Legal advice needed re work...
 

OK, here's the short version....

My girlriend was being bullied by a senior member of staff at her work, she complained to her management but nothing was done. She was offered a new job and accepted and handed in a weeks notice. However her old employer are now saying that they aren't going to pay her for this month (1st up til last week) as she didn't work her full notice period.

Where does my girlfriend stand on this?

seems simple?

did she work her notice as described in her contract? yes...she wins....no...she doesnt win.

dont see what the bully has to do with it????

She hasn't seen her contract so I'm not sure if she did. She left because of the bullying, I was hoping this would help her case is we had to take things further. Surely they have to pay her for the time she has worked though?

Tiggs is correct, you say she handed in a weeks notice but her employer won't pay her for the month.

If she's monthly paid, she is likely to have a 1 month notice period, if it's weekly then usually it's a weeks notice.

As Tiggs says, the two issues are unrelated. If she wanted to do something about the bullying, she would need to go down the constructive dismissal route. However, it may be worth her saying thet she has left her employment under duress and will go to an Employment Tribunal if she doesn't get her pay. This may convince the employer that it's less hassle to pay her what she's due than to risk an ET. I just paid out 4 weeks money to some oik that threatened an ET, simply as I knew the tribunal would have given him *something*, and it's more cost effective to settle at the initial stage, rather than start getting lawyers involved.

Bugger. That doesn't seem fair. The management did nothing to try and help and the person who bullied her has been responsible for other members of staff leaving in the past. My g/f was told just to deal with it. I told her to leave as it was really getting to her. Now she's not getting paid for the time she was there. Grrrr

Might try what you suggest ProperCharlie, looks liek the best option

Dome - so long as you can get through to the right person (ie the person who will be paying for legal representation if the co. go to an ET, rather than some tw*t of a manager who thinks that s/he's a hard *rse), you have a fair chance of getting something. Personally, i think they are being a bit petty by holding her to the notice period in any case.

From the limited info. you've given there are 2 issues.

1) It sounds like there could well be a case of constructive dismissal here. Your g/f should talk to an employment lawyer to establish whether or not its worth bringing a case against her previous employer. In the meantime, if she hasn't already done so, it'll be a good idea if she makes comprehensive notes about bullying episodes, what action she took, reaction of her employer to her complaint etc.

2) As others have already said, if she didn't give the length of notice required by her contract the employer is quite entitled to reduce her pay accordingly. But if there's a whiff of a Cons. Dismissal case being brought against them, there could well be a change of heart.

Just to make it clear, she's only looking to be paid for what she worked, ie the 1st of this month up til last week. It's this pay that they're refusing to give her.

To make things worse her new employer has advised that they need a reference from her old one, despite telling her that they didn't and could accept other references.

She should be paid for the time of her being there, If she worked 1 week she should be paid 1 week, if they are withholding the whole month including the week worked that is wrong.

Bad references are dodgy grounds these days. My employer, a large insurance company will only confirm the person has worked here, what their sickness record and salary was. Anything subjective is not included.

It's illegal to give a bad reference these days, apparently. An employer can refuse to give a reference completely, give a verbal one only,(so that there is nothing in writing) or a written one.

Techncally they can only refuse to give a reference if they refuse to give one to everybody - otherwise they may as well give a bad one. There's some case law about it somewhere. You may find that all they do is confirm her start and finish dates.

She should certainly be paid for what she's worked. Employment law rulings in the past have established that even if you are on a 1 month notice contract, as long as you give a 'reasonable' amount of notice then you're ok. They have identified 1 week as being reasonable in the past, but it's very much dependent upon position/ seniority etc.

Regardingthe bullying - the employer is required to have a grievence procedure in place. This must be formal and it must be written down. Your g/f must have received a contract of employement and as a part of that she is required to have been given details of this procedure.

As she's already left her only option is constructive dismissal - but you'll really need the help of a proper employment lawyer. I'd start at the CAB and take their advice from there.

Bear in mind that this will eb a lot of stress and pressure and will take some time, so take advice and weigh up the pros and cons before getting stuck in as she's not likely to get too much financially as she's found another job really quickly and not really lost out financially along the way.

Good luck though.

I'd be tempted to just say f*ck it and enjoy you're new job.

She is entitled to pay for the hours worked by law, I had the same thing once when I handed 2 weeks notice in instead of 4. How long has she worked at previous job? I'm sure you have to have been there for 12 months before being able to claim constructive dismissal. I'd also drop in the comment of sexual harasment while your on the subject of constructive dismissal just to s**t them up that little bit more. (as in he doesn't speak to any of the males/treat them the same way/feels he can get away with it cos shes female etc.) Hope all goes well with her new job I know how she feels!

It's no substitute for an employment lawyer, but you try here:


http://www.compactlaw.co.uk/monster/empf8.html

SB is right - she'd need 12 months continuous service for constructive, but IIR there's no qualifying period if the bullying was linked to sex/ race/ disbility.

Best take some serious advice before getting stuck in! :)

At the end of the day all she wants is the money she's due. Hopefully a visit to the Citizens Advice Bureau will give her an idea where she stands. And if it comes to it the threat of court will make them see sense with a bit of luck.

As far as the sexual harassment goes she worked in a nursery, all females I'm afraid. Nice idea though :norty:

Being "all females" doesn't rule out sexual harassment....

is your girlfriend younger? Age discrimination, the bully singles her out because theres no way someone younger can possibly know more! And there can't be any possibilty that they do the job better can there??? My mum works in a nursery and one bosses treats the younger girls like crap saying qualifications doesnt mean they can look after kids. The main comment they get is you stupid little girl - how can you continue to work when you are getting spoken to like the children in front of the children!

That sounds pretty close scoobybitch. My girlfriend isn't qualified but has loads of experience. She's only 23 and she's slim and cute :norty: and the girl who was giving her hassle is a touch podgy and accused my girlfriend of being anorexic :rolleyes: just cos she can't pass a chippy....

Personally the idea of working with hormonal women and screaming babies sounds like hell but each to their own I suppose...