Left feeling victimized, distressed and penniless - please help!

[MrDCLondon]

Hi All,

 

In advance, I apologise for the VERY long post but I want to give everyone as much information as possible as I'm really in a pickle for what to do here

 

I have recently been dismissed on one account of an act of gross misconduct and received my final monthly salary on Friday, followed yesterday (Saturday 31st) a letter detailing deductions from my pay. The letter states "As you are aware you have taken 8 days of leave above that accrued for the working year to date - this has been deducted from your basic pay" and a deduction of £707.68 has been taken from my salary.

 

In addition to this deduction, there has been £40 for "Valet for car return to professional condition" and £68.45 for "Private Mileage".

 

Let me explain the events leading up to my dismissal as there are a quite a few things that I need help on...

 

I had been with my employer, henceforth referred to as "CVS" since June 2011, as part of the package I am entitled to use a company car and mobile phone, the company car is considered a tax benefit and my tax code is 265L (£4000 odd deduction for use of car from money earned before tax comes into play).

 

Over the course of the 10 months in employment, as I am frequently driving around the City of London I've accrued 4 parking fines from City of London Corporation. Two of these I believe I was in the right and appealed against them to the PATAS, sadly my case was rejected against both of them.

 

In the first appeal hearing for said parking fine, I was asked the question "Was it you driving the car, Mr DC"...to which, to this date I cannot fathom why I said it, but I replied saying "No, it was my manager Mr. GT". The truth is I was actually driving the car that day of the parking fine, and I don't know why I said it wasn't me....I will never know why!

 

Three days after the appeal hearing, the notice of rejection of the appeal was sent to my employer and listed the fact I had claimed it was not me driving the car but my manager GT. So, I was called into an impromptu meeting with said person who handed me the letter along with the comment "Can you explain to me what the f*** this is?"....said person become very vocal with me and said he was disgusted, I should be sacked on the spot, if he could hit me he would....I admitted that I had wrongly said to the appeals service it was my manager driving the car, and that I could not tell him why as I didn't know why I did it. I was asked to hand my mobile phone in and stay at home the day after and attend a meeting on Thursday (which would be two days after this) so he could "think about what do with me".

 

My employer knew that I did not cope with extremely stressful situations very well, and coupled with the fact in the weeks prior to this event, there had been a lot of stressful things happening at work, that evening whilst on the way home, I suffered a panic attack and in my distressed state, feeling very angry at what had happened to me, I kicked a lamppost very hard and ended up tearing a ligament in my leg/foot, and damaging my lower back to the point where I could hardly walk - after a visit to the hospital and a follow up at my GP the day after, I was signed off from work for two weeks with "Anxiety and Back Pain" listed on the sick note.

 

I had called my manager and informed of this who replied "send me the sick note. we will be in touch." That evening, I had the sick note faxed to the office.

 

Two days after, I receive an email from the Managing Director of the company saying "Hi DC, I hope you are feeling better, please find attached a letter in relation to the events over the past week. Copies will follow in the post.

 

The letter was basically an account of what my manager said to me, obviously missing out the verbal abuse, and that the "evidence shows have committed an Act of Gross Misconduct and a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence between employer and employee", in addition the letter ended "We [CVS] find it strange that only upon the truth coming out about your actions you became ill and needed to be signed off for two weeks". They then asked me to attend a formal disciplinary hearing two days later to "discuss the events"

 

I informed my employer that I found it strange that knowing I could not drive or hardly walk, they had asked me to attend the meeting - to which my employer replied "Your doctor has signed you off not fit to work, we are only asking you to attend a meeting. Just f***ing attend the meeting". I felt intimidated and I didn't know what to do, so I agreed to attend the meeting, knowing full well it would be a very painful experience for me as I could not drive and would need to get the train there.

 

On the day of the disciplinary hearing, the meeting took, and I kid you not, no longer than 3 minutes - it takes me 2 hours to get to my place of work by train as it's a long commute, and a very expensive one - the disciplinary hearing was simply one question "Do you have anything further to say other than that you made a mistake and you're sorry about it". My only reply was "What else can I say, I've been here for 10 months, done a stellar job as you have said yourselves, and I made a very silly mistake which I am gravely sorry for". I was sent on my way just 3 minutes after starting the meeting with a "we'll be in touch".

 

Later that evening, I receive another email from the MD of the company detailing my Termination of Employment and that I would "be paid up to the end of the month less deductions which will be detailed shortly". They indicated my Right of Appeal to the company chairman, who was the MD's father, and was given 5 days in which to appeal in.

 

I submitted my appeal to the chairman, then had a face to face meeting with him just a few days later on a Friday morning - I explained again that I was very sorry. In 10 months of employment I haven't had one sick day, I've always hit targets, I've never been late....and I found it strange that for one incident, without even having a verbal or written warning on file, I am dismissed immediately.

 

The chairman ends the meeting with "he'll be in touch".

 

Over the weekend, I hear nothing from the business...come Monday, I hear nothing....

 

Then tuesday comes along. This morning I am driven in my company car by my father to a psychiatrist about 30 miles from home to talk to about the anxiety and panic attacks (as my doctor had previously, although not writing it on the sick note, said I could be suffering from depression). As we leave the psychiatry, I notice my company car has been stolen. Well, that was my initial thought.

 

I called up the person in my employer responsible for the cars and she said "Let me look on the tracking system, yes it's on it's way back to our office. I thought you knew about this?" Bear in mind I've had no contact from my employer since the Chairman said to me "I'll be in touch" about the dismissal appealing hearing. I called him up on his mobile, and he said to me "Yes, I've collected your car. What do you want me to say? I sent you a letter about it over the weekend". My house keys, my wallet, my mobile was in the car...everything.

 

The next morning, I make the train journey to the office - oh surprise surprise, everyone is "out at the moment" and I am told just to collect my belongings, sign a statement detailing I had collected everything that I owned, and to "just leave". I ask for a copy of the letter that was apparently sent to me and nobody had one in the office, not even HR. They could not provide me any proof of postage either.

 

That evening, I emailed the MD and Chairman for a copy of the letter they sent me along with proof of postage, and up to today, one week later, I still have not heard anything other than the letter stating my deductions and my P45.

 

So, where do I go with this one? Here's where I'm looking for this brilliant forum to offer advice

 

- Where do I stand on the deductions from my final pay? I haven't agreed to any of them and the first I knew about them was today when I opened up the letter

- I've been left feeling horribly shaken by the whole experience, at the moment I'm not looking for work as I'm worried a new employer will treat me like s*** again and I dread even applying for a new job. What can I do here?

- Is it right that my ex-company should have just collected the car without notice, without telling me and not even caring how I would get home

- Do I have any case for an Employment Tribunal as I really do feel victimized, or are they acting completely within the law?

 

Thank you all so much for reading this post, I apologise for the length...and if anyone has any questions please let me know and I will field them.

 

Regards,

 

DC

[padja]

I think on this occasion the company has acted well within the law, I would have felt the same way as the manager if you tried to blame me for parking fine. Yes it was gross misconduct, You also said you never took a day off sick but then state you were signed off work for 2 weeks by doctor. As you hadn't worked there for 2 years you arent entitled to an employment tribunal, and if you were I suspect any legal advice would be to not to proceed. I'm sorry I cant be more positive you have learned a harsh lesson about lying to get out of parking tickets.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi Welcome to Cag,

Were you given any employee manual

laying down company policy and disciplinary

procedures?

[mariefab]

1. Check your contract of employment/statement of particulars/company handbook/other company policy documents to see whether there's a clause permitting your employer to make a deduction for overtaken holiday entitlement; because in the absence of any relevant agreement they cannot make this deduction.

 

2. Check the above documents and any paperwork you have relating to the company car to see whether you are required to pay for the valet and/or the private mileage; again if there's no agreement they can't deduct it.

 

If, in either of the above, there's no relevant agreement, you could first give them an opportunity to reimburse you and if that fails you can make an employment tribunal claim for unauthorised deductions. (see 13 below)

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/part/II

[RachelMD]

No, everything they've done is pretty much legit. All you can do is try to move on.

Did you have a contractual agreement with them that would allow them to make deductions for the valet and private mileage?

If not, you might have an argument that those deductions are unlawful.

[assisted blonde]

The deductions aeem to be quite reasonable I have spent many years working in industrys where a ca,r phone etc are part of the package. Th money for Valet and private milage is not excessive, taking holiday before its accrued is always a risk in case you leave or are dismissed as it will come off your final salary.

I do know of a person who was met off his flight back from holiday and asked for his car at the airport (it was a few years ago but it did happen)

i would just like to say that to be honest it seems that as soon as someone is dismissed or dosnt like something they start saying they feel victimised and are stressed, very strong words and best only applied to situations where the employee is in the right, I can understand your company saying that they find it strange that you have only been signed offonce your actions as it does seem to happen quite frequently these days.

As you have only been there 10 months you dont have many rights and I can see how this would be gross misconduct.

Sorry but all you can do is look for another job and dont be so daft again.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I would think the manager who was falsely

identified as the driver would have some

reason to feel agreived, I certainly would

dismissed anyone who had done this.

[MrDCLondon]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for all the posts, and in some cases, not really the advice I was looking for, but all helps.

 

No-one has picked up on the fact my Appeal was not even acknowledged, or honoured - this is why my feeling of "being victimized" comes from. My ex-employer stated I could appeal. I did, and I wasn't given a reply. Just a "pick up your things, we sent you the letter" yet cannot offer proof or even reply to my emails with the original letter. They claim they emailed me a copy when they also posted the original, neither I have received and they cannot offer proof on it. I honestly believe they are lying.

 

BRIGADIER2JCS, whether you would have dismissed me in the situation was not what I was looking for, in reply to your question about employee handbook, yes there is one and I am waiting for copies to be sent to me - I was never given my own copy upon joining the company, just asked to read through the "office copy" and sign it.

 

mariefab, and indeed anyone else, in 10 months of employment I have only taken 11 days holiday - would this be above what has been accrued. I am struggling to understand the accrued holiday part, can anyone offer a bit more explanation at all?

 

Many thanks

 

DC

[becky2585]

You had me up in arms about your employers behaviour until the point where I read you had under a years service. Unfortunately the procedural unfairness isn't relevant as you can't bring a standard unfair dismissal claim.

 

I don't see how you can owe them holiday pay either, though! It may be worth submitting an ET claim for unlawful deduction from wages and for any other payments they deducted which they didn't have the contractual right to do.

[mariefab]

When did the holiday year run from/to at that workplace? (Jan-Dec, Apr-Mar etc.)

How many days per week did you work?

Do you have any indication of your annual holiday entitlement?

[LaughingGirl]

In all honesty, your questions about annual leave and deductions will be answered when you receive your company handbook - although I've never known a company who gives out company cars not to have a clause about deductions for valeting. It's not always implemented in my experience, but it's usually there. I will fall off my chair if there's not something in there about private mileage.

 

Unfortunately the reason for dismissing you is, in my view, completely legitimate. The only suggestion that I have for you is to put your energies into recuperating, regrouping and finding new employment. You may well feel that you have an argument for unlawful deductions once you've checked out your employee handbook, but I feel like anything other than that would probably be a waste of energy that could more usefully be spent elsewhere.

[MrDCLondon]

mariefab,

 

As far as I'm aware it runs from Jan-Dec

5days per week

22 days per year holiday entitlement

 

Thanks,

 

DC

[Sidewinder]

As previously mentioned, the fact that your appeal has not been acknowledged is largely irrelevant, for without 12 months service, the employer can dismiss at will, with or without following any procedure whatsoever, safe in the knowledge that unless they have dismissed solely for a discriminatory reason, there is nothing that you can do about it. The dismissal, in essence, seems more than fair - your only chance was to mitigate by expressing remorse and highlighting a previous good record, and as this has not persuaded them to consider a lesser sanction, you have no further chances to make them think again.

 

You do need to check the company car policy for what can and cannot be charged in relation to the return of a vehicle, but it would indeed be unusual if there were not a clause regarding valeting and damage repair - I know my company has this policy and the vehicle is inspected in great detail whenever it is changed or in the event that somebody leaves - I would suspect that in most cases minor charges would be waived, but in view of the circumstances of your dismissal they felt disinclined to do so on this occasion.

 

As regards the deduction for overtaken holiday, and again as previously advised, this cannot be recovered by the employer unless you agreed to such a clause in your contract. Check the details, and ask them for this back (in writing) if there is no contractual clause - they may well be extremely surprised - and a little distressed - to find that this is a matter for which you can take action through an Employment Tribunal. If they have allowed you to take holiday before it has been accrued, then that is THEIR risk, and if they haven't written a deduction clause into your contract, then they have to pay it to you and ask nicely for you to repay - on your terms of course since you will have no income in the immediate future.

[mariefab]

The statutory minimum paid holiday entitlement for someone working 5 days per week is 28 days. Therefore, I assume that you were entitled to bank holidays in addition to the 22 days you stated making your total entitlement 30 days.

 

If you started working there on 1st June you would have accrued 17.5 days holiday in 2011.

However, your employer doesn't have to remind you to take your full entitlement. It's up to you to book and take it.

So, unless there's a clause in your contract, or other relevant document, permitting you to carry accrued untaken holidays over to the next leave year (which would be quite rare) I'm afraid that you've lost it.

 

As they paid you to the end of March (including notice?) you've accrued 7.5 days holiday entitlement in 2012.

Do you know whether there's a clause in your contract, or other relevant document, stating that payment for overtaken holidays will be recouped on termination of employment?

There usually is.

[MrDCLondon]

Hi All,

 

Have requested copies of my company policies relating to company car and holiday pay - will revert back as soon as I get them.

 

Many thanks for all your help

 

Regards,

 

DC

[daggersedge]

I think you really need to move on from this. Check to make certain that all deductions from pay are correct, certainly, but stop worrying about the appeal. You don't have the employment rights to make the appeal, and even if you had, you wouldn't get any where with it, given what happened. Your employer was entirely within his rights to do what he did, I'm afraid.

 

What you really need to do now is work on your problems. You say that you don't handle stress well. Well, that's probably what led to what happened. Seek help, as you have been doing, and figure out ways of addressing the problem. What you should not do is dwell on what happened here. It will not profit you to do this. Going over and over in your mind the 'what if' of the appeal, of this conversation or that letter will not help you; indeed, it will just continue to enflame your stress and depression.

 

I know it's easy for others to say 'move on' and hard for you to do. The way to do it is to turn your thoughts to the feelings of others. For instance, the manager who you implicated in the parking fine. How do you think he felt? How would you feel in his position? What would you do in his position? Sympathise with him and you will soon be able to put your own problems into perspective and move on from what happened.