Done over by my company?

[steampowered]

I want to thank those who supported me and advise those who tried to warn me that I was being overly risky in my counter claim, that such a claim...all of which was true, was no more tenuous than the claim they made against myself which led to my immediate dismissal. This was not, as has been suggested, about unfair dismissal but about a fraudulent, possible criminal act against my person. If I had taken your advise then I would of done nothing and believed I wasn't in a position to fight my corner regarding allegations of me committing a criminal act.

 

I guess the final moral of this story is, if you think your right then pursue it because like me, you might just sort things out and not end up on the unemployment ladder with no reference.

I'm glad this worked out well for you.

 

It seems to me that your story contradicts any accusation that the employer was guilty of a conspiracy to defraud or malicious falsehood. Perhaps this was true of the three employees, but if you began a court case against the employer alleging fraud and the court determined that the employer was innocent as their explanation suggests, the reality is that you would have been looking at having to pay several thousand pounds in legal costs to your employer.

[SabreSheep]

Glad it worked out.

 

Basically, you took a gamble with the court action and it paid off. Well done.

 

However people here would be negligent if they advocated everyone to take that much of a gamble and resulted in people failing. There are other forums that do that. The site team here for the most part advise on a pragmatic approach to prevent the OPs form ending worse off.

[Pusillanimous]

Glad it had a happy ending. Not everyone gets that. You could not have taken it to an employment tribunal as there is no jurisdiction, because of the two -year rule.

 

As it is a criminal matter, it is up to the Crown Prosecution Service as to whether it goes to court.

 

Yes, there is the civil route. However, without your employer's confession, you would have been short of witnesses or evidence (cf the failed Stephen Lawrence civil case). You would also realistically need capital of circa £50K to bring the case. Would your legal colleagues have worked two or three weeks pro-bono?

 

In addition, you need to identify the correct law and correct respondent, as a judge cannot make a finding on something not pleaded. So it is not really fair to criticise the advice on here helping you to get it right.

 

Go back for now and get your commission. However, I would be wary about staying there as there appears to be no internal controls and an element of corruption which no employee should need to deal with. It is the directors' responsibilty and fraud should never have happened at all.

 

I would find a new job as soon as possible.

[king12345]

Glad you got it sorted.

Just an idea for your future: As you said that you have become an expert at what you do and customers trust you personally, why don't you throw the foundations to go solo?

As a freelance you won't be a victim of some strange conspiracy anymore and will keep all of your earnings.

Especially if you can run your business from home, I think it's something you should look at.

Good luck.

[DemolitionRed]

Thanks Guys,

 

The company have put their hands up and said they did wrong. They didn't go through the correct dismissal procedures; my line manager tried to hack into my linkedin account and although they made a promise that none of my deals would be given to the sales team whilst I was on suspension, they re-channeled my accounts the moment I left the office and I had photographic evidence of that. According to the employment judge all of these things would of got them into some fairly serious trouble and no doubt my MD took legal advice and was told the same as me. What My MD did yesterday was damage limitation and in due course there will have to be full disclosure.

 

What really gets me is the vulnerability of people like myself who are working towards high commission contracts. It seems there is no safety barrier for people who sit on my side of the fence. For my own sanity I needed to fight this and thank goodness I had the opportunity to do so; most of us can't afford that opportunity.

 

The problem with cases like this is, what area of law do you turn to?. I made a dozen calls to a dozen solicitors before my friend came up trumps; every law firm I spoke to told me they didn't deal with this are of law and didn't have a clue where to direct me. what was eventually given to me through the good will of a friend was a free consultation with a London barrister and a forty minute consultation with a London top employment judge who deals with this sort of thing on a regular basis. Both told me how to word that letter and for me to include their names and addresses in that letter. I personally believe that without that letter, I would still be sitting on the garbage heap but how on earth would I of found such lawyers on my own?

 

King, you are absolutely right; in fact what I've discovered through this process is, the clients remain loyal to you (the one they have come to trust) and not the company. It would be easy to set up on my own but I don't want that sort of responsibility. I've been self employed for many years but decided last year that I no longer wanted to continue following that route. If I have to I will but right now I would rather be an employee than self employed.

[unclebulgaria67]

What you have to do in this situation is to try to protect your position when you are working. Think of what you can do, so that only you can finalise the contracts you are negotiating. This might mean some agreement with the clients you are dealing with or addendums to your contract with your employer, which you agree in advance. There must be some ways of protecting yourself from this happening again.

 

Unless you are going to gain a payment worth your while and a glowing reference, it might be worth going back, if the terms are correct. Atleast you might be able to see what is going on.

 

You mention criminal proceedings against 3 employees, which must mean the Police are involved. As they were using you, why have the Police not been in contact with you yet ? They would surely need some form of statement from you ?

[Pusillanimous]

DemolitionRed: your bosses haven't really "come clean" with you, as the line manager who dishonestly hacked your account is still working there (hello?).

 

Your bosses, as the employers, are vicariously liable for the actions of the three employees of potentially criminal intent, so don't be fooled into thinking they are innocent.