I am running a small company and one of my employees is not pulling her weight (and never has) and is continually letting colleagues and me down. Her timekeeping is dreadful and so is her attendance record. I have followed disciplinary procedure and have reached the stage of dismissal but I am worried about what she might do in terms of making a claim against me. She is very aufait with her rights and can quote employment law to me chapter and verse. Can anyone advise me of the pitfalls and what I should do to ensure my case is watertight?
need advice before i dismiss employee
- Thread starter olivia
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John Rambo
Registered User
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I'd recommend a consultation with a solicitor specialising in employment law rather than looking for advice on a website about a matter as potentially serious and troublesome as this.
Good advice. You are not going to get specific advice without giving specific details which should not be divulged in public.
rogeroleary
Registered User
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Olivia, I'd agree you should take formal advice but you should be able to get some basic advice here also. For example does this person have a formal contract of employment? How long has she been an employee? Was she in receipt of a copy of the complany's disciplinary procedures? As you have reached the dismissal stage I would presume you have documented (and well documented) the breaches of employment? Did you formally disciplne her in the past as in a) verbal warning (and document this for your records) b) written warning c) final written warning and allow her to bring along a friend / colleague to witness the gravity of the situation and hear any mitigating circumstance? Did you allow her the right to appeal the decision to discipline her?
If you are not familar with the Unfair Dismissals Act and haven't done all the basics (see above as partail list) then thread VERY VERY cautiously. I'm not a solicitor but have been in the EAT / Labour court quite a few times
and you really don't want to be done because your have made procedureal errors. Each week the Sunday Business Post carry several cases which give an indication of the difficulties these situations can bring.
If you want to post more details perhaps you will get more advice before moving forward - alternatively feel free to PM me.
Roger
If you are not familar with the Unfair Dismissals Act and haven't done all the basics (see above as partail list) then thread VERY VERY cautiously. I'm not a solicitor but have been in the EAT / Labour court quite a few times
and you really don't want to be done because your have made procedureal errors. Each week the Sunday Business Post carry several cases which give an indication of the difficulties these situations can bring.If you want to post more details perhaps you will get more advice before moving forward - alternatively feel free to PM me.
Roger
If you are a member of IBEC or ISME they have a free advice service for this. Use it, as they are better than solicitors.
If engaging a solicitor, ensure you engage someone with real employment law experience. A lot don't have it and fail to realise that when it comes to employment issues there are a lot of grey areas. Check how many times they have been to EAT and dealt with Rights Commissioners.
Don't rush, time is with you, be meticulous, get your procedures reviewed to check they are adequate, then ensure they were followed. If they were not good enough or you have not followed them properly then you may have to start this process over again but a person like this will always fall in the long grass if you are patient.
Check whether other employees' timekeeping/attendence is in order, if it's not then you have a problem if you only tackle this one.
If engaging a solicitor, ensure you engage someone with real employment law experience. A lot don't have it and fail to realise that when it comes to employment issues there are a lot of grey areas. Check how many times they have been to EAT and dealt with Rights Commissioners.
Don't rush, time is with you, be meticulous, get your procedures reviewed to check they are adequate, then ensure they were followed. If they were not good enough or you have not followed them properly then you may have to start this process over again but a person like this will always fall in the long grass if you are patient.
Check whether other employees' timekeeping/attendence is in order, if it's not then you have a problem if you only tackle this one.
M
marvindiodes
Guest
consider gathering further evidence Have an analysis of her PC done and find out where shes been and whats shes been doing. PM me for more info. I have done this for firms and it has helped lever people out with ease. If its your bandwidth/time/and hardware you can do it.
But see a Solicitor in any case. There are some nasty people out there who are just dishonest and they aim to find a job do feck all and just wait till you try to fire them. To me its stealing, and it can destory a small company. I have no staff anymore and im so happy. Now i just pay as i go for labour or expertise. Or Up train my self if i need to.
best of luck.
But see a Solicitor in any case. There are some nasty people out there who are just dishonest and they aim to find a job do feck all and just wait till you try to fire them. To me its stealing, and it can destory a small company. I have no staff anymore and im so happy. Now i just pay as i go for labour or expertise. Or Up train my self if i need to.
best of luck.
S
Soldier
Guest
as long as you have followed the dismissal process clearly and you have recorded it well as well as all her sick pay absenses etc your are entitled to get rid of her.
eileen alana
Registered User
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If this employee has been working for you longer than one year, it will be very difficult to dismiss him/her. Usually employees are on probation for the first year and if they fail that probationary period it is easier to dismiss them during that time. After one year in the job, employees are much more protected by employment law and it can prove more difficult to dismiss them.
1. give a written warning, indicating clearly why you are unhappy with her performance.
2. notify her that you will be keeping a record of her performance - timekeeping, no of breaks, quality of work etc
3. After say, 4 weeks, have a formal meeting with her, in the presence of somone else you trust. Show her your record and clearly discuss the implications with her.
4. give another written warning.
Also, contact NERA - [broken link removed]
you must be VERY VERY clear - put EVERYTHING in writing to her and KEEP COPIES of signed originals.
2. notify her that you will be keeping a record of her performance - timekeeping, no of breaks, quality of work etc
3. After say, 4 weeks, have a formal meeting with her, in the presence of somone else you trust. Show her your record and clearly discuss the implications with her.
4. give another written warning.
Also, contact NERA - [broken link removed]
you must be VERY VERY clear - put EVERYTHING in writing to her and KEEP COPIES of signed originals.