Injured and let go from work really need the help

Hardluck

Hi all i am new here and just looking for some advice i apologize if this thread ends up in the wrong place.

Anyway, about six months ago my back was badly injured at work. My company were providing me with physio and paying all my doctors bills and part of my wages since the accident. My fixed term contract is up on friday and they told me yesterday they are not going to renew it (a tad bit to late?) Obviously now my last wage will be friday and no more physio and i dont know how im going to afford surgery or god forbid be on the public waiting list it will take years.
I have not been able to work since the accident and will need surgery to correct it so i will be out of work for presumably one or mayby even a few years. I did not expect them to pay me for the whole time but thought maybe they would have kept my possition open.

Now that you know my situation the questions i have are
. can they just let me go legally because im injured ?
. and what should i do about it

Thank you for taking the time

dudara

Thread moved from Feedback to the Work Problems forum

dudara

SCOOP 64

Can you get legal advice about putting a claim in for injury at work ?
Work colleague is doing just that at my work, he wont be able to do manual labour again after back injury, but a slow process,been 18 months now, he wont be returning work.

Hardluck

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

Can you get legal advice about putting a claim in for injury at work ?
Work colleague is doing just that at my work, he wont be able to do manual labour again after back injury, but a slow process,been 18 months now, he wont be returning work.

Yes i could the accident was not my fault i was told to do something that in the end injured me.
I just dont think its fair that i wont have a job to return to after all this like its going to be hard to explain a big unemployment gap in a c.v to a new employer.

davo10

Firstly, if your employer was negligent, then you need to talk to a solicitor, there is a time limit on making a claim.

In regard to your employment, unfortunately that is the nature of fixed term contracts, you are employed for a fixed term and provided it makes reference to the fact that the Unfair Dismissals Act does not apply at determination of the contract, your employment ceases at the end of the contract. They are not letting you go because you are injured, the fixed term of your contract has concluded.

_Brian

You have 2 years from the date of an accident to lodge a claim via piab.

In theory there is no need to engage a solicitor, but having extensive experience of this process your employers insurance company will employ experienced solicitors during the piab process and so you would be at a serious disadvantage if you have no solicitor.

As for being let go, it’s highly possible your injury was an influencing factor in not being rehired on an new crontract. However proving that will be impossible as your contract allowed it.

Diceicle

davo10 wrote: »

Firstly, if your employer was negligent, then you need to talk to a solicitor, there is a time limit on making a claim.

In regard to your employment, unfortunately that is the nature of fixed term contracts, you are employed for a fixed term and provided it makes reference to the fact that the Unfair Dismissals Act does not apply at determination of the contract, your employment ceases at the end of the contract. They are not letting you go because you are injured, the fixed term of your contract has concluded.

A general but related query - can the employer just replace the worker with a different worker each time the period of the FTC expires?

That is the difference between specified purpose and fixed term? Fixed term gives the employer more flexibility into who they employ?

turbot

Hardluck wrote: »

Hi all i am new here and just looking for some advice i apologize if this thread ends up in the wrong place.

Anyway, about six months ago my back was badly injured at work. My company were providing me with physio and paying all my doctors bills and part of my wages since the accident. My fixed term contract is up on friday and they told me yesterday they are not going to renew it (a tad bit to late?) Obviously now my last wage will be friday and no more physio and i dont know how im going to afford surgery or god forbid be on the public waiting list it will take years.
I have not been able to work since the accident and will need surgery to correct it so i will be out of work for presumably one or mayby even a few years. I did not expect them to pay me for the whole time but thought maybe they would have kept my possition open.

Now that you know my situation the questions i have are
. can they just let me go legally because im injured ?
. and what should i do about it

Thank you for taking the time

Get legal advice asap!

davo10

Diceicle wrote: »

A general but related query - can the employer just replace the worker with a different worker each time the period of the FTC expires?

That is the difference between specified purpose and fixed term? Fixed term gives the employer more flexibility into who they employ?

Its all in the wording. There is no obligation to retain a contractor after the fixed term expires, but it is very important that the contract clearly states that the UDA will not apply at the end of the contract, if the contract does not state this, then the employee may be able to challenge the termination.

After 4 years, the contractor, if being retained, must be made an employee with a contract of indefinite duration, i.e. a full time employee.

After 2 years, the contractor may, in certain circumstances, but not always, be entitled to redundancy at the end of the contract.

There is no obligation for an employer to keep an employee on after the contract ends, for instance if the employee is pregnant, they can not automatically claim discrimination because her contract wasn't renewed, or a sick employee cannot claim that their illness was the reason for not getting another contract. Of course you can take a case to the WRC but the outcome will often come down to the wording of the contract.

So, can you be replaced?, at the end of your fixed term or defined task, yes.


http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/contracts_of_employment/fixed_term_or_specified_purpose_contracts.html

Diceicle

davo10 wrote: »

Its all in the wording. There is no obligation to retain a contractor after the fixed term expires, but it is very important that the contract clearly states that the UDA will not apply at the end of the contract, if the contract does not state this, then the employee may be able to challenge the termination.

After 4 years, the contractor, if being retained, must be made an employee with a contract of indefinite duration, i.e. a full time employee.

After 2 years, the contractor may, in certain circumstances, but not always, be entitled to redundancy at the end of the contract.

There is no obligation for an employer to keep an employee on after the contract ends, for instance if the employee is pregnant, they can not automatically claim discrimination because her contract wasn't renewed, or a sick employee cannot claim that their illness was the reason for not getting another contract. Of course you can take a case to the WRC but the outcome will often come down to the wording of the contract.

So, can you be replaced?, at the end of your fixed term or defined task, yes.


http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/contracts_of_employment/fixed_term_or_specified_purpose_contracts.html

Thanks.
And I don't want to de-rail the thread - but what I'm trying to get my head around is:- my understanding is that is a person is the line between letting someone go and being made redundant.
If the person is made redundant the employer (as I understand it) cannot just throw a new (cheaper) body into that same position the next week. Do the FTCs offer a way around this?

davo10

Diceicle wrote: »

Thanks.
And I don't want to de-rail the thread - but what I'm trying to get my head around is:- my understanding is that is a person is the line between letting someone go and being made redundant.
If the person is made redundant the employer (as I understand it) cannot just throw a new (cheaper) body into that same position the next week. Do the FTCs offer a way around this?

Fixed term contracts are probably the least well understood contract of employment, and the most contentious.

After 2 years fixed term employment, you may be entitled to redundancy, but you also may not, there does not seem to be a definitive rule for this.

Yes FTC offer a way around many problems which employers sometimes face. An employee may be required for a certain duration or for a defined project and the employer may want to be able to let the contractor go at the end of both without any recrimations or fear of an unfair dismissals case. Both the employer and the contractor know from day one where they stand and a binding agreement is signed. Provided the contract is worded correctly, the contractor can be let go at the end of the contract. Only after 4 years does the fixed term contractor become a permanent employee.