Sacked today

[southcoastboile]

This is a realy long thread so bear with me...
I got the sack today, been with the company 8 years, under 3 different bosses, never had a problem, we had a new manager around 2 years ago, no one on our company likes him (he was apointed by our directors who we never see), we have all been threre around the same amount of time. Since he arrived we have all had writen/verbal warnings of some sort and before this none of us have ever had a problem before.

I went to a job, left the loft ladder down and forgot to put it back up (stupid mistake) this was a good friend of my bosses/apointed manager and lives a few doors down, next thing I get a phone call saying her 2 year old kid climbed up the ladder and was crawling around in the loft, then when she got him down she trapped and badly cut her finger on the loft ladder. I explained I was sorry for leaving it down and she shouldnt have let a 2 year old roam the house up a set of stairs (aparantly she lifted him over the stairgate and left hiom on the stairs while she was attending to her other crying child) I also explained that if her ladder is not fit for purpose its not my fault she trapped her finger. A few days later he said we could have been sued and she had been bending his ear so now he has to fit her a new boiler for free. I think the whole thing was a big plan from the start and think its phisically impossible for a 2 year old to climb a ladder of that height and then lift up and over a beam.
I also recieved a letter about this incident.

Next incident, I got a callout to a boiler not working in a care home (no htg), It was commercial so I said I couldnt attend, he took me into a meeting saying I must attend all jobs no matter what, if i cant do the job as I am not qualified tell them you will get back. I said ok fine.

Then today I was told I have brought the company into disrepute and im sacked, he read off a list of things that I had done wrong, 1 was a blaitant lie, things I had done wrong were minor, i.e leaving a mains shut off as they had a leak, went to a job, thought it was undergassed so ar boiler, aparantly it was'nt, he went back to turn it on again, mabee I didnt have the inlet screw out far enough but boiler was going to f1 glowworm, pressure was fine, had 16mbr wp with hob not even on. Like I say a few minor things like that, all callbacks basicaly, there were about 7 things like that, I said I am so rushed all the time that it is inevitable mistakes will sometimes be made.

The company is struggling and I have heared they are going to shut down in April so i think its all a big plan to avoid paying redundancy, we were also on stop at a supplier yesterday, never happened before.

Just wanted peoples opinions on it realy, I think its unfair dismissal, I am going to see citizens advice but dont know the ins and outs, i.e can he just sack me without a writen/verbal warning, do the things mentioned above count as a writen or verbal?

I am not going to let him get away with it and will do everything I can to make it difficult. My mate who works for us said hes a nasty bloke and thinks the same, so does the other person we employ, he said he will be a whitness if i need one to say what he's like and that he thinks its wrong. Sorry for such a long thread, tried to shorten it as much as I could, any imput would be appreciated, thanks:shocked:

 

[Puddle]

Firstly,rally sorry to hear about your situation and I really hope you get in somewhere else quite soon

For what you say above,without warnings verbal and written they can not sack you,take it further as you say

Interesting about the loft ladder,it is her property and responsibility to make sure in good order,by saying she cut her hand could be construed as she put you in danger ect

She got a new boiler out of it,someone is pulling a fast one somewhere

imho

 

[PlumbBobBob]

sorry to hear about your troubles. i'm with puddle on this, the ladder cutting her finger is down to her not you. she has total responsibility for her child and certainly shouldn't have left it the wrong side of stair gates. as for getting a new boiler for this it's way over the top as compensation. very good friends and family reduction me thinks.
i recon the new manager was brought in to shut down the business and the cheapest way to do that is to sack the workforce on trumped up charges so doing away with the need to pay redundancy.

 

[Barry98]

he cant sack you without an investiagtion subsequently he cant do the investigation and the diciplinary himself. from what ive read i recon you have a good case of unfair dismissal.sorry to hear of your loss hope you find something soon

 

[southcoastboile]

thanks everyone, nearley everyone I have spoken to has said similar things, I went to a parts place yesterday and we were on stop, we have never ever been on stop there, all adds up twords them shutting down in April, an ex employee who quit told me that the manager said to him they were shutting down the maintenace side of things in April and just doing install work and that he would be part of the "new workforce" he had no reason to lie as he quit of his own accord.
On a different note,if anyone knows of people who need a hand or have got a lot of work on and are looking for someone near the Bournemouth area, please let me know, I am hard working and will not let them down, thanks.

Also have my own gas safe and public liability.

 

[MattWeth]

Sorry to hear what's happened - it certainly sounds like a setup but I'd get to the citizens advice asap. They're the ones who can tell you where you stand legally.

best
Matt

 

[Leo21]

Sorry to hear that. Is this rubbish still going on. Happened to me 14 years ago. From what I understand he can sack you immediately for gross misconduct or similar. But he,ll have to prove it. The ladder sequence sounds like a right scam. Did she cut her finger every she used it or just that one time. Two year olds should never be left unattended, case of bad parenting? Hope you get it sorted and chin up you've got a trade. You might have to do some low paid work for a while but the fog will lift and you can either go self employed or find a decent company to work for. You've obviously got experience which is in Your favour.

 

[ecowarm]

Plumber/ gas fitter wanted in weymouth 01305 839866 try here

Dont know if this is close enough or not but maybe worth a ring, sorry to hear of your problem

 

[southcoastboile]

Thanks for that ecowarm I no that area code, its weymouth way, about an hour from me.
thats what he said Leo, the reason was he sacked me, the fact ive made all these mistakes means i am bringing the company into disrepute and therefore gross misconduct.
Everyone ive spoken to thinks I have a good case for unfair/constructive dismissal so will see what cab say about it, im off on my bike now to my uncles place, he owns an aircon shop/company, hopefully he can give me some work for a bit, fingers crossed. Going to be wiered riding a bike around, my mates going to come with me van hunting tomorrow, got about 5grand but might be worth buying something crap for now, not knowing what I will have comming in.

 

[glenno1]

Sorry to hear your bad news but just like to say im with everyone else on this.I believe the routine should have been suspension ( payed)pending investigation at the most.Sounds like a scam between two buddies to me.Get legal advice and give them a fight mate

 

[BLOD]

A free boiler for leaving a loft ladder down ? - never heard such a load of rubbish.
Don't let it get you down southcoast - the guy is some sort of clown

 

[Rickster123]

Sounds extremely harsh to me. If I were you I'd take legal advice immediately and see where you stand. Sorry to hear the bad news. Times are hard out there. If I hear of any work in your area I'll get in touch.

 

[zzzjim]

Sorry about the bad news , Injecting this kind of Stress into the workplace ,never helps you concentrate .
Wish you luck with pastures greener ! ( Less schemes ,and hidden agendas ! )

 

[SimonG]

Bad crack SouthCoast, definitely sounds as though there's something amiss on this. You have to chase it, even if it's to 'clear' your name. Any new employer will want to know where you worked last and why you left. You don't want their underhand dealings tarring your reputation.

 

[GrahamM]

Harsh mate!
As mentioned, as far as I am aware you can only be sacked on the spot for gross misconduct. Such as punching the boss in the mouth.:grin:
Does your contract not outline the disciplinary procedure?

 

[Roger Welton]

Not good, It does sound a bit harsh, and somewhat suspicious with the company closing shortly.

They con only sack you outright for gros misconduct, several diciplinaries can lead to dismisal also, but they would need to have dotted i's and cossed t's with regard to paperwork for this. CAB definatly a good port of call.

Unfair dismissal may be an option but it can be expensive avenue to persue sadly.

Best of luck finding work.

 

[PowerFlusher2]

Find yourself a no win, no fee employment law solicitor and go talk it over with them.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

sorry to hear this news southcoast but as the others have said its a scam,get some professional advice

 

[Mike Jackson]

Definitely sound as though you've been stitched up. Get some legal advice asap and don't let them get away with this.

Did they let you have a representative with you when they gave you your disciplinary?

Definitely sounds like unfair dismissal to me.

 

[tamz]

Sorry to hear that. Unless the 2 year old was an apprentice tarzan it didn't climb a ladder and it is all bollox. An excuse to get you off the books.

You can be instantly dismissed for what is called gross misconduct which covers things like fighting, stealing, being drunk on the job, unauthorised use of company vehicle, doing your own work related to the companies trade (even in your own time) or even smoking in a no smoking zone etc but the one that affects you is actions to seriously offend a client and /or detract from the Companies good name or reputation. However you have should have a case if they didn't follow the correct procedure.
Fistly they should have suspended you pending a written invitation to attend a meeting to discuss the alleged incident. The letter should inform you of the reason and explain your rights to be accompanied etc.
You then go to the meeting and they state the allegations and you have the chance to respond. They will make their decision based on the meeting and you should be informed in writing.
They then have to give you the opportunity to appeal.
If they haven't done this then this can be classed as unfair dismissal. The CAB or ACAS will keep you right.
Hope you get something sorted pretty quick finding a new start.

 

[Barry98]

has the dime bar given you all this in writing ?

 

[kay-jay]

if they haven't followed set procedures to the letter it is classed as unfair dismissal. for gross misconduct you need to have been suspended on full pay with the situation confirmed in writing and invited to interview.

even if you should have been sacked it doesn't matter - if they didn't follow procedure it is unfair dismissal end of story,

my mate just got 7 grand unfair dismissal pay off o-o-c settlement. he should have been sacked, they always threatened to sack him for myriad minor offences which really peed him off so he asked the owners wife if she had a hairy one:rockon: he won because they didn't do it by the book...........

 

[kay-jay]

p.s don't be put off by the cost as they will become liable for this as well. any solicitor should give you 2 mins to hear your story then he'll run with it i'm sure

 

[mfgs]

As has been said, they have not followed the correct procedure for sacking you. The only way they can sack you outright is for gross misconduct. CAB are the people to speak to first off as they will tell you your rights. Dont go for a no win, no fee type lawyer if you do pursue it. They do as little work as possible and settle for low amounts easily.

 

[southcoastboile]

i lost it as i got it 8 years ago, we changed the company name 2 years ago and i never recieved a new one, I spoke to solicitors and they said original contract still stands in that case. I asked twice in the last month for my contract of employment but they kept saying we will look into it.