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where do i start………….my daughter has just been fired from her first job without any verbal or written warnings and it was said to me to pass on the message. all my family are slighty miffed as you can imagine but here is the story of her working at this place………..she started in june contracted to 16 hours a week but from day 1 she was gettin called in to cover others that went sick or just didnt turn up she never said no was pleased that they asked her all was goin great till the boss left and the senior supervisor got promotion. you could say they had a personaility clash BUT she still did all the over time she was offered. she has had about 10 days of illness wgich she didnt go in to work but we have got a doctors letter provin she was unable to work. now for a 17 yr old i’m impressed she didnt do sickies just cos she felt like it however last tuesday she couldnt be bothered to go in she didnt phone in either because they boss always said the area manger wont be impressed with you tryin to make her feel guilty enuff to go in but bein ill i told her she wasnt anyway this time she did pull a sickie her own fault yes it was, i phoned for her hours to check they hadnt changed as they did most days to be told tell her shes not got a job as the boss was fed up of her not turnin up!!!!……..now for those that know me i bit my tongue bloody hard, she said there would be a letter in the post explaining why. we havent recieved a letter yet and this was last wednesday. She also hasnt been paid properly she is owed 3 months of overtime STILL unpaid. All i would like to know is where does my girl stand as she has been really upset by it all. is this unfair dismisal others have pulled sickies for 2/3 weeks and they never got the sack………. please help me to help her before i go into the shop and batter the ugly thing they call the boss
Ok first thing is did she have an actual contract cause if so you need to read it.
You say she’s had 10 days off sick since June, from a firms viewpoint thats a lot, two days a month, but on the other hand she should have been given some sort of warning i reckon. And yeah i know she may have been genuinly sick but try to look at it from an employers viewpoint.http://www.consortiumpublishing.co.uk/EmploymentLaw66.html
try looking at those two but certainly have a word with someone at the job centre. I think theres a minimum time to have worked before being able to claim for unfair dismissal but that might have changed.
The last thing to do is charge down there, it wont change anything and wont make it better either.
If she hasnt been paid for work done they’ll have no choice but pay her for the hrs workedcheers pete… she had only been told verbally it was 16 hour contract…. it now seems that the boss is pickin on another member of staff the same age as my girl…….i think maybe a call to head office mite be in order as it seems she cant get on with teenagers.
verbally is still a contract
Katee, sorry to hear about your daughter’s problem. I know that it is really difficult sometimes with teenage daughters. (Been there, got the scars to prove it).
Several things occur to me.
You say that she was ’employed’ since June this year, which means that she has not been employed long enough to receive protection under the Employment Protection Act – the qualifying period certainly was 2 years and maybe still is. Consequently you will be quite unable to proceed against her employer for unfair dismissal.
She worked 16 hours a week which puts her in the category of ‘part time’ employee (her employer doesn’t need to pay employer’s NI for her for example). This would mean that any contractual entitlement to ‘sick pay’ would be pro-rated. Depending on her ‘contract’ (express or implied) and her ‘conditions of employment’ she might only be entitled to a very few days in each year as ‘paid sick leave”. This is in any event a contractual entitlement and not a Statutory one. Any additional days could be taken but they would be unpaid provided they were previously properly authorised.
You say that last Tuesday “she couldn’t be bothered to go in” and that she “didn’t phone in either”. Unfortunately this amounts to a fundamental breach of contract for which she could be (and seems to have been) dismissed.
Under most circumstances, an employer will take a reasonable view of occasional absences from work (or lateness for that matter). However, if it is perceived as being a part of a pattern then last Tuesday may have been the final straw that broke the camel’s back- even though she had a letter of explanation from her doctor.
I don’t know what her notice period was or whether she was entitled to be paid any termination pay in lieu of notice being given. However, her employer is quite likely to say that she breached her own contract without notice, by failing to arrive for work on the Tuesday, leaving them with no alternative but to terminate her employment with immediate effect…… thus no termination pay.
I doubt that she has been able to accrue any holiday pay in the 4 or 5 months she has been employed, especially if they paid her ex gratia whilst she was off sick.
If you wish her to claim for ‘overtime’ or for working excess hours over and above her contracted hours, you will need to very clearly quantify exactly what those additional hours were and precisely on what dates she worked them. You will also need to show that she was “authorised” to work overtime and that there was a pre-existing agreement to pay her for it.
I’m sorry not to have been of much help to you in this. These situations are always difficult, especially for those involved. i certainly agree with Pete (and others) that visiting the employer and doing the angry parent bit will surely not help matters one bit.
thank you Mr PB…… what has annoyed us most is that others have done worse and are still working there. She hasnt even had any kind of verbal or written warning maybe times have changed but i always thought u had to at least have one or the other before getting the boot. I’m still gonna contact head office to see about her overtime she hasnt been paid for just to try and get it sorted.
Good idea Katee – this is probably your best option. BUT remember that your daughter’s manager still works there and has no doubt got her retaliation in first. therefore, with this in mind, your best approach is the “Worried and concerned parent” rather than the “aggressive and confrontational” parent.
Also, you might consider asking them for a written reference for her. They are obliged to provide one on request and it has to be truthful. However, if they intend to make any comments about her allegedly poor attendance, it would be best to find this out now rather than later on.
Im on your side hate bullies at work but i got to say this.
I can only go by my past experiences but I got made redundant and was owed about £3000 in over time but there was no company log of the time I had worked so I had to kiss That £3000 good bye.
The fact she didn’t phone up when she went sick is as good as handing your notice in. I done a similar thing and they sent me a letter saying if I don’t return to work tomorrow they will presume I have terminated my employment with them .
Lastly I don’t know about the part time employment rules. All I can say is that some companies like asda employ all their staff as part time even though they work full time. That way any time off including holidays and sick are paid only at 16 hours.
I think companies are ment to have a discipline procedure and an appeals procedure though.
I know a lot has changed giving part time workers more rights.I have phoned head office and spoken to the person who deals with she aint happy infact her words were ‘she has disgusted me with they way this has been handled and thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will phone her then get back to you’….. so i’m sat waiting for a return call. lets hope something gets sorted my girl dont want her job back but lets hope the silly moo get a telling off for the way she treated her.
She don’t work at Wilkinsons by any chance does she :?: :?: :? :? :twisted:
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