Legal advice, unfair dissmissal??

Saruman

Just curious.. My wife lost her job after about a month.. not quite a month of working there.
Her signed terms of employment were for 3 months, then review for further 9 months contract.
She was told it will take her a few months to get to grips with the job.
anyway her boss was old (62) and forgetful.. he would tell her something then forget and when asked why she did not do something she would say he told her not to etc etc..

Also he expects her to do everything the way he does... for instance someone asked her to call a client.. she did but she was gone so she left a message on voicemail saying she would call in the morning... before she even started work the guy asked her did she call the client last night.. she said that she did and left the message and would call her this morning... He Boss snidley said "See, you had NOTHING on your desk reminding you to do that, there is nothing on your desk!!" Even though he knows she has a diary with all that kind of stuff written down.. he keeps post it notes and he expects her to do the same as him even though he told her to find her own way of doing things..


Anyway its a personality clash. He expected her to be exactly like the person she replaced (who took 6 months to learn the job). Finally they had a talk and got things out in the air. Things seem to be getting better that week but when the head guy came back off holidays i guess he complained to him and she was simply told to go and would be paid through the week (this was on a tuesday).

My dad said that does not seem right and she may be entitled to the rest of the 3 months.. not sure... i think she would have to be working there longer.. anyway.. anyone familiar with the law on this??

WhiteWashMan

i suspect the first three months were probationary, in which case she can be let go with a weeks notice i suspect.

would she want to continue working there with someone she doesnt get on with?

as for the rest of the 3 months, absolutely not. sorry.

Saruman

Ah well i figured as much! Thanks WWW

somechick

The employer has the right to terminate ONLY if there was a stipulation clause in the Contract stating that they can terminate the Conatrct within teh 3 month probationary period by notice in writing of 1 week etc..

If you have a copy of teh contract - i can take a look at it for you and let you know what your legal rights are. I work in a law firm!

WhiteWashMan

somechick wrote:

The employer has the right to terminate ONLY if there was a stipulation clause in the Contract stating that they can terminate the Conatrct within teh 3 month probationary period by notice in writing of 1 week etc..

!

no offense, but that is the point of a probationary contract. they can fire you at any point.

somechick wrote:

If you have a copy of teh contract - i can take a look at it for you and let you know what your legal rights are. I work in a law firm!

i work in a castle, doesnt mean im a king

Saruman

well she was not given a reason for being fired. her boss (not head guy) came out and said "I have some bad news for you, the company has decided to terminate your empoyment" and she was told she can leave now.
She was not given a chance, no warnings or anything.

WhiteWashMan

Saruman wrote:

well she was not given a reason for being fired. her boss (not head guy) came out and said "I have some bad news for you, the company has decided to terminate your empoyment" and she was told she can leave now.
She was not given a chance, no warnings or anything.

and thats why they put people on a probationary contract. because they dont need a reason to let you go.
its legal, when you sign a contract, it will usually have a probationary period, you sign up to their terms and conditions.

but again, would your wife like to work there after this?

dnt waste any further time on it, just look forward and learn from it.
hell, i was sacked once when i was on probation. i thought it was the worst thing ever!
but i took that lesson away with me, and i was better the next time.
although, they didnt give me a reason for sacking me, i suspect it was coz i was searching for jobs on theweb and went for an interview in my lunch break

Saruman

No she would not want to work there again.. just wondering.. i mean hell blessing in disguise as she had an interview at Ebay/paypal today and its better money and better conditions it looks like.. just not office hours..

Thanks for the info.

JW123

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i work in a castle, doesnt mean im a king

Class, best reply I've seen in a long time!!

seamus

I'd agree with WWM. Tis all above board, and just life. Personality clashes are an unavoidable part of life. Happens to everyone at some point, and it's always the guy in the superior position who'll win out.

RicardoSmith

You really don't want to work in a place like that.

Saruman

hmm my dad is still convinced he has seen cases where they are in the wrong.. mainly because no reason for termination was given... so might just run it by a solicitor at some point and see if anything can be done. It really messed up our plans to buy a house the feckers!!!

somechick

WhiteWashMan wrote:

no offense, but that is the point of a probationary contract. they can fire you at any point.



i work in a castle, doesnt mean im a king

V. Clever!
They can't actually fire you at ANY point regardless of a Probationary Conatrct or not.. Which was the reason for asking to see the contract. They can only do this IF there was a time period stipulation in it, otherwise there are safeguard laws in place to cover people from being fired unfairly.

Irrespective or whether or not she would go back and work with them isn't relevant - it's what her legal rights and entitlements were which mattered.