Hi and welcome to the forums, I think your company could be right here, sorry to say. Have they tried to dismiss you after 12 weeks? Regards, Paul.

I understand what you are saying and I agree it doesn't sound right. It's a while since I worked in the NHS so I have no easy way of checking for you. Chase the Union, I know we have talked in the past about their rapid responses to queries:D You could always raise a formal grievance on this matter and if you are advised that payroll are correct you could always withdraw it later. Regards, Paul.

Hi and welcome to the forums. You would need to exhaust the internal grievance procedure before you proceed to tribunal to show that you had made every attempt to resolve your grievance with your employer but you should not wait until the end of this procedure before registering with the tribunal. You may want to speak to ACAS on this or others here who are more adverse with employment law (like Sidewinder) will advise I'm sure. You should not have been called to an investigation interview if it is you that has raised the grievance. You should be invited to your grievance meeting and be able to put your case to the investigating manager and present your evidence and provide supporting statements and call any witnesses. If you disagree with their findings you should take it to the next stage until the matter is resolved or you exhaust the procedure. They should also stick to timescales laid down in their own policy. Whilst there should always be flexability on both sides inthe interest of fair play, if the policy says with 14 days for example, it would not be unreasonable if after 21 days you took it to the next level based on the fact they have not adhered to their own policy and procedure by trying to ignore you hopeing you will go away which is a common tactic. I note you are not a member of a Union which is a shame, but you can still take a colleague with you who could take notes and this is always useful later on when management deny what was said in the meeting! I hope this is useful? Regards, Paul.

If the person employed is only going to do 30% of your substantive role they might be able to do this, but I'm not certain. I'm sure others will advise. Also you are volunteering to go so it could be different laws apply although I doubt it. Lastly if you think they might be going to employ someone else couldn't you do this role? What will any new person do for the other 70% of their time?

As far as I'm aware you would only get shift pay if you were working shifts outside of days. From what you are saying by working overtime on a weekday this takes you into the evening which would attract a premium because you are then working into the evening? When are you working unsocial hours? Are these on your rest days? Have you asked your Union about this? Regards, Paul.

Hmmm there are exceptions for small companies with grievance and disciplinary hearings where different stages can be heard by the same person but it depends on how small your company is. If you have 2+ depots though it can't be that small. Is he your line manager as well? The point being, whos decision was it to reduce your hours? I would hand the letter to his secretary and keep a copy. No point in incuring additional costs by sending it recorded. Atb, Paul.

If you have been working set hours per day up to now then you should try and discuss with him informally at first why your hours have been cut. If he refuses to meet with you then you should put it in writing that you are raising a formal grievance and take it right up to Director level seeking as remedy a return to your normal working hours, written particulars of employment and loss of earnings due to your manager reducing your hours of work when you were fit and available to work. Keep copies of everything. Get a copy of your companies grievance procedure which the must now have by law. All the best, Paul.

Hi, If your offer letter didnt state you were not permanent then you are. The worry is the fact that whilst you seem to have agreement on which days you work (although this has changed twice) you have no agreement on hours? This is presumably why he can now tell you he only needs you 3 hours per day. However if you have been working a set number of hours per day for the last 21 months, then I would argue that this is contractual and he should therefore be paying you for the 8 hours even if he only requires you to work 3! You should ask for a written contract of employment and if he refuses to talk to you put your concerns in writing or submit a written grievance. If its against him or decisions that have been made by him then he won't be able to hear it! Best of luck. Paul.

Hi Clare, I would suggest that now you have received your final redundancy calculation that you reject it in writing based on the fact that you applied on basis that that you were given an estimate that was misleading. Regards, Paul.

Hi, When you were offered this job you should have received an offer letter from the company? This would usually say what days/hours you would be required to work. Irrespective of this, what days/hours have you been working? If you are fit to return to work then you should be the working normally, and being paid accordingly. You don't need a written contract, (although legally you should be issued with one) your contract is the hours/days/rate of pay you receive wek in week out. We do need more information. Were you taken on as a permanent employee? Or are you on a temp contract or even zero hours? Regards, Paul.

People who throw lit fags out of moving car windows. Litter and a fire risk!!Don't modern cars have ashtrays?Bah humbug!!

If they start to pay you at £18,000 per hour you might have a case!! Otherwise not.

Drivers from abroad who can't grasp the concept that the right hand lane is for overtaking!! Bah humbug.

There are 2 ways of dealing with this. You can either get your doctor to say that in his/her opinion the holiday would benefit your recovery and then you should be able to continue on your sick leave or say to the company that as you will be on annual leave and useing part of your annual leave entitlement, its got nothing to do with them where you are. If you were still unwell upon your return you may have to get another doctors certificate. Sidewinder is spot on. I once represented someone who was being disciplined for being seen in a supermarket whilst off sick:eek: We won the case because the employer had to accept that this person (who lived alone) had to eat!! Lastly, if the company aren't paying you sick pay pay and you are only receiving SSP whats their problem as there is no cost factor involved?

Cutiepie, I've sent you a PM on this.

A lot would also depend on whether you were salaried or hourly paid. I assume that as you have not received a reduction in salary although you hours have reduced that you must be salaried or is this the concern, that you are hourly paid but they haven't noticed you are working less hours yet!? Regards, Paul.

Yes although if they are both connected you may have grounds for constructive dismissal but we would need a lot more detail. Regards, Paul.

How did you find out, have you seen anything in writing? Always beware of windups! If you get written confirmation you should firstly object in writing so there is a written record of your objection. So long as your salary and terms and conditions don't change it doesn't make too much difference what they call you although I appreciate you don't want a drop in status. If you are still unhappy you should raise a formal grievance. Regards, Paul.

We still don't know which Union is causing the OP problems. There will always be good and bad but I know the Union I'm a member of gives advice, support and representation including legal every day of the week. It recovers well over a million pounds per week on behalf of members but the priority is always to keep members jobs in the first place which they do in many many cases and make workplaces safe and healthy so accidents become a thing of the past. You are far less likely to have an accident in a Union organised workplace~fact! We take on the big boys all the time who treat their workers unfairly, currently Asda and the AA to name 2!!

Cellbar, if you are unhappy you should contact your regional (not local) office, find out who the Regional Secretary is and tell them of your experiences. Also most Unions have a regional committee (executive) and a national one. They are your reps and like you are ordinary members and will take complaints very seriously indeed. Get a copy of the rule book too, that will detail how to complain. You are absolutly right, the Union I am a member of would not take an existing case on the same as an insurer would not insure your house the day after it had burned down! Calls come into my local office every day from individuals who are on disciplinaries or who have alredy been sacked many from organised workplaces where there is a Union already but they have been too tight to join then expect the Union to drop everything for them. If you feel you will be stronger by yourself I wish you luck.

Not all Unions are the same! As a member you will be a member of a branch so even if there is no Rep at your workplace you should be able to make contact with your branch secretary whos details might be on your membership card or your local office will have their contact details. If you have any difficulties getting any help speak to the local organiser and if you get no reply speak to the senior organiser or even the regional secretary. Most Union officials will be very busy due to all the wonderful employers they have to deal with on behalf of their members but do persist. Its a daunting task facing an employer all alone!

They will have to pay her for any work she has done even if she has to resort to legal methods to recover it. Try and get her to keep proff of the days/hours she has worked. Having given this some futher thought, if there is no notice stipulated within the probationary period she can go when she wants. Similarly if they didn't like her they could tell her to go straight away and I've known several employers do this!

Hi Matt, There is not normally a notice period in a probationary period unless it says so and then it would normally state what it is on both parties. I would suggest out of courtesy she gives 1 weeks notice and see what happens. They might let her go straight away. If they argue she should just give them a day, what are they going to do about it? What awful people. I think she is better off out of it. Regards, Paul.

Drivers who think that by indictating this gives them the right to cut you up even if a gap in traffic isn't there!!

Rather than "Ask" I would suggest that you say as the claimant you "Object" which is a bit stronger. That way they have to take your opinion into account. Just a small point but they should consider your opinion before making any consideration on extensions.