Wife dismissed without notice

[Speck1965]

Hi,

My wife took a part time cleaning job. Today she received a message on her mobile to call her boss, which she did. She was told there and then that her services were no longer required with immediate effect. They would not give a reason initially but when pressed they told her that another employee would not work with her, as my wife had only been there three weeks, and the employee who complained had been there 2 years, they decided to dismiss my wife.

 

As she has only been there three weeks we fully understand that she cannot pursue a claim for unfair dismissal, but she has been told she will only be paid up to Friday 31st Jan, her last day of work. In other words, zero notice period.

 

From what I can gather from the internet she should have been given "reasonable" notice.

 

Could anyone offer any advice on the best way to tackle this?

 

Many Thanks.

[Emmzzi]

what does her contract say about notice periods please?

[Speck1965]

No written contract was given to her. Nothing was said verbally either?

[Emmzzi]

As she has not been there for a full month, I don't think statutory notice applies

 

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4096

[Speck1965]

A CAB document at http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/faq_index_employment/faq_employment_notice_of_dismissal_from_work.htm suggests this:-

 

If the law does not give you the right to notice, for example if you've worked for your employer for less than a month, and there is no notice period in your contract, you will still be entitled to a 'reasonable' amount of notice. What is reasonable will often depend on your pay period. For example, if you are paid weekly, you could argue that a week is reasonable, and if you are paid monthly, you could argue that a month is reasonable.

[Emmzzi]

You could indeed argue that but I'm not aware of a law to support it.

[Speck1965]

Ok, don't want to flog a dead horse. Do you think it would be best to let this one go?

[Emmzzi]

Sending them a well worded self-penned letter costs the price of a stamp. I probably wouldn't employ a solicitor however.

[becky2585]

Ok, don't want to flog a dead horse. Do you think it would be best to let this one go?

 

Unfortunately as she was only employed for three weeks, there isn't any cause of action here. Let it go and concentrate on finding another job with a company who value people a little more!

[Speck1965]

OK. Advice taken on board. Will pen a letter to see what happens then probably drop it.

Thanks

[ericsbrother]

better off out of there by the sound of it. I would be forgetting all about it as all you will do is give yourself stress worrying about the next step.