically consider the dismissal unfair. Although if they do dismiss you tonight without following the correct disciplinary process then that ship will already have sailed. But even then, you'd still need to write an appeal letter to them.

 

If they don't follow the correct process then they won't get away with it. Not unless you let them. Best thing for now is just to see what happens from their side.

[Radjenovic]

he found out i knew and realised i had full rights, instead he has given me a letter inviting me to an investagation meeting tonight, this meeting coyuldlead todisciplinary.....

 

however i feel i can successfully appeal this as if it is gross misconduct why have i not been suspended and the incident occured on the 6th of july