Can they do what they are threating?

[siany84]

My partner has been told by his boss today that if he doesnt start producing more work then he will be given the sack!My partner is a cabinet maker by trade and has been at his place of work for 12years and works 40+hours a week for minimum wage. My question is can his boss sack him just for not doing enough work even though he is working?

[Bigredbus]

Hi,

 

Who are they comparing his working with?

 

Is this the first time is being spoken to in such terms?

 

Is he an output worker? (or piece worker)

[padja]

of course not, is he in a union? If not he needs to get to local CAB and get what is happening reported to them. how many hours does he work? there is working time regulations. if he isnt in a union I would suggest he gets in one (Unite cover his trade) but he needs to be in it for 3 months before they can act on his behalf, Was this classed as a verbal warning?

[siany84]

Hi thanks for the quick reply

 

The person he is being compared to is classed as his foreman (there is only the two of them that make the furniture) who is being paid double what my partner is. Sorry i dont get what you mean bt piece worker. He has been given a written warning about a year ago for the same thing but his rate of work

has never changed since then.the furniture he makes is hand crafted made to order side units,dining tables and chairs. and he works from 8:30 til 5 monday to friday

[Bigredbus]

Output workers (or piece workers) are paid according to the number of pieces they produce daily/weekly... which does not seem to be the case here...

 

However, does his foreman produce more cabinets per day/week than does your husband?

 

Is there anything in his contract in terms of performance?

 

In 12 years there he has been warned once, a year ago over the same issue... did he increase his productivity upon being warned?

 

Or has the company changed hands?

[siany84]

Yes the foreman does produce more pieces per week but only a few more and has lots of mistakes. As for a contract my partner has said that he has never had a contract as he was taken on after completing an apprentiship 12years ago. yes he has had a one written warning and increased productivity which has been kept up. The company has not changed hands.

 

Thank you for your help it is greatly appreciated

[Bigredbus]

They would not ''sack'' him... however they could create an environment where he would feel constantly oppressed and pressurised.

 

So, he has been with the same company for the past 12 years, since his apprenticeship contract...

 

Since there is no written contract, no one has an idea about performance and productivity and they based their warning upon comparing your husband's work to the foreman's one...

 

Since they provided him with his apprenticeship contract at the onset of his employment with them, and provided him with the necessary skills to perform his daily job to the best of his ability to create quality products, I would go back to them and request that they either set up some kind of benchmark so he knows what is expected of him on a daily/weekly/monthly basis or else he may want to request to be re-trained in order to achieve quantity and not necessarily quality...

[padja]

he has to have a a contract of employment by law, I'm supposing this is a small firm he is working for. I have been in same position and its hard to fight them. When he was given written warning how long was it for (was it improvements have to be made within next 3 months or further action will be taken) Normally they sit on record for 6 months and if there is no further action the whole disciplinary procedure starts again. I would suggest he in the meantime tries to look around for another job (I know its hard at the moment)

[stu007]

Hi

 

I would also ask for a copy of his contract as the initial apprenticeship contract may differ to that of a normal employee.

 

Also have a look at the ACAS Website:

 

www.acas.org.uk

[Bigredbus]

An apprenticeship contract is a fixed term contract, therefore it has expired a long time ago, I assume!

Edited February 10, 2012 by Bigredbus

[siany84]

he has to have a a contract of employment by law, I'm supposing this is a small firm he is working for. I have been in same position and its hard to fight them. When he was given written warning how long was it for (was it improvements have to be made within next 3 months or further action will be taken) Normally they sit on record for 6 months and if there is no further action the whole disciplinary procedure starts again. I would suggest he in the meantime tries to look around for another job (I know its hard at the moment)

 

yes you are right it is a small family run business.

 

The written warning had a time frame of 6weeks .

[padja]

I would contact ACAS they have experts in this, and are impartial, They were a great help to me in my fight and they gave me lots of good advice, in the end mine was resolved by the owner through gritted teeth I might add admitting he was wrong and in most cases illegal. Its hard work but ACAS do help