Grievance - Is raising one, the first step to being sacked or resigning ?

[BlurredFX]

hit them with everything in one go

 

Try and bear in mind this meeting is likely to last? Have they indicated this to you? When explaining something complicated (your situation sounds it), or drawn out, i tend to try and structure what i want to say as: tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you have told them. In other words - brief overview - details - summ it all up.

 

But go into the meeting with a positive attitude - that will only be good for whatever outcome you desire - please show willing at all times, and be aware that this issue is brand new to the people who are dealing with this, so it may take time to get your point across.

 

Try not to get frustrated and just stay calm as best you can!!!!!!

[honeybee13]

Hello again. I'm wondering if it might be good to leave them a briefish written summary of your points. What do you think, guys?

 

Good luck on Tuesday, please let us know how it goes.

 

My best, HB

[bonnygirl]

I feel that you should highlight the salient points regarding your health…your health issues that's been causing you the most physical discomfort during the time you are at work. As BluredFX said take your time and try and be as accommodating as yon, but get your salient points across to them. You are spending most of your life at work and it is your health that will suffer if your employer does not comply with your requests like making simple adjustments for you in order to help you carry out your duties to the best of your ability.

Best of Luck.

[jonnycooper]

Thank you all..

 

I have emailed the person holding the meeting directly and provided him with a detailed timeline of events, copies of letters from various doctors (which I have previously provided)

 

I have prepared a summary to read during the meeting which I will also leave with him.

 

The meeting is at 2pm tomorrow, I'll update after that..

 

 

Thanks again everyone

[honeybee13]

Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Please let us know how it goes, or if you need anything else before the meeting.

 

My best, HB

[jonnycooper]

Thank you honeybee

 

I am on the train going back home after the interview for my grievance. It was relatively painless and held in a friendly atmosphere. Even though this was promoted to be an inital interview to enable discussion of my grievance and others are yet to be interviewed, it did feel the person holding the interview had already decided that everything is my fault.

 

Some of the points made were that even though I repeatedly told my employer about Doctors appointments and test results, I did not specifically ask for reasonable adjustments to be reassessed. It was felt and said indirectly that my employer does not consider it has a responsibility to reconsider adjustments as my health changes and further diagnosis is made.

 

The person holding the meeting appeared to have no knowledge of the DDA or the Equality Act. The feeling I have is that they feel that

 

• I should have challenged them, when they told me that they had decided that the medically advised adjustments weren't necessary,
  
• I did not tell what other adjustments they should make and
  
• I did not force the issue in relation to further reviews of the adjustments made or that could be made.
  

I tried to explain that I was not a Doctor and had no training in relation to reasonable adjustments so I was not to know and that I relied upon them as my employer to know.

 

I now have to wait 10 days to get the outcome. Not overly confident and will prepare myself to take it to the next stage.

Edited January 5, 2011 by jonnycooper
Corrected mistakes

[jonnycooper]

Sorry about the above typo's

 

I have posted on my phone. I will edit it and correct it tonight

[papasmurf1cx]

Hi Jonny

 

Well done on getting through it. An employer should consider how to make things easier for a disabled employee. You don't have the say "I am disabled I need this adjustment" All that is necessary is they know you have problems the reasonable adjustment can solve the problem and then work with the employee to make things easier. You should work with the management and tell them what you need and as long as it is 'reasonable' they should try and accommodate it. Now that you have officially raised it they have to consider it. Hope you made notes as you went along, if not make them when you get home.

[honeybee13]

Well done from me too. I can only endorse what papsmurf said. Please keep us posted on how it goes, or ask us more questions if you need to.

 

HB x

[jonnycooper]

Thanks Papasmurf and honeybee.

 

I do still regret having to raise a grievance but I just didn't see any other way forward. Feel uneasy about how all this will pan out in the future but for now, all I can do is sit back and see what happens

[jonnycooper]

Hello all

 

Sorry this post will seem vague..

 

If something occurs during the investigation of my grievance, can I ask for it to be added to my grievance, as it is a directly related matter..

 

I have checked ACAS website etc but can't find anything about adding to a grievance once it has been made.

[SarEl]

Yes, but you must do so formally and it must be directly connected to the grievance. If it isn't you must submit a sperate grievance.

[jonnycooper]

Yes, but you must do so formally and it must be directly connected to the grievance. If it isn't you must submit a sperate grievance.

 

Many thanks

[SarEl]

If you aren't sure and want to PM the details so you can check it, that will be ok.

[BlurredFX]

Thank you honeybee

 

The person holding the meeting appeared to have no knowledge of the DDA or the Equality Act. The feeling I have is that they feel that

 

• I should have challenged them, when they told me that they had decided that the medically advised adjustments weren't necessary,
  
• I did not tell what other adjustments they should make and
  
• I did not force the issue in relation to further reviews of the adjustments made or that could be made.
  

I tried to explain that I was not a Doctor and had no training in relation to reasonable adjustments so I was not to know and that I relied upon them as my employer to know.

 

I now have to wait 10 days to get the outcome. Not overly confident and will prepare myself to take it to the next stage.

 

With the usual caveat that I have no knowledge of DDA, he may well have decided that you should have brought it to their attention.

 

Was their any mention of your proposition of getting the Government help type people involved (forget their name) to help with the reasonable modifications you need?

 

I honestly think that you have tried to resolve this, informally. The informal approach has not worked, so you have taken it to the next step, as per company procedures, and made the Grievance formal. His attitude to you is not really significant at this stage. The outcome of the Grievance is the important consideration. He may think you should have "forced the issue" - I would argue that you are currently "forcing" the issue!! How else are you to do it, once you have tried informally???

 

I think I mentioned it earlier - please keep your eye on the long ball - i.e. this may all end at tribunal, unless you get the reasonable adjustments you need. How will a Tribunal view this series of events? That question should be at the forefront of your mind.

 

In MY OPINION, they would view it as you making all the correct steps to bring it to your employers attention.

 

In fact, thinking about it, it almost seems laughable that at your Grievance meeting, the person hearing the meeting is admonishing you for not raising the matter. Did he not read all the previous correspondence?? Ignore it.

 

Sorry for not being about recently, but please keep us posted!

 

What is the next stage you are preparing yourself for? What does your grievance procedure say? I suspect there will be the opportunity to appeal any decision if you do not like it!! And if the appeal doesn't work, then I guess it is ET1 time - but that is a while off yet!! Let's hope that someone gets hold of your situation and puts it all right and you can get back to a happier life, continuing in gainful employment!!!

 

FX

[unbelievably angelic]

Hello all

 

Sorry this post will seem vague..

 

If something occurs during the investigation of my grievance, can I ask for it to be added to my grievance, as it is a directly related matter..

 

I have checked ACAS website etc but can't find anything about adding to a grievance once it has been made.

 

My grievance meetings were fairly informal, and I'm sure any problems that have cropped up since you made your original grievance can be discussed at this grievance meeting. You should then be advised by your employer/ personnel dept if a further grievance should be made.

Throughout my grievance process I was advised by my union to raise a further grievance as my employer had taken too long to respond to my appeal letter. I didn't do this, but made sure that it was documented at the appeal meeting.

 

Since my appeal, I have raised a further grievance about the aggressiveness of my manager in attempting to agree a return to work date. This has resulted in his manager now taking things over. It can become ridiculous and petty and I was sorely tempted to give in, but I know I'm in the right so why should I? I'm not keeping my mouth closed just to make other people's lives easier.

 

Good luck, and be strong.

[teaboy2]

Thank you honeybee

 

I am on the train going back home after the interview for my grievance. It was relatively painless and held in a friendly atmosphere. Even though this was promoted to be an inital interview to enable discussion of my grievance and others are yet to be interviewed, it did feel the person holding the interview had already decided that everything is my fault.

 

Some of the points made were that even though I repeatedly told my employer about Doctors appointments and test results, I did not specifically ask for reasonable adjustments to be reassessed. It was felt and said indirectly that my employer does not consider it has a responsibility to reconsider adjustments as my health changes and further diagnosis is made.

 

The person holding the meeting appeared to have no knowledge of the DDA or the Equality Act. The feeling I have is that they feel that

 

 

• I should have challenged them, when they told me that they had decided that the medically advised adjustments weren't necessary,
  
• I did not tell what other adjustments they should make and
  
• I did not force the issue in relation to further reviews of the adjustments made or that could be made.
  

 

I tried to explain that I was not a Doctor and had no training in relation to reasonable adjustments so I was not to know and that I relied upon them as my employer to know.

 

I now have to wait 10 days to get the outcome. Not overly confident and will prepare myself to take it to the next stage.

 

Well for a start as an employer they have a Duty of Care towards all employees, it is therefore their responsibility to ensure they seek out and apply all medically advised adjustments and NOT rely upon the employee to inform them.

 

As for them claiming you did not inform them of other adjustments that where needed, well (and i only read the first 2 pages of the thread briefly so maybe wrong here) you did state that you provided such recommendations in the form of a letter from you GP? And did they not send you to occupational health who also advised them to make adjusments, which they only made some and then stated the others where not needed contray to professional medical advice given to them? If so then how on earth can they then claim they didnt know about them and that you should have informed them?

 

Its clear to me that 1, they dont know what they are talking about. Or 2 They are simply passing the blame back on to you.

 

I think you should write a letter in reference to what was said in the meeting outlining the points i just raised here and anything others may suggest that you should include in the letter.

Edited January 16, 2011 by teaboy2
Added word "NOT in 1st paragraph, as should have been worded originally

[jonnycooper]

Hello FX

 

Our grievance procedure has 4 different stages. The first is to raise it informally with your line manager. The second is to raise a formal grievance (where I am now). The third is to appeal, which means it will be reviewed by head of HR and finally stage four being ET..

 

Their was no mention of the government scheme, by either side. I still have about 6 six weeks left before I have to either accept any outcome or file a ET claim (based upon the last act of discrimination).

 

My fingers are just crossed that this all works out ok, as before all this I really liked and enjoyed my job.

[jonnycooper]

Thanks Angelic

 

I have added to my original grievance and will add more if I need to appeal. Hopefully this will just all be resolved in the coming days and I get on with my life..

[jonnycooper]

Thanks Teaboy

 

I should receive the meeting mintues to sign off soon, so I will comment on those points when I return them to my employer

[jonnycooper]

I have not heard anything more.. We are considerably over the amount of time specified in my contract for a grievance to be investigated..

 

I am getting increasingly frustrated with my employer and have lost all confidence in them, in regards to their duty's towards me as an employee..

 

Sorry just needed to vent a little

[BlurredFX]

haha I know the feeling - vent away!!! But seriously, I know this type of frustration very well, and it is NOT pleasant!

 

The important thing is keep your head and stick with it. Throw a strop now and you could end up with no job and no compensation!

 

How far over the time periods are we? We need some form of decision before we can progress this. If one is not forthcoming - and I would allow them at least a week over the limit - I would think that then you could (possibly??) advance it to stage three yourself and write direct to the head of HR. What do others think?

 

I think you now have the momentum, and you should ensure you do not lose it! Play the long game, like I say...

 

I may also be worth phoning round a few solicitors at this stage. If you phone them up with a basic work place grievance, they are not interested. If you phone them with details of where you are in your grievance procedure, they will tend to offer a couple of minutes perhaps.

 

Also phone ACAS http://www.acas.org.uk who are the Government people for helping to resolve disputes. Be wary of allowing them to get involved, as they are independent and you need an advocate (solicitor). But they are good at answering questions.

[jonnycooper]

Thanks FX, I have been a good boy and did not throw a strop...

 

There have been further developments over the last week which are confusing and sadly I am unable to post them on this forum (employer monitors consumer forums).. Does anyone know of any good websites that offer reviews of solicitors. I need to find an employment specialist quickly, tried google etc and found several but I need a good one...

[teaboy2]

Obviously i don't know the circumstances about the new developments, but one thing i do know, is that your employer has no legal right to prevent you discusing them here, so long as you do not reveal infomation that could identify the employer or individuals involved. We've seen employers try to use this tactic before in an attempt to prevent people from getting the advice they need and to put you at a disadvantage as a result. Off course its up to you if you want to tell us and get advice on how to progress or not. But rest assured yor employer can not stop you using your right to seek advice, so long as you do not disclose their identity. Juding by your need for a solicitor now, i can only assume that they are making serious allegations against you or they have made threats as result of you posting on here.

 

I find this site is the best for offering free legal adice, goto the site and click the employment section: http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/ or call them using the number given on the site.

[SarEl]

Thanks FX, I have been a good boy and did not throw a strop...

 

There have been further developments over the last week which are confusing and sadly I am unable to post them on this forum (employer monitors consumer forums).. Does anyone know of any good websites that offer reviews of solicitors. I need to find an employment specialist quickly, tried google etc and found several but I need a good one...

 

If you wish to PM me I am not soliciting business (I don't take direct clients anyway!) but you can get an impartial bit of advice off the forum if it will help. I won't be offended if you don't take me up on it either!