Failed probationary period, apparently!
Discussion
Hi Guys,
My brother has just got to the end of his probationary 6 month period working for a large public transport subsidiary in the north of England. His particular job involved collecting infirmed/disabled people and taking them to wherever they wanted to go.
Throughout his probation, he has received very positive comments from the customers, to the extent that some of the other drivers would pull his leg by calling him, "the blue-eyed boy." In addition to this, at regular intervals during the probation, he asked his line manager if everything was OK, the response to this was, "yes, carry on doing what you are doing." Normally, probationers do not get their full uniform until they have completed the probation, yet my brother was issued his after only 5 months.
Anyway, the 2 weeks before the probationary period was up, he was taken ill with a chest infection. He carried on working for a week, but then was so ill that he was signed off for the last week. On the Wednesday of that week he took his sick note to his place of work and saw his line manager who said he could understand him being off because he was obviously very ill. He then went on to discuss my brother's shifts for the week he returned to work.
You can perhaps understand his surprise when, the next day, he received a letter for the same line manager, saying that he had failed his probationary period and was not going to be offered a contract. No reason was given.
Now there are only 2 possible reasons I can think for this outcome.
1.) My brother is very careful when it comes to his passengers and his driving licence. Consequently, after conducting his daily vehicle checks he has defected 2 vehicles, one for a tail-lift problem and another for defective brakes. Both faults were later confirmed.
2.) He reported a senior driver for being under the influence while on duty. He subsequently found out that the driver he reported is very friendly with the line manager, to the extent that their families holiday together.
His appeal was yesterday and, yet again, they refused to tell him why he had failed. The manager leading the appeal has told him he will investigate all the points my brother raised.
Finally, if you have read through all of this, I am very grateful and would appreciate any comments regarding any further action we could take and is there any way they can be convinced to tell him why he has been effectively dismissed. Thank you for all positive comments.
My brother has just got to the end of his probationary 6 month period working for a large public transport subsidiary in the north of England. His particular job involved collecting infirmed/disabled people and taking them to wherever they wanted to go.
Throughout his probation, he has received very positive comments from the customers, to the extent that some of the other drivers would pull his leg by calling him, "the blue-eyed boy." In addition to this, at regular intervals during the probation, he asked his line manager if everything was OK, the response to this was, "yes, carry on doing what you are doing." Normally, probationers do not get their full uniform until they have completed the probation, yet my brother was issued his after only 5 months.
Anyway, the 2 weeks before the probationary period was up, he was taken ill with a chest infection. He carried on working for a week, but then was so ill that he was signed off for the last week. On the Wednesday of that week he took his sick note to his place of work and saw his line manager who said he could understand him being off because he was obviously very ill. He then went on to discuss my brother's shifts for the week he returned to work.
You can perhaps understand his surprise when, the next day, he received a letter for the same line manager, saying that he had failed his probationary period and was not going to be offered a contract. No reason was given.
Now there are only 2 possible reasons I can think for this outcome.
1.) My brother is very careful when it comes to his passengers and his driving licence. Consequently, after conducting his daily vehicle checks he has defected 2 vehicles, one for a tail-lift problem and another for defective brakes. Both faults were later confirmed.
2.) He reported a senior driver for being under the influence while on duty. He subsequently found out that the driver he reported is very friendly with the line manager, to the extent that their families holiday together.
His appeal was yesterday and, yet again, they refused to tell him why he had failed. The manager leading the appeal has told him he will investigate all the points my brother raised.
Finally, if you have read through all of this, I am very grateful and would appreciate any comments regarding any further action we could take and is there any way they can be convinced to tell him why he has been effectively dismissed. Thank you for all positive comments.
Hi Guys,
Thanks for all of the responses. Just to update the thread, my brother received the verdict of his appeal hearing today. Apparently, the reasons given for him failing the probationary period were, "attitude and demeanor." Seems rather strange that neither of these points were mentioned during any of the times when my brother asked line managers for feedback on how he was doing. Anyway, the original decision was upheld and my brother was dismissed. It's at times like this when I really hope karma exists.
Thanks for all of the responses. Just to update the thread, my brother received the verdict of his appeal hearing today. Apparently, the reasons given for him failing the probationary period were, "attitude and demeanor." Seems rather strange that neither of these points were mentioned during any of the times when my brother asked line managers for feedback on how he was doing. Anyway, the original decision was upheld and my brother was dismissed. It's at times like this when I really hope karma exists.
davepoth said:
Question to the OP: did the guy who was apparently drunk on duty (and driving while drunk I assume) ever get dealt with in any way?
In a word, no! There was an investigation, which was carried out by his mate, the line manager who has fired my brother. During the appeal, some vague mention of HR involvement was mentioned, but no specifics. Soon after my brother was informed he was to be dismissed, one of the other drivers spoke to the guy who had been under the influence and asked him what he thought, " he got what he deserved," was the reply. Since then there have supposedly been a couple of other occasions where the guy has turned up smelling of alcohol, but nobody is prepared to say anything in light of what happened to my brother. In light of this, we have decided that we will be contacting the MD of the parent organisation to let him/her know what is happening in part of their empire.
At this stage, we will NOT be resorting to frozen sausages in lawns or cress seeds in the shag pile carpet!
Hi Guys,
As someone who hates posts that lack a conclusion, I thought I would update everyone who was kind enough to comment on my post.
We did appeal further to the MD of the company. The guy himself has actually been the subject of MP's questions regarding previous employees who have been unfairly dismissed. Anyway, despite the fact that he said he would investigate, the outcome was still the same and he upheld the dismissal. The lack of personal integrity shown by the majority of people involved in this matter is very sad. The guy who my brother reported for being under the influence, has not driven any vehicle while being on duty since Christmas, which seems rather odd, seeing that everyone involved in the management chain said that he was not drunk on duty! However, the best news of all is that my brother has just got a new job, doing what he enjoys, driving disabled people and children with complex/special needs.
Thanks to all for your help.
As someone who hates posts that lack a conclusion, I thought I would update everyone who was kind enough to comment on my post.
We did appeal further to the MD of the company. The guy himself has actually been the subject of MP's questions regarding previous employees who have been unfairly dismissed. Anyway, despite the fact that he said he would investigate, the outcome was still the same and he upheld the dismissal. The lack of personal integrity shown by the majority of people involved in this matter is very sad. The guy who my brother reported for being under the influence, has not driven any vehicle while being on duty since Christmas, which seems rather odd, seeing that everyone involved in the management chain said that he was not drunk on duty! However, the best news of all is that my brother has just got a new job, doing what he enjoys, driving disabled people and children with complex/special needs.
Thanks to all for your help.
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