is this unfair?

[R&J]

I would like to think the ET had given a Judgment on this one by now.

 

Would be nice to know what happened, especially given the duration the thread went on for, and the amount of CAGgers who chipped in.

[Surfer01]

Even if the Op came on and said that they had a gagging order at least we would know. Obviously OP is probably getting notifications on this thread.

[R&J]

Given that this went to Tribunal, and decisions of the Tribunal are public I do not see how there can be any confidentiality clause / gagging order in place.

 

Unless the Respondent realised they were on to a loser and offered to halt the trial in return for a some of money and a confidentiality agreement, perhaps.

 

Either that or the result did not go our way:|

[honeybee13]

I too would like to know that our OP has had closure, hopefully that they're happy with, even if they can't tell us any details.

 

HB

[robbond55]

Hear hear!

[SWIS]

Yet AGAIN, after a number of people have helped out we have yet to receive an update. It really cheeses me off and I didn't have any input!

I hope for everyones sake, the OP updates after all the support he received, it is the least he can do.

[honeybee13]

Hello SWIS, haven't seen you here before. Remind me not to upset you ! I agree it's disappointing when you try hard for someone and they just disappear without a word.

 

I wonder if our OP and his lady have got something like a Confidentiality Agreement since the Tribunal started and have been told they can't discuss the case.

 

SarEl, if you happen to read this, would this type of agreement preclude telling us that the case has been resolved, for instance? Just to put us out of our misery to know something has happened, hopefully in our OP's favour.

 

HB

[elpulpo]

Hello SWIS, haven't seen you here before. Remind me not to upset you ! I agree it's disappointing when you try hard for someone and they just disappear without a word.

 

I wonder if our OP and his lady have got something like a Confidentiality Agreement since the Tribunal started and have been told they can't discuss the case.

 

SarEl, if you happen to read this, would this type of agreement preclude telling us that the case has been resolved, for instance? Just to put us out of our misery to know something has happened, hopefully in our OP's favour.

 

HB[/QUOT

seems umlikely that it would have gone all the way through the ET and only then the respondant offered a CA, I might be wrong though.

Might be that the decision sadly went against them, and they were so knocked for six theat they haven't thought to post the outcome. It can have a big effect on people after so much expectation that they'd get justice.

[MrShed]

Subbing to this thread. Has anyone tried PMing the OP?

[papasmurf1cx]

Bump

 

Wasn't on the forum when this started but having read it all, wish I could have contributed. What tenacity..... even if it didn't go their way.

[honeybee13]

Subbing to this thread. Has anyone tried PMing the OP?

 

. Far too simple for me, MrShed. HB

[jsgraver]

sounds to me like a bit of a set up unfortunately the dice are loaded in the employers favour

however they must carry out a thorough investigation taking into account every aspect of events

there are a few cases on this worth reading

i am no legal eagle but i see certain similarities between this case and the one that i am going to tribunal hearing shortly

it seems personal and the reason for sacking may not be the real reason

i will let you know how we got on and any tips or help

ps in our case covert cameras were used!!!!!!!

[R&J]

It's a real shame that the OP has not told us the outcome.

 

I infer either that they didn't win and don't want to admit it, or that there was an 11th hour Compromise Agreement, which included a confidentiality clause.

[callumsgran]

It's a real shame that the OP has not told us the outcome.

 

I infer either that they didn't win and don't want to admit it, or that there was an 11th hour Compromise Agreement, which included a confidentiality clause.

Quite, the least they could do is come here, post that a compromise or whatever has been reached and that they cant say any more

[papasmurf1cx]

Just done it, let's hope Surreyguy will let us all know.

[surreyguy]

Hey peeps !

 

Some may not believe this but i have not been getting email notifications that people have been posting on this thread ?

 

I did however receive a pm from a user and that is what alerted me to come on and up-date.

 

Apologies to all who have been awaiting the result.

 

The panel took quite some time to issue their decision on the case and believe it or not the decision arrived only last thursday.

 

It wasnt the good outcome we had all hoped for and to be honest it's not the one i thought we would receive.

 

The case was decided in favour of the Respondent. We did not win.

 

The panel informed us that they were not their to decide if my partner is/was a drug user . They were not interested if the sample tested belonged to my partner or if it was indeed the sample of the other person tested on the same day.

 

They were not there to decide if the testing company broke procedure when the tester left the testing areana to meet up with the trainee tester who who had called him out of the room .

 

They were not interested if the chain of custody on the samples had been adhered to .

 

The only thing the tribunal panel were interested in was whether or not the respondent company complied with the statutory dismissal procedure.

 

They did however state in their decision that the respondent company did not conduct adequate investigation . They also said that the disciplinary hearing where my partner was not afforded the right to speak was seriously flawed but they found that the appeal process corrected all of the flaws.

 

For this reason the panel concluded that the dismissal was fair.

 

To be honest it was a shock to find out that we had not won but in saying that , i can see that the panel are only interested in the statutory procedure.

 

We have had one week now to get used to the idea of loosing and life goes on.

 

Emotions are not as high as they were in the early days and to be honest to be free from the stresses that a tribunal brings is a "win" in itself.

 

Life has returned to normal , my partner has got a new job in which she is very happy . She was honest with the new employer and assured them that she would at any time submit to random drug testing (she did one at the beginning of employment as standard) at any required time.

 

Life is good. We are happy and content.

 

The biggest loss here is the Respondents because through this whole situation they have lost my partner who gave them 18 years of loyal service . Thats not something which can be forgotten.

 

Once agin , to all who helped us on this matter a big big thank you !

[HadEnough]

Really gutted for you, thanx for updating though, and don't forget you have 3 years to decide if county court might be an option,

Good luck for the future

[honeybee13]

Hello there. It's great that you've updated us and I'm very angry that justice hasn't prevailed. But I think you're both dealing with it incredibly well and I wish you all the best in the future. As you say, the ex-employer is the loser and you still have each other and your happiness.

 

HB x

Edited October 21, 2010 by honeybee13
Grammar.

[callumsgran]

Absolutely gutted for you and your girlfriend surreyguy, what a travesty!

It's results like this that put people off trying in the first place, but as HB says you have your happiness and each other and at the end of the day that's all that matters

[jsgraver]

hi

gutted for you but you are right in thinking it is their loss

who would want to work for an employer who needs to resort to such tactics to get rid of someone

worse still the "JUSTICE" system allows them to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am grateful that you updated this thread as i am now facing the prospect of the same outcome UNLESS i can prove procedural floors

we did not get an appeal hearing

do you think that is relevant?

any advice would be much appreciated

GOOD LUCK! SOMETIMES WHEN YOU WIN YOU LOSE

BUT SOMETIMES WHEN YOU LOSE YOU WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[surreyguy]

I would say the fact that you were not offered an appeal is a big flaw in the statutory procedure !

 

Are you just at the beginning of the tribunal route ?

 

Is there anything i can do to help? Having just been through it myself i would be more than happy to help out if i can.

 

Do you have a legal rep ?

 

If not have you checked you're house insurance policy ? A lot of policies offer legal cover as standard and sometimes people dont even realise they have it.

 

Worth checking and remember , if i can help in any way just ask . pm me if you would rather .

[surreyguy]

We lost our case .. you do realise that dont you ?

 

Just seems a strange post !

[honeybee13]

Hi Surreyguy. I still think you've gained a vast amount of knowledge from what you and your lady went through, plus the peace of mind which you both deserve. So I think you would be a great asset to the forum and I look forward to working with you if with luck you decide to stick around.

 

My best to you both, HB x

[kurvaface]

Bad luck. Like you say, take the positives and look on the bright side...at least it's over.

[R&J]

Sorry to hear this didn't go well. I remember reading quite a bit about it at the start.

 

Being a litigant-in-person is a daunting prospect, my advice to anyone looking to bring a claim is to see if you have Legal Expense Insurance, usually as part of your home insurance policy.

 

You might be able to appoint a Solicitor and get it paid for by the LEI, however most policies are underwritten by a company called DAS, and it is very rare to see them 'back' a claim unless it is nailed-on to win (i.e. prospects of success above 70%).

 

Another problem is that DAS normally take several months to make a decision, given that the time-limit in most employment law claims is 3 months, this creates obvious difficulties with limitation.

 

There are employment law solicitors out there who will work on a no-win no fee. Under new law passed in April 2010 they cannot charge more than 35% of your winnings, to include VAT. I.E. you get £10,000 they take £3,500.

 

If you have LEI you can go to any Solicitor and they will try and get it backed by your LEI insurer. This is often better than dealing with DAS direct.