Please advise me any legal or HR people. ve been forced to resign, how to i prove it and what to do next

[Icecreamlady]

This is a long story but basically my manager has made it so hard for me to stay there that ive had to resign and she even tried to negotiate with me that she would do me a good ref as long as i hurried up and got my resig letter in. i haev not done anything wrong but they have tried to push me out of my job (i have worked at hte organisation for 8 years but 6 months in this new department). first tehy tried through probationary policy and then they had to admit i shoud never have been on it and then they tried via the capability route. awful lies were written abotu me and not backed up with evidence. ive been so stressed and cant handle it any more aas they put me in working conditions which were too difficult for me to even try to do a good job, i was basically set up to fail. so for the sake of my marriage and my little girl ive done what they wanted and handed my resig letter in. my manager bascially told me that she was pleased i was going and had big smile on her face. because i was the last in i think they wanted me to be first out as they have got someone else in mind for the job. please you hr employment experts please advise me, how serious is this? is this just a grievance letter to their managers or can i take it further? my colleagues have mentioned constructive dismissal but i dont really know much about it. could i take them to a tribunal over this?

[RuthT]

This is really tough. The first thing you should do is ring the citizens advice bureau.

I know this is really hard given what has happened but you need to consider what outcome you want. Then you need to think about whether you want to stay in this mental place for some time. If you file for a claim of constructive dismissal you will have to go through the internal grievance procedure first (even if you have resigned) and then this process along with legal process will form a chunk of your life. You need to feel passionately about it and it has the potential to stop you from moving on mentally and work wise.

I don't mean don't do it just think about what it means to you.

In terms of whether you can file it would really help if you have lots of notes and dates of what you have mentioned above.

[Icecreamlady]

thank you ruth. yes i haev kept everything, emails, a log, the lot. it really suggests that they are trying to find excuses to show im not capable when i jolly well am. am gonna do a grievance first then. thank you

[BetsyBoop]

SOrry to hear this

this is a great site for info.

Also worth giving the ACAS helpline a ring - 08457 47 47 47

RuthT has given great advice, you do need to think about what YOU want as an end result & take it from there.

Taking a constructive dismissal claim to an employment tribunal is a long, hard road, I'm not saying don't do it, but just take time to step back & think it through before you head down that road, to make sure it's the best thing for you.

[RuthT]

If you ever find yourself in this situation again then don't resign. You are in a better position of power if you remain employed. If the job is a nightmare, you are not enjoying the situation then it is best to negotiate a deal out of the company (a compromise agreement) which includes a pre agreed reference. This can make separating easier for both you and the company.

You can still be clear that you do not agree with their views, but sometimes it is better to cut your losses and get some money in the process and move on. It can be very hard to move entrenched line managers views.

[flowerybeanbag]

Sorry to hear this icecreamlady.

That link Betsy's posted is a really good one and easy to understand. As Ruth says, it makes clear that it's always better not to resign. If you were to bring a constructive dismissal claim a tribunal would look at whether you made every effort to resolve the situation first, including bringing a grievance before resigning if at all possible.

Having a chat with the CAB might be a good idea, and I would advise giving ACAS a ring as well, Betsy's given you the number.

It would be constructive dismissal you would have to claim, and it's difficult to prove and can be stressful. As Ruth says, think carefully about what you want to achieve. Now that you've resigned, what do you want to do now? What do you want to get out of any action you take?

I'm going to be honest and say that bringing a constructive dismissal claim might not be the best option. Talk about it to ACAS and the CAB as obviously you can give them more information than we have here. But proving it is very difficult, it will be very stressful and will take over your life for a while, and you need to be very clear what you want out of it.

If it's some money you want, you may get it. But compensation would be more or less based on how much money you have lost. You are also expected to 'mitigate your loss', in other words do whatever you can to get another job. If you do get another job, your actual financial loss will be very small so pursuing your employer for compensation is unlikely to be worth it.

Talk to the CAB and ACAS about what your options are and think them through, talk it through with your DP if you have one as well and work out the best route for you to take.