Employer gave one weeks notice + more

[hazyeyes]

hi all

 

I won't go fully into this but I need a little advice about the company that I work for, I am a cleaner and had 4 jobs with them, recently we have had a few problems with a couple of the jobs we do (nothing major) because the problems came all at once our employer constantly kept calling us an basically threatened to remove us out of one of our jobs because they thought we where taking on too much (we don't even work full time 6hr a night).

 

After about a week another problem arose (which was at a job that previously had very little issues) this problem was not major, we had basically missed a request to do something one night (which was not due to be done anyway that night on our schedule) and they had called in to complain.

 

The company called us (while working at another job) 3 times and ultimately gave us one weeks notice and took the contract off us, they have given us no verbal warnings, no written warnings, no notice in writing (just over the phone). Also this job was not the one they originally threatened to take us out off a couple of weeks beforehand.

 

We have been working for them for 2 years 4 months and from my understanding they should give us 2 weeks notice and not one, also should they not have tried to resolve the issue and take us down some formal route of disciplinary action before they took the contract away from us.

 

It is causing a lot of stress we have a family and house and the drop in wages is going to be a real strain until we can find something else, they are also being so horrible to us they way they are speaking to us when dealing with anything that we have resorted to sending emails so that we have very little phone contact with them.

 

Does anyone know if we have a case for unfair dismissal from this job? plus the issue of just the one weeks notice, as we already have three other jobs still with this company can they make our life's miserable if we do decide to do something about what they have done? (if we can of course)

 

Would appreciate anyone's input on this as I don't know where to start, I don't want them to get away with treating people like this as it isn't the first time they have treated their staff like this.

 

Thanks

Edited February 6, 2013 by hazyeyes

[assisted blonde]

Are you an employee or self employed, are you on a fixed hours/jobs contract?

[hazyeyes]

Are you an employee or self employed, are you on a fixed hours/jobs contract?

 

Hi.

 

We are employee's we have a contract of employment, the jobs are on fixed hours the one they have taken away from us was 2hr 15 minutes a night (5 days a week).

[hazyeyes]

Can anyone advise on this as things are getting worse, we feel they are trying to push us out of work, we had a weeks holiday last week went back monday and on the tuesday they where calling us about something that could of easily happened when we where away on holiday.. I feel victimised they have called today and requested a meeting with us both in the office and I am scared that they may sack us, can they legally do this??

[steampowered]

We need more detail. I am a little confused about who the "company" is here. What do you mean when you say you have four jobs with them? And what do you mean when you say they gave you "one weeks notice and took the contract off us"? How does your relationship with the company actually work.

[hazyeyes]

We need more detail. I am a little confused about who the "company" is here. What do you mean when you say you have four jobs with them? And what do you mean when you say they gave you "one weeks notice and took the contract off us"? How does your relationship with the company actually work.

 

Let me try to be more clear, we are cleaners, we do more than one place each night, but we are as a whole employed by ONE company who are making our lives miserable at the moment!

 

We have signed a contract of employment and it states in this that its two weeks notice and they gave us one weeks notice, there had been NO problems up at the job beforehand no verbal or written warnings at all they just gave us one week and took us out the job.

 

Is there anything else that isn't clear?

[assisted blonde]

Have i got this right you are employed by company A, they send their employees out to do diferent cleaning jobs for different clients? one of the clients is unhappy and said he dosent want youy anymore? so now the company A dont send you there and you only visit 3 instead of 4 clients?. I would assume that the 2 weeks notice is from your employer (*A) if he is terminating you contract and not from the client who no longer wants you? Does your contract with your emplopyer (A) state a number of hours to be worked per week? or is it just however many clients he has to send you to, so it could be 1, 2 or 10?

[Emmzzi]

It sounds like they are giving you notice of an alteration of hours not termination of employment. You can reject that but under the circumstances I would then expect to be managed out on performance grounds soon after.

[hazyeyes]

Have i got this right you are employed by company A, they send their employees out to do diferent cleaning jobs for different clients? one of the clients is unhappy and said he dosent want youy anymore? so now the company A dont send you there and you only visit 3 instead of 4 clients?. I would assume that the 2 weeks notice is from your employer (*A) if he is terminating you contract and not from the client who no longer wants you? Does your contract with your emplopyer (A) state a number of hours to be worked per week? or is it just however many clients he has to send you to, so it could be 1, 2 or 10?

 

You are right on the first part, however the client didn't ask for us to be removed the company removed us without warning.

 

The two weeks notice is from our employer yes, its does not state a number of hours in our contract nor how many clients we are sent out to clean for.

 

It sounds like they are giving you notice of an alteration of hours not termination of employment. You can reject that but under the circumstances I would then expect to be managed out on performance grounds soon after.

 

How is that alteration of hours, they have specfically removed us from a job with no good reason, without warning nothing, our performance on the job has been fine on all our jobs (apart from the odd issue here and there that any cleaner gets as we are human and not robots)

 

I really cannot see how they can do this, they have been harrssing us via phone for weeks, bringing up issues with all our job when they have specifcally gone in and had a look around not taking into account that certain aspects of all jobs are done on a weekly/monthly basis and not daily, they have not supplied us with site files until we have asked and asked to make sure we are actually doing the jobs as they are supposed to be, we have been cleaning blind basically for months on one of them.

 

We are not happy being treated the way we are, we work for another cleaning firm and they are extremely happy with our work never have any complaints speak very highly of us all around, this company just basically has it in for us it seems!

[Emmzzi]

They are not removing all your work just some of it. So its a change of hours. You can rant at me all you like but unless you can make it any clearer, that is what they are doing! I'd get work off the other firm who are happy with you to replace the hjpurs then.

[assisted blonde]

Ok your employer may have been the one to take you off a particular contract but that was because either he or the client were not happy with the work, I suspect it was the client in which case if that job is not there for you it isnt there. If you work for another firm as well ask them for more work to make up for the hrs you have lost or ask your firm if they have any more jobs

[steampowered]

What does your contract say about working hours?