Just been sacked for the first time ever after a funeral

Sounds like a toxic place to work anyway OP. Hopefully this is a blessing in disguise.

Sorry for the loss of your grandma, & I hope you’re able to get back on your feet and find a better job very soon. Don’t allow this to knock you back 💐

OP, please try to not take this too personally, many companies are getting rid of employees with the flimsiest of excuses at the moment, also sorry for your loss, loosing a grandparent is very hard.

Well, they need to follow their own processes.

My previous employer decided to fire a probationer for gross misconduct, which was a huge fucking mistake. They could have simply failed her probation and that would be that. Gross misconduct procedures weren't followed, and she actually got the gross misconduct dismissed (she had them bang to rights too). By the time the appeal had completed she had completed her probation period and had more rights.

If you have a contract, and the contract specifies you abide by work policies, that goes BOTH ways. Work have to follow those procedures, so if there's a disciplinary and misconduct/performance procedure, they need to have gone through the appropriate stages.

I expect the funeral is just an excuse , you had only been there 9 months and easy to sack .

did they replace this person they sacked?

So sorry OP. Sounds like there may be very little in the way of legal comeback but it’s pretty shitty. Xx

Can your old job have you back?

Only after 2 years unfortunately.

This is really shit. I'd say this is one time that its not about you or what happened with your loss, its about them. Sometimes in life, we're just not the right fit and that's ok. It's crappy they waited til the project was delivered (and I'd suspect they had form for this). And I appreciate you'll feel like crap right now.

But pick yourself up, dust yourself off. You've delivered great work for various clients, and have good history.
Get working on your CV and get yourself right back out there - however crap you might feel you will feel better when you are back in control of something.

Also get back in touch with your past employer and just let them know that you're in the market for a new role and ask if they have anything (you don't have to say why!). If they don't fair enough, if they do - shortcut to solving the problem.

Good luck. And I am so sorry for your loss.

They don’t need to. She’s been there less than 2 years, unless they’ve discriminated based on equality act, they can terminate just because.

I have just delivered an important project last week with success. They have no reason in writing but apparently I will get a letter.

You have completed an important project with success and it is likely that they have let you go now because the project is finished. It was probably their plan all along.

Make sure you get your notice pay and outstanding statutory holiday pay.
Good luck op!

I had a hybrid job over a decade ago and I was really, really good at it.
When my mum was dying I never missed a day, except on the day she died.
The next day I was due in the office I did my standard hours. It was tough, very male industry, but a bacon sandwich appeared and a cuppa, and lots of taps on my shoulder.
I got home (where I had also been caring for my mum so her hospital bed and things were still about) and after a bath and a rest checked my emails.
I had been made redundant.
In a job where the boss had tried to recruit me for my months as he couldn’t find anyone to do it - nothing highbrow by the way, it was just very boring, which I didn’t mind!
As I am classed as disabled I was allowed to raise it with ACAS, even though I had been there less than a year.
My old boss then got a load of statements from employees saying my disability affected my work. I had one friend there who told me he put huge pressure on them, said he’d fire them as well.
He also stated I had hidden the true state of my health.
In the end I gave up and he hired a young woman he was having an affair with. Which his wife had no idea about.
The business closed because one that’s run so poorly eventually implodes.
I know it seems very tough now but these people don’t have morals and the longer you work for them, the worse it gets.
I am so very sorry for the loss of your grandmother.
Get some advice from ACAS they are very good.

She's less than 2 years service so it's irrelevant, as can't claim unfair dismissal

Correct

When I've let someone go with the words 'it's not working out', what I mean is that they're just not the right fit for my company. Sometimes clients don't like them, sometimes they're a poor fit with the rest of my team, or their ways of working aren't the ones I want to see in my company. It's not personal, they're just not right for me.

Talk it on the chin and find something better, tbh if you found the workload unreasonable it might not be a great place fr you anyway. You will find somewhere better!!

You're right. It's awful, but that's the way it is. We always get posters talking about dismissal procedures, wording used etc on threads like this, but none of that applies.

Is this just unfortunate timing, and attending the funeral is not linked to being let go?

Note how I used the words 'let go'. Are the company needing to make cut backs and they are just looking for who has been there the least amount of time?

Though as they said it's because of a client complaint maybe it's not that simple.

i thought that less than 2 years means you can be sacked and have little recourse unless some discrimination is involved?