Monday, August 25th, 2008
“My employer has been looking to sack me for some time due to allegations made by my colleagues. They had an investigation but didn’t follow procedure and I found it too much to take. I resigned. I managed to find another job quite quickly, but soon lost this as people heard about what happened. They say they would have sacked me anyway if I had stayed and are only offering me £8,000 despite me now being out of work for months, probably never being able to work in my field of work again. What are my rights?”
It sounds like you may have a strong case if you issue a claim at an Employment Tribunal for what is called ‘Constructive Unfair Dismissal.’ This means a claim that your employer’s actions, in not following procedure, meant you had no other option but to resign. You would ask the Tribunal to consider your employer’s actions as amounting to their having dismissed you unfairly.
If successful, you can claim a basic award based on length of service and size of salary for compensation for the wages you have lost during the time in which you were unemployed, and also for the fact that you lost your job unfairly. Calculation of compensation depends upon a number of factors that we can advise you on in detail.
The fact that you obtained another job complicates matters. The normal interpretation would be that a Tribunal orders your first employer to pay compensation for your losses until the time you obtained your next employment. After this point, your losses would be interpreted as being caused by your current employer and not your first employer.
Compensation awarded for loss of earnings and loss of job can be substantial. However, in your case, it was only a short time until you obtained your next employment. It appears that your losses caused by the actions of your first employer may be limited.
Depending upon the evidence you can present at a Tribunal, you may be able to claim for the period after you gained your next employment and you should seek legal advice about your circumstances in detail.
It may be that you have enough evidence to prove your first employer’s actions caused you to be fired from the next employment. In so, the calculation of your losses may continue after you gained (and lost) subsequent employment.
In these circumstances, the amount you are entitled to claim in compensation would be increased substantially when considering your lost earnings, and also your ability to gain future employment in your chosen field. You may also want to seek legal advice about whether you can claim for the costs of retraining in a new field of employment.
It is important to note that you are under a duty to keep your losses as low as possible, which is termed ‘mitigating your losses.’ Any Tribunal will take into account how active you have been in searching for subsequent employment when considering your award of compensation. Any award will also be reduced by the amount of social services benefits, if any, that you have received whilst unemployed.
If you have been dismissed unfairly or have an employment dispute then talk to Jonathan Friend now about your own circumstances. Mention this article to obtain a free 10 minute preliminary consultation.
Remember this article only gives general guidance. You should not act or omit to act without getting legal advice specific to your circumstances. We will be happy to help if you contact us.
© Copyright 2009 Burt Brill & Cardens Solicitors