Summarily dismissed from work!! help!!

[Douglas J]

Then you can go to a solicitor and providing you win the appeal, his costs will have to be met by the employer.

 

I'm afraid that's not accurate. You enforce your rights in an employment tribunal, which generally does not have power to award the payment of legal costs. If you take on a solicitor, you would be liable to pay whatever you agree with them. Even if it is on a no-win no-fee basis, it still has to come out of your award of compensation.

[PeteMorris]

I'm afraid that's not accurate. You enforce your rights in an employment tribunal, which generally does not have power to award the payment of legal costs. If you take on a solicitor, you would be liable to pay whatever you agree with them. Even if it is on a no-win no-fee basis, it still has to come out of your award of compensation.

 

I stand corrected. But having said that, I was once in the position of having to appeal. It didn't get as far as the tribunal, as they prefered to settle out of court. In the payment I received, there was an agreed element for payment of my solicitors costs!

[DenadaInnit]

Absolute nonesense. When is that the case 1910???

 

ALL employers have to follow the rules whether they like it or not. If they dont off you pop to tribunal to get them sorted out.

 

There has never been so many laws protecting employees. Even temporary workers are now protected under the Employment Rights Act after a few months. NOT two years.

 

Might be worth having a check on some of your comments.

 

It's not absolute nonsense. People get sacked all the time over trivial reasons (face don't fit, poor performance (aka we've got no money to pay you), it happens all the time. The laws are there in theory, not in practice I'm afraid. ACAS says that you can get sacked or let go for no reason at all during the first year of employment (because you have no rights as an employee), and this has been extended to two years. It was in the Queen's speech a few weeks ago.

 

Redundency rules are different of course.

 

Might be worth YOU checking your facts.

 

PS, tribunals, hmm very risky and expensive for the sacked employee.

[ECCOnoob]

It's not absolute nonsense. People get sacked all the time over trivial reasons (face don't fit, poor performance (aka we've got no money to pay you), it happens all the time. The laws are there in theory, not in practice I'm afraid. ACAS says that you can get sacked or let go for no reason at all during the first year of employment (because you have no rights as an employee), and this has been extended to two years. It was in the Queen's speech a few weeks ago.

 

Redundency rules are different of course.

 

Might be worth YOU checking your facts.

 

PS, tribunals, hmm very risky and expensive for the sacked employee.

 

You're right...what was said in the queens speech about the government proposals is true BUT nothing is that black and white. Trust me, im an employment lawyer and I say it again nobody is just "sacked for trivial reasons" without a right of appeal and/or tribunal.

 

If you read the employment rights act. You will note that many of the regulations are active from the moment you take up employment. Some are even active before employment such as the right to fair consideration of the position being filled, not to be discriminated against with regard to the application etc This can mean that you claim against an employer even if you were never working for them.

 

Some employment rights are active as soon as you start such as unreasonable deductions from wages, consultation on changes to working practices, transfer and protection of employment if the business gets taken over etc. etc.

 

As for sacking itself. Even then, not every circumstance means you have to work a minimum term. "Automatic unfair dismissal" has absolutely no minimum service term. That covers being sacked for reasons of maternity leave/parental leave/dependants, lack of health and safety, not receiving national minimum wage, whistleblowing, trade union activites, discrimination or dozens more reasons.

 

You go to the tribunal with any of the above and they would not even question how long you had worked for them.

 

Finally, tribunals are free. They are not like the court procedures. They are designed to be user friendly for people without representation.

 

Anyone can apply once they have exhausted the grievance and appeal procedure. If you dont pay for representation where is the charge???

 

The only possible costs risk would be an award against a claimant who has behaved unreasonably during the case. The answer to that is simple.... dont act like a donkey during the proceedings and BANG the risk is gone.

 

Even more finally, most solicitors or CAB's these days offer legal aid and/or a no-win no fee and/or free consultation for employment law so there are even more options for employees who feel they have been mistreated.