gave notice...what rights, what next??

J

justine

Guest
I'm asking this on behalf of my dad. He's been working for his uncle for about 35 years, dad is now 60. Last Saturday, there was a huge argument at work - my dad had booked this week off as holidays, and his uncle told him on Sat that he can't take this week off because his own son was going to some trade shows, and they couldn't both be missing at the same time. Dad booked this week off last May, wrote it in the office diary and marked it in the office calendar.
So basically, he told his uncle that he was sick of this sort of carry-on, (this isn't the first time it has happened), and that he was handing in his notice.

He doesn't regret it at all. But he does realise that employment may be difficult to find at his age. In general, what is he entitled to now from his employer? Anything at all? What does he need from him when he finishes work in 8 weeks time, is it a P45? Will he be entitled to the Dole, and if so, how much? (My mum doesn't work, none of us live at home. )
Any other advice that anyone could pass on would be much appreciated.
Personally, I feel that this is bullying on the part of his uncle, and probably not legal. Am I correct?

Thanks in advance,
Justine
 
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If he stuck it for 25 years then it seems odd that he jacked it in over this argument regardless of the fact that it seems like his employer may have been acting unfairly to him. Or perhaps there was more to it and this was simply the straw that broke the camel's back?

The following links might be of general use:

www.entemp.ie/employment/rights/


> In general, what is he entitled to now from his employer? Anything at all?

If he handed is his notice as opposed to being made redundant or something like that then, at most, he is entitled to pay in lieu of whatever notice period applies and also in lieu of any holidays accrued but not taken as far as I know.

> What does he need from him when he finishes work in 8 weeks time, is it a P45?

Yes. P45. He should make sure that he has P60s for each year that he worked there but particularly for 2003.

> Will he be entitled to the Dole, and if so, how much?

Depending on his PRSI payment history he may be entitled to non means tested Unemployment Benefit. Alternatively he may be entitled to means tested Unemployment Assistance which is not linked to PRSI contributions.

www.welfare.ie/schemes/unemp/index.html

> Any other advice that anyone could pass on would be much appreciated.

He may be entitled to claim back tax paid to date this tax year:



> Personally, I feel that this is bullying on the part of his uncle, and probably not legal. Am I correct?

If he thinks that he has grounds for an unfair/constructive dismissal case then he should check these links:



www.entemp.ie/employment/...#dismissal

The DETE Employment Rights section are very helpful in appraising indivuduals of their statutory rights in situations such as this.
 
Re: .

Just one point. If he left the job voluntary then he will have to wait a certain period before being entited to welfare payment. however in this case he could say he was effectively let go as he'd no choice but to not take the holiday or leave.
 
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He should sign on at his local employment exchange on his first day of unemployment, regardless of whether he is in possession of his P45 (he will of course need this before payment can be approved, but his claim is only likely to apply from the day he first signs on).

Whether he is entitled to welfare will depend on whether he was paying PRSI for the last few years. If he was, he will hasve an automatic entitlement to Unemployment BENEFIT. If not, he would have to apply for unemployment ASSISTANCE which is means-tested and takes account of other incomes and/or savings.

As Elcato mentioned, the fact that he resigned may disallow him from welfare benefit fora period. However, he will still need to sign on during this period.

If he is arguing that his resignation was effectively forced upon him, he could take a case for unfair dismissal. www.entemp.ie/employment/...issalroute

One thing I would ask though is whether your father sought approval for time off back in May when he booked the holiday. If not, was it reasonable to assume that his off could be accomodated? These are the sort of questions that an Employment Appeals Tribunal might consider if the case was to go that far.



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Thanks everyone for all your replies, that's really helpful.

Yes, this argument was the straw that broke the camel's back, things have been very strained there in general for years, but my dad is a very quiet peaceful man, that's why his giving notice was a huge surprise to us all.
This week was particularly important for him to be off on hols, because I have an intellectually disabled brother, who is off on holidays from his school at the moment, and things can get pretty tough with him. We know from experience that the last week of his holidays is always strained, and that's this week. I've just had a baby, so I'm not really in a position this year to help out very much! That's why my dad booked this week off, he wanted to help my mum out at home with my brother. My uncle knew all this when the week off was booked last May, and approved it, because at that stage, no one else had booked time off at all. It seems that it was only last Saturday that the boss and his son informed my dad that the trade shows were changed from the last week in August to this week, and the boss's son always goes to them, but they didn't think to mention it to my dad until Saturday.

Thanks again for all your help,
Justine
 
Re: ..

Could this be a case of consistent bullying & constructive dismissal?

Wasn't there a case in the UK a few years back where a social worker was consistently treated badly by his manager over a number of years that he had a breakdown. He got lots of compensation for his shoddy treatment.

Sluice
 
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If it was the case that the week off was approved and that this approval was withdrawn; and if it can be established that this is just one of whole string of similar incidents, then your dad may have reasonable grounds for claiming contructive dismissal.

However, he should sign on as normal at ahis exchanged. If asked why he resigned, he could say he was effectively forced to do so and that he is considetring a claim for unfair dismissal. This might be sufficient to overcome the period of disallowance that he would be subject to otherwise.
 
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