Got fired :(

dave10

I got the sack yesterday. It just happened all of a sudden. My HR manager called me after 6pm yesterday evening and told me not to go into work today as the client is unsatisfied with the level of service I was providing. I will be paid up to the end of this month.

I received no warnings of this nor any negative feedback from the client. As far as I as concerned it was all good.

Can I claim unfair dismissal for this or even qualify for redundancy?

There has been a lot of issues in work (work disputes with colleagues & salary dispute) and I'm trying to figure out if this is linked and are just using my performance as an excuse.

ABajaninCork

Get on to an employment specialist - Quick!

Eoin

How long have you been employed by them?

Can I claim unfair dismissal for this

This is verging on asking for specific legal advice, this is not the place for it.

dave10

I have been employed by them for 3yrs 9mths. I am still on a temporary contract (monthly rolling). I understood it was in place to help prevent or deal with any misconduct as there were serious employee relation issues at the time.

I made 2 formal complaints regarding colleagues and a number of various issues and my HR did practically nothing and all the time they led me to believe that it was being dealt with.

Anyways to the point, I never received any warnings or had a formal meeting to discuss my performance. So I have nothing to go on here. I was not accused of any misconduct. Basically, they used my performance as an excuse to get rid of me quickly.

I'm not trying to ask for any legal advice. Just where to make a start and if I may have a case to take this further if needed. I will be seeking legal advise elsewhere but in the meantime I am waiting on my P45 and to see if they may have compensated me any redundancy pay on top of what I'm owed already.

Atlantis50

Have a look at this link OP: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment_and_redundancy/dismissal/unfair_dismissal.html

The parts relevant to your situation are:

[Unfair dismissal does not apply to] ... (g) an employee who is employed under a fixed-term/specified-purpose contract and where the contract is in writing, is signed by both parties and contains a clause that the Acts shall not apply in relation to a dismissal consisting only of the expiration of the fixed term contract or the completion of the specified purpose. You can find out detailed information about fixed-term/specified-purpose contracts and dismissal in 'Further information' below.

And:

Fixed-term or specified-purpose contracts and dismissal

A fixed-term contract is a contract of a specific length where the duration of the contract is known to both parties from the outset. A specified-purpose contract is also of a limited duration, but the parties do not know the length of the contract from the outset. It will be envisaged that it is of limited duration to end when the specified purpose of the contract is completed.
When an employee is dismissed at the end of a fixed-term or specified-purpose contract the unfair dismissals legislation applies as normal unless the employer has availed of the provision to exclude the operation of the legislation. The 3 conditions to be met in order to bring this exclusion into play are:

• The contract must be in writing and must set out the specific duration of the fixed-term contract or, in the case of a specified-purpose contract, the object of the contract.
• The contract must be signed by both the employee and the employer
• The contract must contain a specific clause stating that the Unfair Dismissals Acts will not apply to the expiry of the term of the contract

If these conditions are not met then you may have a claim for unfair dismissal despite the fact that you are employed under a fixed-term or specified-purpose contract, subject to fulfilling the normal requirements as to length of service, etc.
Following the passing of the Protection Of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 (pdf) on 14 July 2003, if an employee is required to enter into a number of such fixed-term or specified-purpose contracts there are two possible situations as follows:

• Employees on fixed-term contracts which commenced prior to the passing of the Act: Once such an employee completes or has completed 3 years' continuous employment (any or all of the 3 years' service may have occurred prior to the passing of the Act) the employer may renew the contract for a fixed term on one occasion only and that renewal may be for a period of no longer than one year
• Employees on a fixed-term employment contract which commenced after the passing of the Act: Where such an employee is employed by his or her employer or associated employer on two or more continuous fixed-term contracts, the aggregate duration of those contracts may not exceed 4 years.

However, the above-mentioned rules do not apply where there are objective grounds justifying the renewal of a contract of employment for a fixed term only.
Where a renewal of a fixed-term contract does not comply with the above requirements and cannot be objectively justified, the contract is treated as an open-ended contract.
The Unfair Dismissal Acts contain a provision aimed at ensuring that successive temporary contracts are not used in order to avoid that legislation. Where a fixed-term or specified-purpose contract expires and the individual is re-employed within 3 months, the individual is deemed to have continuous service.
Therefore, even where an employer excludes the unfair dismissals legislation in the manner described above, a Rights Commissioner or the Employment Appeals Tribunal will consider whether the use of such contracts was wholly or partly to avoid the employee having the protection of the unfair dismissals legislation. If it is considered that this was the case and the contracts were not separated by more than 3 months and the job was at least similar, then the case can be dealt with as if there was continuous employment and the employer will be required to justify the dismissal in the normal manner.

gerrycollins

dave10 wrote: »

I have been employed by them for 3yrs 9mths. I am still on a temporary contract (monthly rolling). I understood it was in place to help prevent or deal with any misconduct as there were serious employee relation issues at the time.

I made 2 formal complaints regarding colleagues and a number of various issues and my HR did practically nothing and all the time they led me to believe that it was being dealt with.

Anyways to the point, I never received any warnings or had a formal meeting to discuss my performance. So I have nothing to go on here. I was not accused of any misconduct. Basically, they used my performance as an excuse to get rid of me quickly.

I'm not trying to ask for any legal advice. Just where to make a start and if I may have a case to take this further if needed. I will be seeking legal advise elsewhere but in the meantime I am waiting on my P45 and to see if they may have compensated me any redundancy pay on top of what I'm owed already.

I think you have sufficent reason to bring this to an employment lawer.

Sounds to me that they got rid of you before your 4th year hence making you defacto permanment contract staff.

dave10

I'm planning on going into Citizens Information to see where to start. Also I have a witness (one if the interviewer) for during my interview when I was told that I will be getting the full salary from the start. They didn't pay me this and kept me on my old salary. I questioned them about this and they said that they told me during the interview that I will be kept on my old salary until I signed the contract after my probationary period....this is untrue. Could be another reason why they got rid of me!!

To explain the above - I started almost 4 years ago and worked my way up within the company. In order to get the current job I had to do an interview. My contract did not change to reflect pay and position even though I did request it from the start. They said I had to wait 13 weeks.

There's a number of factors that I can think of that can give them a reason to sack me but my performance or attitude does not contribute to them.

Thanks guys for the help.