Unfairly targeted?

[redhotitfc]

Hi all,

 

I have been working for my company for 19 months now and everything was going well until November 2012 when my disability had started causing problems and I needed a lot of time off.

 

I had been giving them fit notes but I received no money (SSP) until February. In total I have had 20 weeks off work with fit notes yet they have only paid me 10 weeks SSP.

 

During this time they were ignoring my emails, letters and requests in meetings for SSP until they eventually caved in and gave me some SSP in February.

 

Now I have started going back to work and when payday came in April I did not get paid. I asked why and they said they are not sure what I should be paid but I will get something soon. Eventually they said I would get paid at the end of May for two months pay. Towards the end of May I sent both directors emails twice to remind them how much I should be paid and when I have been in.

 

Come May the 31st I was paid £42, it should have been well over a thousand. I have not been paid any of the remaining SSP, the hours I worked, official annual leave that had been authorised or any of the three recent bank holidays.

 

So I emailed both directors twice on the 31st and heard nothing back as usual. I called the director responsible for HR and he said to call him back after 2pm. When I called him someone else answered and told me he always leaves at 2pm on a Friday.

 

I am being made redundant on the 6th June as the company is looking to downsize but no one else has had payment issues or ignored such as I have. I have been there alot longer than others who have been kept even though I have more experience and been there longer.

 

I have spoke to CAB and they save said it's a serious case of disability discrimination (treated differently and poorly since I went ill), unlawful deduction of wages (two months of not paying/incorrect payments) and constructed dismissal (choosing me to leave even though I am more experienced and paid the same as others). I am entitled to resign and take it to a tribunal alone for constructed dismissal apparently due to feeling forced out by not paying me then choosing me for redundancy when I don't leave. I am seeing an employment solicitor Monday to take it further.

 

I've put a lot of information here so if you need clarification let me know but do you think I have been targeted.

 

Thanks all.

[Guest]

First of all you do have a claim for disability discrimination, however do not go straight for constructive dismissal as it is notoriously difficult to prove which your solicitor may advise when you speak with him. Trust your solicitor if they are worth their salt it should be a fairly cut and dry case.

 

In a tribunal you have to prove that you have acted reasonably and attempted to resolve matters yourself. For that reason ensure you have all emails saved and ensure that any calls you have are either recorded and if not recorded send an email "just to confirm from our telephone conversation you have said this.." An email like this backs up the fact you made calls attempting to resolve the issue. Also file a grievance it might get ignored but if you have filed one the tribunal cannot then accuse you of not attempting to resolve the matter and the company can't hit back and say he hasn't tried to resolve it. A grievance will formalise your concerns and your request. Very important in the grievance highlight exactly how much you are owed and for what reasons be very precise with the numbers of hours you have worked and what your hourly rate is.

 

If everything is clear and concise in your grievance it becomes very easy to put that into ET1 form for the tribunal case.

[redhotitfc]

Thanks Khuz360 it's nice to hear someone that makes me feel I have not been treated fairly. I could have just left work in November and gone on ESA and got my rent and council tax paid but I didn't want to do that. I wanted to have a chance to earn money once I was well again and just get my SSP which is a third of what I could claim on benefits.

 

But the directors hated that and after trying to push me out which didn't work they conveniently put me in the redundancy pack.

 

I would have been just happy to have been paid, even for the bank holidays and annual holiday. If they got mixed up over SSP and normal working days then fair enough for a week or so, but after two months it has gone too far. I don't even want the stress as it can possibly make my Epilepsy worse but I feel it's right that then feel they can treat people like this.

 

They told me in January in a bid to get out of SSP that they are questioning the competency of my doctor and neurologist regarding the diagnosis. It's laughable really.

 

On Monday I'm going straight to the director responsible for HR since the employed HR lady quit telling him I would like a meeting before I start work. I want at the end of the meeting to be paid or at least told I would get a bank transfer within the next few hours as I'm not going to work for free anymore. If they sack me then they sack me, but I hope that would only make my case stronger and I could use the time to get something else quicker.

 

Thanks once again for the advice!! Sorry for the rant lol.

[steampowered]

You need to be quite careful with the time limits for bringing an Employment Tribunal claim. Make sure your claim has been filed at the very latest three months less a day from the date of the last deduction (i.e. 31st May). You do NOT get an extension due to negotiations with the employer or internal grievance procedures or similar. You could have a later time limit if you successfully prove disability discrimination but this is risky, as you would be time barring the deductions if your disability discrimination claim fails.