Any solicitors??

Started by RedHand88, December 09, 2020, 03:56:50 PM

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brokencrossbar1

Quote from: Emmett on June 18, 2021, 12:31:20 PM
Hi folks.

Wonder can someone on here offer me some advice?

I am employed full time in Lisburn and have recently started my own business on the side. This will completely be weekend work and will not interfere in any way with my main Monday - Friday job. There is no conflict of interest there either in terms of the nature of the job.

Today I have received a letter inviting me to an investigation meeting addressing allegations of gross misconduct due to carrying out other business without the company's consent. There is a conflict of interest section in my contract where this is mentioned but TBH I did not even consider this as my business will not have any effect on my main job. Perhaps very green/silly of me I know.

Aside from this my department has lost 4 colleagues in the past 2 years and only 1 has been replaced. There are now 4 of us carrying out the work of 6/7 people. I voiced my concerns about this last week. During my latest colleague's exit interview the HR Manager asked him if I was really as busy as I said I was and if I was under as much pressure as I claimed. Surely this is not allowed?

My boss who is a rude and difficult man told a colleague to refuse to take on extra work and to pass the customers on to me as "it will get him out of bed in the morning!!". A completely ridiculous and unfounded statement/claim!

I am now concerned I will be sacked next week.

Please advise  :(

Check the exact terms of your Conflict of interest clause as it is potentially a sackable offence. They need to be very careful though as irrespective of the reasons for potentially sacking you they need to go through a strong, robust process.

In respect of your queries regarding the levels of work  as what was allegedly said by your boss you have the right to raise a grievance. I would do that from a tactical point of view. They are looking to get rid of you I would suspect so by raising the grievance you are pushing that back on them and if they are smart they will deal with your grievance first.

whitey

Sometimes if there are going to be layoffs involving severance, companies try and save themselves money by "firing" people ahead of time

Unfortunately a contract is a contract so you might not have legal standing

How stringently have they  enforced this clause  with other employees-either past or present? 

I know someone who faced  a similar situation to you, and he  found out that multiple other employees had outside business interests-some involving family members of the person trying to drum him out and the clause was not enforced

Anyway-get yourself a solicitor and begin a job search today

yellowcard

Quote from: Emmett on June 18, 2021, 12:31:20 PM
Hi folks.

Wonder can someone on here offer me some advice?

I am employed full time in Lisburn and have recently started my own business on the side. This will completely be weekend work and will not interfere in any way with my main Monday - Friday job. There is no conflict of interest there either in terms of the nature of the job.

Today I have received a letter inviting me to an investigation meeting addressing allegations of gross misconduct due to carrying out other business without the company's consent. There is a conflict of interest section in my contract where this is mentioned but TBH I did not even consider this as my business will not have any effect on my main job. Perhaps very green/silly of me I know.

Aside from this my department has lost 4 colleagues in the past 2 years and only 1 has been replaced. There are now 4 of us carrying out the work of 6/7 people. I voiced my concerns about this last week. During my latest colleague's exit interview the HR Manager asked him if I was really as busy as I said I was and if I was under as much pressure as I claimed. Surely this is not allowed?

My boss who is a rude and difficult man told a colleague to refuse to take on extra work and to pass the customers on to me as "it will get him out of bed in the morning!!". A completely ridiculous and unfounded statement/claim!

I am now concerned I will be sacked next week.

Please advise  :(

Based on what you are saying it seems like they want to force you out by burdening you with extra work pressure. The fact that they only issued the 'gross misconduct' letter shortly after you voiced your concerns would make me believe that this is only being used as cover for their real motive in laying you off.

Make sure and document and record everything that has happened should this end up in an employment tribunal but I think you may need a solicitor and particularly one who specialises in employment law if it looks like this is where it is heading. I'm not a solicitor so I don't know if you have will have grounds for a case should they dismiss you next week. Don't be intimidated by the letter, it could be a tactic used by the company to avoid potential redundancy payment or to simply get you off the payroll. 

trueblue1234

See how meeting goes then get legal advise. Even with a conflict of interest claim, they have to actually demonstrate how there is a conflict of interest. So if your saying there isn't then the onus is on them to explain why. Employment clauses have to be considered reasonable. There's been a lot recently around none compete clauses and how legal they actually are.
Document everything from now on. Keep a diary of what conversations you are being involved in for your own safety.
But also try and see if it's something that can be sorted with a conversation. Sometimes going into a meeting like this all fired up can be the wrong tactic. Go in, listen to what they say, give your point of view, document everything. You'll know by how the meeting goes if they are out to try and get rid of you. And if you think they are, send a summary to them of the meeting, cc HR in. That'll give them the sh!ts that your putting everything in writing as they'll be thinking tribunal!!
Grammar: the difference between knowing your shit

Milltown Row2

Put the phone on the table and say you are recording it. As said, let them do all the talking, the more they say the more they may put themselves in it.

Using terms like:

Can you show me the conflict of interests

Can you explain that better

Why has my workload been increased

Is the company having financial issues

Is it cause I'm a taig  ;D
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

brokencrossbar1

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 18, 2021, 02:43:58 PM
Put the phone on the table and say you are recording it. As said, let them do all the talking, the more they say the more they may put themselves in it.

Using terms like:

Can you show me the conflict of interests

Can you explain that better

Why has my workload been increased

Is the company having financial issues

Is it cause I'm a taig  ;D

Or don't out the phone on the table. The law is clear in this that in these circumstances surreptitiously recording it can be accepted however if you ask to record it they can refuse your request. It's mental but that's the law.

tiempo

Queried this on my first ever work contract, was told it only relates to conflict of interest or if it was impacting your ability/performance in the role; first point is obvious, second e.g. working office 9-5 then working as a courier 6-12 and turning in drained and unable to stay on task 9-5. I wouldn't worry too much off the bat, get your defence written down and consider any angles like those already mentioned which might highlight the duplicitous approach of the company. Consulting a solicitor can't do any harm, also don't go into that meeting alone, get a trusted on site colleague or bring someone from off site if you can. Read the policy for clarity on bringing someone in with you. They shouldn't be able to pressure you into an ambush i.e. 1 v 2 or 3 sat across giving you shit.

Emmett

#22
Thanks all, some great advice - especially when my head is melted so not thinking clearly.

I can confirm that there are many others in the company running their own small businesses in their own time. One has confirmed to me that they have not asked permission and I would imagine the majority of the remainder are the same.

I like that list from MR and I did think about recording the conversation.

There is absolutely no conflict of interest but I do think they want me and others "out the door." A colleague who spent 14 years at the company felt the need to leave last week and a man of 33 years service has went AWOL due to how he has been treated.


quit yo jibbajabba

Not a solicitor but i was also gona say bring in a 2nd party to observe and write all down as theres no way youll remember all.

Apart from that good luck and all good advice from the boys on the board

toby47

Haven't much advice for you Emmett, a lot of the fell's on here are better placed to help you. But good luck next week, hope it works out well for you.

Rudi

Quote from: toby47 on June 18, 2021, 03:44:12 PM
Haven't much advice for you Emmett, a lot of the fell's on here are better placed to help you. But good luck next week, hope it works out well for you.

Yeah good luck to you, not a nice position to be in. Hope things work out.

tiempo

At some point if its really doing your melon in and it won't have a detrimental effect in regards the case or returning to a bomb of work then take a bit of sick leave to clear the head, dont let the bastids get ye down

Taylor

As someone who has has been to court due to employees claiming wrongful dismissal ect the one piece of advice I can give you is to document everything.

And if minutes of meetings are sent to you after the meeting by HR/company etc then you need to ensure you are happy with them - if your recollection is different in any way then it is vital you document this and inform HR by email.

Once it gets to court unless it is clearly documented then you are pissing against the wind.

If you need any other advice then PM me

Mikhail Prokhorov

did you negotiate your contract when you started?

that should always be done to avoid issues down the road, too many just blindly sign whatever the employer puts in front of them

imtommygunn

#29
The wife works in hr and would say that a lot of companies don't follow due process and leave themselves very very open to tribunal. Get everything, yes everything, recorded on something like email. As bc said they aren't obliged to allow a recording. Make sure and have witnesses. If he are relaying what a manager is saying get the manager in too and get a witness. Everything said against you make sure there is evidence to back it up. If things are unfair like you say raise a grievance. Basically if some p***k is making your life difficult don't let them away with it - particularly if there is absolutely no call for it.

Get reading up but to fire someone a lot of hoops need jumped through. Read up on all due process required. Hr are there to protect the business so shouldn't leave the business in a position for a tribunal case however all hr are not competent, like any profession, and there are a LOT of things they need to do to keep themselves right.

Basically keep records of everything and don't let them away with anything.

I worked somewhere before where someone was on a pip (performance improvement plan) and one of their improvements was to ask for more help. They got pulled at next review and they said I've asked two people for help - the response they got was ok you're asking for too much help. That could be the level you are working with sometimes and it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny.

[edit in addition] how is your work tracked? E.g. do you have deliverables and do you meet them? How is your performance? How do you match up compared to your peers in terms of productivity minimum and performance maximum. If , if, you are in IT systems like JIRA will track your work. If not do you have some kind of work ticketing system? Who assigns your work? When do you get more? Do you assign your own?