Is there such a thing as wrongful dismissal?

[General Madness]

Worked for employer 4 months. Promoted to management at end of month 1.

Myself and Colleague on same level told we had 3 months to perform and they'd choose between us for site manager after a review.

1 week before end of 3 months I am on holiday and they promote the other guy without carrying out the agreed review nor advising me


2 weeks later I get a phone call telling me I am sacked. No notice no nothing. Asked for reasons and told I am not the right fit for the business which I have successfully been running for the last 3 months. Advised me I am underperforming but gave no examples.

No notice given
Two months later and 2 written contact attempts and I still have no p45 no pay slips nor good reasons for dismissal. They are ignoring me.

This was a good paying job that I genuinely excelled at.
I got on very well with all staff, colleagues and business owners.
I was sacked by someone who I believe is a contractor for the company whose job role appears to revolve around business improvement. There has been no contact from anyone in a management position within this company. Nor the owners.

Reading my contract it advises they do not have to follow any disciplinary procedure and can terminate without notice during the first 24 months of service.

Can anyone please advise if I have any sort of recourse. As I said, they are ignoring me completely so cannot appeal etc... I have no confirmation of anything to appeal against.

Thanks!

[megaphone]

Yes you can be got rid of within 24 months. What did your contract say regarding notice period? I'd expect them to give you at least a month, or at least a months money if they get rid immediately.

Doesn't sound like the type of company you'd want to work for anyway if they treat you like this

[JohnGBUK]

Are you looking for an answer under UK employment law or another country?

[Kermit power]

They don't need a reason to get rid of you in the first 2 years, but they do still need to give you notice, even if it's just a week.

https://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4096

Withholding your P45 is illegal.

https://www.gov.uk/paye-forms-p45-p60-p11d

They don't necessarily have to give it to you on the day you leave, but do have to provide it without undue delay.

[Kermit power]

JohnGBUK said:

Are you looking for an answer under UK employment law or another country?

Well if he's in Bangladesh or somewhere, that would probably explain why they're not giving him a P45!

[General Madness]

Sorry I forgot to say I am in Scotland.

The contract states that I should get 1 weeks notice after 1 months continuous service then goes on to say they reserve the right to dismiss without following any procedures, ie no notice.

[Muzzer79]

They can dismiss you without reason as you cannot raise a unfair dismissal claim until 24 months service (unless you believe your sacking was discriminatory)

Regarding notice, I am unclear on the law here but it's common practice to give at least a week.

Consult a lawyer regarding that, if a week's money is worth it for you but I would wager that would be more hassle than it's worth.

[edc]

There is a concept of wrongful dismissal in relation to breach of contract.

[General Madness]

Regarding the wrongful dismissal aspect.

Id quite like to find out a bit more, they have failed to follow any one of their own procedures and sacked me over the phone.

Can anyone provide further info? Happy to try and answer questions if needed.

[MDMA .]

General Madness said:

Regarding the wrongful dismissal aspect.

Id quite like to find out a bit more, they have failed to follow any one of their own procedures and sacked me over the phone.

Can anyone provide further info? Happy to try and answer questions if needed.

They really don't want you. They don't need a reason. Being on holiday was just good timing for them tbh to do it. Some places are just more ruthless than others.

[StevieBee]

General Madness said:

Id quite like to find out a bit more, they have failed to follow any one of their own procedures and sacked me over the phone.

What remedy are you hoping to achieve?

Money? An apology? Getting your job back?

As others have said, a company may terminate your employment for no reason at any time during the first two years of employment except on grounds of discrimination.

If the contract states they'd offer you a week's notice then this is their only obligation regardless of anything else - either in terms of time or a week's pay.

Morally, ethically and professionally, it stinks. But legally, providing you are not being denied any financial settlement due to you according to the contract then that's really that I'm afraid.

[General Madness]

I meant to say, I have recieved my full outstanding monies owed.

Honestly, I'd like compensated for their actions. I do not wish to work for them again but the time and effort put into their business has been substantial.

It all boils down to whether or not I could claim against them for their failures to follow procedures outlined in their contract? They know my circumstances and still decided the best course of action is to land me in the st. As said, a phone call from a contractor is all ive had.

P45, they have not issued and are ignoring my requests. Someone mentioned this may be illegal, is this the case? How do I report?

Thanks again

[edc]

General Madness said:

I meant to say, I have recieved my full outstanding monies owed.

Honestly, I'd like compensated for their actions. I do not wish to work for them again but the time and effort put into their business has been substantial.

It all boils down to whether or not I could claim against them for their failures to follow procedures outlined in their contract? They know my circumstances and still decided the best course of action is to land me in the st. As said, a phone call from a contractor is all ive had.

P45, they have not issued and are ignoring my requests. Someone mentioned this may be illegal, is this the case? How do I report?

Thanks again

For your time and effort you have been compensated with salary.

For compensation there must be some causal loss? What is the loss? If you've had everything owed contractually and there has been no discrimination there is precious little to claim for.

[Muzzer79]

General Madness said:

I meant to say, I have recieved my full outstanding monies owed.

Honestly, I'd like compensated for their actions. I do not wish to work for them again but the time and effort put into their business has been substantial.

It all boils down to whether or not I could claim against them for their failures to follow procedures outlined in their contract? They know my circumstances and still decided the best course of action is to land me in the st. As said, a phone call from a contractor is all ive had.

P45, they have not issued and are ignoring my requests. Someone mentioned this may be illegal, is this the case? How do I report?

Thanks again

What procedures have they failed to follow from the contract?

What do you want compensation for?

Some companies are ruthless. They read the contract and conclude that they can get rid.

It's unfortunate but you've been paid, so chalk it up and move on.

[Kermit power]

General Madness said:

I meant to say, I have recieved my full outstanding monies owed.

Honestly, I'd like compensated for their actions. I do not wish to work for them again but the time and effort put into their business has been substantial.

It all boils down to whether or not I could claim against them for their failures to follow procedures outlined in their contract? They know my circumstances and still decided the best course of action is to land me in the st. As said, a phone call from a contractor is all ive had.

P45, they have not issued and are ignoring my requests. Someone mentioned this may be illegal, is this the case? How do I report?

Thanks again

If you've been there less than 2 years, then you have very few rights.

They can't sack you for discriminatory reasons, but beyond that they can just get rid of you. If you're anything other than a white male, then they may well have come up with some form of reason purely to avoid the risk of being accused of discrimination, but if you're not, then chances are you won't get told anything, and it's perfectly legal.

If you've been payed at least a week's notice (statutory minimum) or whatever your contract stipulates if longer, then that's also perfectly legal.

Withholding your P45 beyond a reasonable short period of time after your departure is not reasonable. Call HMRC, tell them when you left and that your employer has not given you your P45 and ask them how you should proceed.

[Marcellus]

If you've worked for less than 2 years they can do exactly what they have done, they don't have to give you a reason or be able to justify it just say "sorry you're not for us" and then pay you your contracted notice period.

Employers are often advised not to give any reasoning if they're going down this route as it may open discussion/debate which will only prolong the issue for both sides and during which the employer could say something they later come to regret.

An example; an employer finds an employee is falsifying service records, employee has 18 months service, employer could go through disciplinary process and agree actions blah blah blah. Employer advised just to say "it's not working sorry here's your notice" and not open the falsification issue nor mention it once they've left!

[Countdown]

General Madness said:

Worked for employer 4 months. Promoted to management at end of month 1.

Myself and Colleague on same level told we had 3 months to perform and they'd choose between us for site manager after a review.

1 week before end of 3 months I am on holiday and they promote the other guy without carrying out the agreed review nor advising me

2 weeks later I get a phone call telling me I am sacked. No notice no nothing. Asked for reasons and told I am not the right fit for the business which I have successfully been running for the last 3 months. Advised me I am underperforming but gave no examples.

No notice given
Two months later and 2 written contact attempts and I still have no p45 no pay slips nor good reasons for dismissal. They are ignoring me.

Thanks!

Op - you have my sympathies.

1. They can do (within reason) what they like.
2. Nothing they’ve done to you is illegal. (Arguably its highly unprofessional but you cant sue somebody for that)
3. You say you’ve been performing really well but they said you were underperforming. IME it’s rare for management to sack high performers. therefore it might be worthwhile asking for some constructive feedback.

Good luck.

[StevieBee]

General Madness said:

I meant to say, I have recieved my full outstanding monies owed.

It all boils down to whether or not I could claim against them for their failures to follow procedures outlined in their contract? They know my circumstances and still decided the best course of action is to land me in the st. As said, a phone call from a contractor is all ive had.

You've got what you are contractually due.

You have no claim against them for the simple reason that had they followed procedure, the outcome would have been exactly the same - unless you can prove otherwise. You would be no better or no worse off now than if you had been called into a meeting so there is no material loss to you.

This sounds hard but your circumstances are of no concern (legally) to the company or any company.

Take the hit. Re-group. Move on and up!

[Oilchange]

Appears companies like to sap the skills up to the 2 year point, then 'let you go' once they have the bulk of the work done.
Happened to the bloke next door.

[edc]

Oilchange said:

Appears companies like to sap the skills up to the 2 year point, then 'let you go' once they have the bulk of the work done.
Happened to the bloke next door.

This is how redundancy works. If the work is done and there is either nothing left to do or so little left somebody else can do it what sane business keeps that overhead there?