Do I have a case for constructive dismissal?

LegacyUser

I have been working in my current job for nearly 1.5 years.

During the interview process myself and my colleagues (we were hired for a new contract our company had won) were lied to about the job (they told us it was sysadmin with with some deskside support duties, in reality it's first level phone support - I left a good job as a sysadmin and took a paycut for this) and about out working hours. They told us we'd be doing a 5 day weeks with no bank holidays. As soon as we'd finished our training they changed this and said actually you will have to work weekends and bank holidays. In the end I decided to stay in the job as our shift became 4 days on 3 days off (with 10 hour days), and I am in my final year doing a degree part time so it really suited me having a 4 day week.

Recently the project manager for our team told us unless we could raise our stats and resolve rate, they would be changing our shifts to 5 day weeks. Our stats are already great and are acceptable to the client - this was a case of our company trying to screw more money out of the client for something they never had a problem with.

Anyway, we did raise our resolve rate significantly. Then...the project manager said 'actually we are going to change your shifts anyway'.

So now we are working 5 day weeks, and in every 6 week block you have to work two weekends followed by a Saturday. Your two days off per week won't be consecutive every week.

Basically this has really screwed everyone over. How can you have a life working like that?

A couple of us want to leave because of this and we are thinking of going down the constructive dismissal route.

Do you think we have a good case?

PurpleBerry

Obviously legal advice can't really be given out so usually I would recommend seeing a solicitor but in your case I won't even recommend that.


You have no case.


I'm sorry that your being messed around with but suing for "constructive dismissal" is very serious and laborious. You have to report to management that you're not happy, you then have to give them a chance to sort it out. In actual fact you have to give them a good few chances to sort it out.

If you went to a solicitor with the story. "They kept changing the working hours so I quit" I doubt you would get very far. Constructive dismissal is difficult enough to prove when you have been fired or let go. If you leave, it's an awful lot harder. You have to prove that conditions were so bad that you were forced to leave and that before you did leave you did everything in your power to resolve the situation and that you gave the management every chance to do the same.

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For an example of hw hard it is, I know someone who is currently suing for constructive dissmissal. He was bullied in his workplace, he was assaulted, the man responsible for the assault claimed he was provoked into the assault and this man got suspended for a week with full pay (that was the "punishment" handed to him by the management!)

The person who is suing has doctors certs going back two years saying he has visited them to be treated for depression, he broke down in tears in the doctors office, he has been referred to for counselling and the counseller backs him up completely in his claim that he was bullied. He has photographic evidence of nasty little notes that his workmates pinned up on his locker, he has taped conversation of his fruitless meetings with management (in which he clearly states to his "superiors" that they are being taped).

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Don't get me wrong, this man has a case, and a pretty strong one, but it's just an example as to how badly you need to have suffered, how much evidence you need and how you need to have given the management a lot of opportunity to resolve the situation before you can even think about getting a solicitor involved.

the_syco

What did the contract say?

bot32

i am seeking advice on my job i work in a busy dublin hospital as a care
assistant i work on a ward where ther is a lot of heavey lifting i was out
of work due to back injury in which i have degenerative disc disease i was
out sick for 5 months i had asked for a transfare to lighter ward but can,t
as my nursing support manager has said my sick leave is too high i asked
for a jobshare that is not availble either because of the recuitment ban i
dont seem to hav any choice but to resign as my back is getting worse the
doctor in o h doesnt seem to be much help my gp has sent letters but to no
use

GoneShootin

This is not a Legal Discussion forum!