Advice on former employer and wages withheld

[mummy38]

Having major issues with my union and then putting my case at risk

 

Looking back at everything now,

I have had to instruct my own solicitor to handle my case,

they have continually dragged every thing out to the point that it could have been out of time.

( I had to instruct ACAS myself the night before time was up ) and they refused to engage with them

 

They seem to be looking after my employers best interest instead of me.

 

They have contributed so much to my stress and anxiety.

 

Now that I am going through everything for my new solicitor and he is saying x y and z should have been done and by has it not.

 

I want to know if anyone has ever done it and how did they get on

[stu007]

Hi mummy38

 

I understand you have an issue with the union and had to instruct your own solicitor but we really need more information to be able to advise you.

 

1. How long have you been employed with the employer?

 

2. Are you still employed with the present employer?

 

3. A brief summary of events from start till your post here would be helpful.

 

4. Have you formally complained to the Union about there representation on your behalf?

 

Please be patient as I an sure other will be along to advise

[mummy38]

Hi thanks for your response

 

1) 5 years

 

2) yes I am. Been advised to stay until case is resolved

 

3) bullying and harassment at work by management. Victimised by manager after witnessing bullying against another member of staff and giving evidence against the manager. Union pushed and pushed it till majority of actions are out of time. They were fantastic initially gathering the evidence, but that was the local rep. As soon as it came to pushing Work for a formal outcome to the grievance the union shut down.

 

I was never told about time limits and I managed to trigger Acas myself the day before time limit was due to expire and the union refused to engage. Same for ET. Union are not threatening to withhold information from any solicitor I trigger myself and I have that in an email

 

They were supposed to send my case to their own solicitor for a PI review after 2 months I managed to find out who the solicitor was and spoke to them. They advised case was being rejected. Union has failed to provide any sufficient info to solicitor except mummy38 was bullied by her manager and wants to sue for PI. There is a huge history to this case

 

4) I have done a formal complaint which has not yet been concluded

 

Thanks

[mummy38]

I am being brought in for a meeting at work for I’ll heal.

 

Despite numerous requests Union are ignoring requests for a re

 

Can I record the meeting for my own protection

[Bazooka Boo]

A meeting with who and why?

[mummy38]

I have been called in for a capability meeting as I’m on long term sick leave.

 

It’s with my manager and hr.

 

Union are ignoring all requests for a rep to attend

 

Can I record the meeting for my own protection?

[Bazooka Boo]

Hmm, I'd most definitely get permission to do so first.

 

IMO if you need to be recording interviews with your employer, then that speaks volumes of the type of environment you work in, and is probably better to leave anyway.

 

I'm guessing you're aware of which way this meeting is going to go??

[mummy38]

Yes I am , I wouldn’t mind though they caused the ill health and I have a claim going through at the moment.

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes I am , I wouldn’t mind though they caused the ill health and I have a claim going through at the moment.

 

 

Are you able to take someone in with you?

 

Not necessarily a union rep?

 

Do you have the facility to record?

[mummy38]

I can’t take anyone with me I would be relying solely on union.

 

I presume there are smartphone apps for recording

[Bazooka Boo]

I presume there are smartphone apps for recording

 

There are indeed, I even have a plug in microphone for my phone which is very discreet, depending on which phone you have would depend on the best app to use.

[mummy38]

I phone. I need a recording of the meeting for my own protection. I know I sound paronid but I also know the union are in bed with management and it’s suspicious that the union are ignoring all requests for representation

[Bazooka Boo]

I phone. I need a recording of the meeting for my own protection. I know I sound paronid but I also know the union are in bed with management and it’s suspicious that the union are ignoring all requests for representation

 

Not paranoid at all, you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

There'll be plenty of voice recording apps for the iPhone, try the free ones first.

[Spudzulu]

I phone. I need a recording of the meeting for my own protection. I know I sound paronid but I also know the union are in bed with management and it’s suspicious that the union are ignoring all requests for representation

 

I would be putting all my focus on why the union are refusing. Is it that they are not replying to you or have they stated that they will not represent you...I'm presuming you are a paid up member? I would escalate this to the regional office today.

[Mr.P]

I need a recording of the meeting for my own protection. I know I sound paronid

 

I had to attend a similar sort of meeting. The transcript that was presented afterwards bore very little relation to what was said. To say it was sloppy would have been somewhat generous.

 

With that in mind, I don't think you are being paranoid at all and would suggest recording the meeting covertly if permission is not granted. What is the worst they can do ?

Sack you perhaps, but dismissal sounds as if it is on the cards, so you have nothing to lose.

[mummy38]

I would be putting all my focus on why the union are refusing. Is it that they are not replying to you or have they stated that they will not represent you...I'm presuming you are a paid up member? I would escalate this to the regional office today.

 

Union delayed my case deliberately until it was out of time for an ET, then would not submit case to their Solicitors for a pi claim. I went of my own back and got my own solicitor to file the pi claim now union are ignoring requests for a rep to attend the meeting.

 

I am fully paid up

[ericsbrother]

presume local lay rep or do you mean regional/national officer?

The union is not a monolith, it is a collection of people who pay for a support organisation, use all of it.

[king12345]

I record all meetings with management.

As long as you keep the recording for yourself you don't need to ask permission or tell them.

If they sack you you can then use the recording in evidence for any court case or ET.

Also, the recording would help you challenge the official minutes by stating exact words used.

In this case you still don't tell them you have recorded the meeting.

So to be clear, the only time you would tell them is if they sack you or just about to do so.

I defended a guy once who had been harassed by a manager and went off sick for stress.

At first disciplinary the offending manager said things that were truly out of order and he had already made up his mind to sack the bloke.

He also said that higher management would be happy to follow his lead by dismissing as many people as possible to avoid paying redundancy.

At final disciplinary meeting the general manager and hr decided to sack the guy so i produced the recording there and then.

They immediately changed their mind and we negotiated a written warning.

Harassing manager was sacked not long after.

So, my advice is as follow: Call union head office and demand a union rep to attend, they are obliged to provide one, whether they will be helpful or not is another matter.

When you go to the meeting, record it without telling them and if worst comes to worst, you'll have clear evidence of what is said.

Do not disclose to third parties the recording, unless it's a solicitor acting on your behalf.

[Spudzulu]

+1

 

I am not one to demand, however if as described they are blanking your requests for a service, one that you pay for, then I would be banging on their regional door until they confirmed why they are refusing you.

 

What union is it?

 

Spud.

[mummy38]

presume local lay rep or do you mean regional/national officer?

The union is not a monolith, it is a collection of people who pay for a support organisation, use all of it.

 

I tried branch, region and head office. I even put a formal complaint in as no one was returning my calls or responding to emails looking for help. There was 10 working days notice so adequate time

[mummy38]

+1

 

I am not one to demand, however if as described they are blanking your requests for a service, one that you pay for, then I would be banging on their regional door until they confirmed why they are refusing you.

 

What union is it?

 

 

 

Spud.

 

I tried. It’s a union name that is union but has an s in it

[king12345]

Unison: A waste of space!

[mummy38]

Unison: A waste of space!

 

Understatement

[mummy38]

I experienced bullying at work with my former manager. I raised a grievance and had “support “ from the union

 

Employer eventually “admitted it although it took over 2 years.

 

I have been left with severe long term health issues and have suffered a number of breakdowns.

 

The bullying was more along the lines of severe psychological abuse and after I went on sick leave it continued at home. My partner wanted the police involved but we stupidly took the union advice

 

It has emerged that over 10 years 8 employees ( including me) have experienced identical issues with this manager and Work did nothing to protect staff

 

Union delayed and delayed taking legal action against my employer and I now have to go down civil route with them

 

My health, employer actions and the fact I have been dropped by union have left me with no choice but to leave work

 

Work have now withheld my entire last months wages in unlawful deductions

 

I have contacted Acas who cannot pick this up until next week but any help and advice so I understand things would be very much appreciated

 

I had a car loan through work as I needed a car for work. They withheld my wages to go against this.

 

The terms of the loan agreement are as follows

 

If the employee leaves the loan becomes due and must be paid

The loan can be transferred to another employer under the same terms

 

The usual practice for the employer is to raise an invoice for the remaining amount to the employee and it is usually repaid at the same agreed rate on a monthly basis

 

After them taking the final salary the loan is nearly cleared in full

[BankFodder]

Have you left the job? And if so when?

 

Do you have the contact details et cetera of the other people who have experienced these similar issues?

 

Have you kept detailed logs of the various incidents? And if not I would suggest that you go about getting it all down over a period of time. I suggest that you get yourself a dedicated exercise book and use one or two pages for each incident, log it and then gradually build up the detail as you remember new things. It may take some time before you have managed to recall everything and to make each log complete. However, I'm sure that as you start to do this you will start to recall more and more things and you will feel more confident about building up the account. Try to include times and dates of possible and also try to include the identities of any witnesses and in particular if you can recall any thing that was actually said by any party, get it all down.