after joining the GMB 15 years ago and paying regular subs,was told they were the best they were there for the workers,to stand by them in a conflict with thier employers well Im sorry to say I wasted 15 years subs they never stood by me,they promised free legal advice a joke,I would have been better off with my household insurance,have dropped out of the GMB and would never join a union again,I was left to fight my own case and when I asked for help was told because they wernt representing me they couldnt assist what a joke,my advice is spend your money wisely,if you want to give it away give it to charity not a union,my thoughts sorry for the rant,and in past expierence a union rep will not represent you if your not a member.

Hi Guys just an update on my case, well went back yesterday day 3, after 3 week wait the judge was late again,gave my witness statement was cross exaimened that went better than I thought,then judge stopped case for lunch then to sum up this was at 1.30pm was told to come back at 3pm still waiting up to 4.45 to go back in,then judge awarded in favour of the respondents so I lost my case, I dont know how,everyone thought I would win,the respondents failed to follow there own procedures,but the judge ruled in there favour, gutted'the deposit I paid was awarded to the respondents,the judge ordered me to pay them, so not a good day, I gave it 110% self represented but I did it,I will now move on with my life,and have learnt one thing never to trust anyone again no matter how long I know or work with them, I have realised Im to nice and trusting for my own good and have learnt a very hard lesson, the resondents to be fair to them could have gone for cost but they didnt ,they didnt even want the award, they were gracious in there win, it was the judge who said she was awarding it and they could do what they wanted with it I was gutted,but I am still glad I did it,thanks to all the caggers who supported me and gave great advice will stick around to offer help and suport to others,thanks again guys

I would most certainly send a letter of appeal,this I think would be the first port of call, because in the event it goes to ET she needs to show she exhausted the internal Dp procedure, people are very good saying they will support you but as they still work for the employer from past expierence I know they soon distance themselves,keeping a diary was excellent as she can clearly state times date and events , she can also complain that given a disaplinary for pregnancy related illness is grossly unfair and unlawful an employer cannot discriminate against pregancy related illness, can she contact some of these people who said they would support her,can she get some letters off them in prep for he hearing this I think would be good, like I said I would send in appeal stating grounds for appeal see were this gets her,what advice did the CAB give her,by the sound of it the employer is well known to them,so this would also help in her defence hope this helped

good morning Lauryn, I personally would ask the doctor to give you a letter regarding the stress/anxiety you were under at the time and get him to explain the medication he gave you and its possible side effects, this will then would account for your lapse of concentration, this then could explain what might have been the probale cause for you not to be as alert as usual, hence the possible human error,also tell them that when the system is working you are 100% accurate, plus one question why does the system keep failing?what has your union advised you to say why are they not advising you,also I would also mention the fact you are extremely upset that senior managers/staff are discussing your case,this in its self is a breach of confidentiality could therefore be deemed biased,has anyone else you mentioned under investigation been suspended ?also i would state your exemplorary service record,never had any problems in the past ,see were this gets you hope this helps.

Hi I agree with Kevinob,dont tell them anything , How long have you been there,is this your first disaplinary, and I also agree get a letter regarding your health issue,let them tell you what there accusing you of, if you tell them you could be giving them more evidence they could use against you,see what exactly they come up with first, , ask them was this letter only about you or did it name others are they only investigating you, is there anything wrong with anyone elses figures ?,get umion rep to attend the meeting with you what have they said so far,good luck dont panic,keep us posted

not sure on the legality side,but can only comment from past expierence , do you have a company handbook it should state the disaplinary procedure clearly,and in my opinion you have the right to appeal any disaplinary action to the next level manager from the person who issued you with the disaplinary,this was the procedure were I worked previously,everyone has the right of appeal,have they given you a reason why they wont here your appeal,are you in a union, I would firstly check the company handbook then failing that I would contact your local cab for advice, hope this helps someone with better knoledge of the legality may be along to offer advice

ust had two days at tribunal had to represent my self my case was unfair dismissal,it wasnt as bad as I thought they have adjorned it till 14th July so have to wait to give my evidence its been hard but not impossible,good advice on here free and very friendly if I can be of any help I will,you can do it ,I done it and knew nothing was watching a no win no fee solicitor today in the claimants room,so glad I didnt go for one get yourself a good book of Amazon Natali cunnigham tribunal tactics Iv learned so much from it good luck dont panic

:-DJust a quick update guys,tribunal now ajorned till 14th July,last two days wernt as bad as I thought got a bit flustered at times but was ok,,yesterday was better than today,was up last night till 4am going over and over it,cross examined all there witnesses today judge tore a strip or two of them, got my points across, judge was good knew her stuff she was not putting up with any nonsense from respondents had to resist the urge from speaking out Ive still got to my witness statement to give yet ,but I know what to epect,kept speaking to fast that was nerves I think,had a good friend taking notes wich proved invaluable good to read back see what was said. I feel tired emotinaly drained early night I think but im happy and if I say so myself I proud of me, it wasnt as bad as I thought win/loose its cost them 3 days self representing isnt easy but its better to fight for your rights than to give up,thanks again guys will keep you all posted on next round,thanks for good sound advice was very invaluabl excellent guys ,plus watching the tribunal process was a great help,so if youve to go it alone its not that bad x:-)

Thanks for you fantastic help I up bright and early not nervous Im ready a years hard work,will keep you posted a very big THANKYOU to all,onwards and upwards,power to the little people.

If you believe you have a case,why dont you represent yourself,the local CAb and clac centers give free advice,I have my own case today I coulndt afford representation,my union let me down saying I had a weak case,but Im self representing today and tommorow scary but Ive had to do it,Im claiming unfair dissmisalafter 15 years unblemished record,I have just watched tribunals so know what to expect today ,I had to do it my self for peace of mind,my ex is representing themselves I know it wont be easy,but I believe in myself Ive lost everything else so I have everything to gain,if you have to do it yourself as I said the CAB will advicse you and theres plenty of caggers on here with free advice and support go on you can do it,good luck look under lanney tribunal help see how I asked for advise andd the great response I got .

Thanks Madari for that, Im prepared for all eventualities,Ive got a figure in my head ready but will never be enough for the 15 years loyal unblemished record I held,there evidence is very week and very contradicting also the main witness who upheld the descion in the appeal has now been made redundant after 20+ years,so could prove intresting if he even turns up,thanks again everybody who supported me will keep you all updated as event unfold.

Thanks guys Im expecting it to be the 2nd worst day of my life,the 1st when they dismissed me after 15years ,Ill post tommorow night and let you know how its going,hopefully it will be as bad for them as it will for me,trouble is they deserve it I didnt,as for the judges Im expecting a grump one as hes had to be brought in last minute so god help me ha ha.

Thanks to all you caggers ,espesically Racheal,madari,honeybee,lily of the valley, to name a few,just a few hours to go, things going round and round in my head,what ifs,well by wednesday I can have my life back after one hell of a stressful year,Im ready,I positive and will be seen to have been unfairly dismissed,I will donate to the site should I win or should I say when I get my compo,and will still actively keep posting a VERY BIG THANKS GUY couldnt have got this far without you,self representing is scary but not impossible :-)thanks again

Thanks for your help I got phone call 4.30 case is on now for mon/tues so ready,I have sat in on tribunal cases but its a bit different when its your own especally as Im self representing,all I can say its been a long long year,Im ready and feel positive and after Tuesday I can have my life back,knowing I did the best I could will keep you posted and will donate to the site should I win,as without your help and support I would not have got this far a VERY BIG THANKS GUYS:wink:

i aree with your post regarding the unions they are only good for the headline cases,what big them up there not for the little people who pay there wages,I think they have moved on from the reasons they were set up in the first place,there money making organisations now, I hope your wife gets on ok,look after each other no one else will,take care fellow cager also let down by her union.x