Unfair
Dismissal - Don't Get It Wrong
You may
have had to cope with a whole host of personnel-related issues over
the years, and almost certainly played it by the book. However, even
experienced employers can get it wrong. Here is a case in point.
Pushing
the boundaries
An employee's
performance and attitude were deteriorating and so she was spoken to
by her manager. Six months prior she had suffered a miscarriage and
although distressed had returned to work and appeared her usual self.
Another 'pull your socks up' chat ensued three days prior to her announcing
she was pregnant again.
Now, not
only was her work rate particularly slow, but her punctuality was wanting.
She worked part time on Friday, Saturday & Sunday but booked all
her ante-natal appointments for Fridays. This was apparently the only
time her midwife was available. She would arrive at work at 9am, and
then leave at 10am for her appointment and not return until lunch. At
the time there were eight people working at various times, so her absence
at such short notice caused significant issues. Furthermore, when she
had time off due to sickness, she failed to produce a sick note, maintaining
that her doctor refused to until she had recovered!
She was
written to by her employer on numerous occasions but never responded
and even when disciplined failed to react.
After
yet another bout of sickness, she was asked to attend a 'return-to-work'
meeting. This was not a disciplinary hearing and was never described
as such. When questioned by her boss regarding her behaviour, she simply
sat smirking and produced a letter for her manager to read. Although
reluctant her boss finally agreed and left the office to read this letter.
On returning she told her employee that she did not appreciate her accusatory
tone and then sacked her!
In the
letter the employee made several allegations professing that she had
been discriminated against because of her sex and pregnancy. Her boss
had been pushed to the limit and on returning to the meeting was unable
to think rationally. But by dismissing her without following a procedure,
the damage had already been done.
The employee
as expected claimed unfair dismissal and discrimination. With regard
to the unfair dismissal the employer was guilty as charged and acknowledged
this. However they strongly denied any discrimination or victimisation.
Sadly, they were confronted with a real issue here as they had stated
that they never intended to dismiss her at the meeting and it was the
allegations towards them that pushed the boss to do so. The tribunal
considered the letter to be the reason for her dismissal and she won.
TIP:
This above case proves how vital it is to not allow emotions to impede
decision making. Always stick to the correct procedures, even if it
pains you to do so!
For more
information or advice contact us on 0161 655 2000 or arch@mbrookes.co.uk
