dazzler4 Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 If your HR dept had anything about them they should have enclosed an acknowledgement slip with your letter for you to confirm receipt. Don't know how big your company is but was it franked by your own company machine. I have altered the date on the franking machine in the past to suit my purposes ( nudge, nudge, wink, wink). lol. i dont have access to one my friend. im just worried that they fire me for not attending or they did the disceplinary without me. i just dont see how posting something on the thursday is enough notice for the following tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 lol. i dont have access to one my friend. im just worried that they fire me for not attending or they did the disceplinary without me. i just dont see how posting something on the thursday is enough notice for the following tuesday. They'd never get it past a tribunal, you can be sure of that. If they have fired you for non-attendance, they'd be certain to lose an unfair dismissal case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 It's not enough notice for certain. The post office is the agent of the person sending the letter so until they know you have it then they cannot consider it has been served. If it's a disciplinary the best way from an employers viewpoint is for someone to give you the letter personally rather than it be sent in the post - that way there is a known definite time. As HN said if they tried this at a tribunal you would wipe the floor with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzler4 Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 It's not enough notice for certain. The post office is the agent of the person sending the letter so until they know you have it then they cannot consider it has been served. If it's a disciplinary the best way from an employers viewpoint is for someone to give you the letter personally rather than it be sent in the post - that way there is a known definite time. As HN said if they tried this at a tribunal you would wipe the floor with them. Thanks, im just worried they will think im lieing, i would have attended had i have even been told it was going to disceplinary let alone told when. last thing i need on me head right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzler4 Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 I will keep you all updated with what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Thanks, im just worried they will think im lieing Even if you are lying, they couldn't do anything about it. Posting something on Thursday for notice of a meeting on Tuesday just is not on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I will keep you all updated with what happens. Consider taking legal advice at this stage (and, no, it's not my area of practice). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becky_s Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 They'd never get it past a tribunal, you can be sure of that. If they have fired you for non-attendance, they'd be certain to lose an unfair dismissal case. Hi HeadingNorth I'm mainly a lurker but just wanted to pick up on this point from a professional opinion. They wouldn't technically be firing for non attendance and there is case law to suggest they could dismiss someone if they did not attend a disciplinary hearing without good reason. This could include ignoring a letter at the post office, but possibly not "not knowing about its existence!". I guess there's an argument to say you ought reasonably to have been aware of its existence if you'd previously been threatened with potential disciplinary proceedings. Also there is no automatic unfair dismissal on procedural fairness grounds anymore. The dismissal could potentially be substantively fair, but not procedurally, in which case a claimant in an unfair dismissal case would still lose. If the case was won, it would mean an uplift to the eventual compensation only. Always handy to know the basics of law in other areas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 They wouldn't technically be firing for non attendance This is true, I should have been more clear in what I meant - which was, if they fired him on disciplinary grounds because he failed to attend his hearing. "Fired for non-attendance" implies he's been going AWOL from work, and is an entirely different kettle of fish. and there is case law to suggest they could dismiss someone if they did not attend a disciplinary hearing without good reason. This could include ignoring a letter at the post office, but possibly not "not knowing about its existence!". I guess there's an argument to say you ought reasonably to have been aware of its existence if you'd previously been threatened with potential disciplinary proceedings. That's the nub of the issue. Even if the OP could reasonably expect that a letter giving the date of a disciplinary hearing is going to arrive shortly, the fact that it was posted on Thursday to call him to one the following Tuesday is clearly not sufficient time to guarantee he would receive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becky_s Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I believe it would be deemed to have been received on the Monday - which agreed, is clearly not enough notice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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