Randomly sent my P45?

[LeaLoo82]

I’m so confused, I work for a car dealership and have been off on maternity due to go back on 11th October, today I’ve randomly received my end of employment p45 in the post? Yet no one from my work have told me I’ve been sacked or lost my job? There are no redundancies either. I went to message my boss on our work group chat to see I’ve been removed. I’ve never had any warnings or disciplinaries nor am I on a probation period as I’ve been there 8 and a half years. Can they legally do this?

PS - if you still have access to any work systems, do try and get hold of the maternity policy. If not, do you have a copy somewhere? Dig out your employment contract and associated documents in preparation for talking to a solicitor/ insurance.

Take screenshots and start to get down a timeline/ diary now of key events and discussions.

This is blatant sex discrimination you're off on mat leave they can't just get rid of you!!

They're in trouble OP deffo go get em

Phone ACAS see what they say - 8.5 years are they on crack? You'll get a good pay out

As others have said this is unlawful.

Call ACAS!

If they reinstate you make sure it isn’t done as a new starter and includes your 8 year history

Oooh that could be quite expensive and unpleasant for them... get yourself talking to ACAS asap. Sorry you’re going through this, what a nightmare

@SalterWatcher

This is blatant sex discrimination you're off on mat leave they can't just get rid of you!!

They're in trouble OP deffo go get em

Phone ACAS see what they say - 8.5 years are they on crack? You'll get a good pay out

The boss has said she's resigned, they aren't saying they've dismissed her in any way, they have either got massively crossed wires or can say they have made some kind of mistake when challenged.

This is insane, what a worry for you. Hope you can get some good legal advice today.

@LearnedResponse

TBF at the end of my first maternity leave I got a phone call one week later from HR saying “so I gather you’re not coming back, where do you want your P45 sending?” My boss hadn’t bothered to tell them that I’d booked two weeks accrued holiday immediately after the conclusion of mat leave.

The only other alternative is that you’re married to an sinister bastard who’s sent a resignation email from your account. I mention the possibility only for the sake of completeness.

But dodgy bosses who need to have an entire battalion of lawyers thrown at them is the way to bet. Wait for their reply on Monday and get ACAS on speed dial.

What an absolutely barmy thing to say.

Outrageous behaviour. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

Pregnant the screwed may be able to help: pregnantthenscrewed.com

I'd find out what actually has happened first. If he said you'd handed yoir notice in, ask for proof. Find out the facts so you can take the next steps.

Have you got any evidence of the agreed return date in Oct?

Hi OP I’m an employment lawyer...

You need to email them or write to them to make it clear you have not resigned at any point and ask why you have received a P45 when you are due back from maternity leave on XX date. You need proof that you have been dismissed (often a P45 is indicative but not conclusive by any stretch, could be a change of employer or payroll provider). You’re entitled to a written statement of reasons for dismissal by law so ask for that.

If they say you handed in your notice ask for proof. If they can’t provide it then I’d suggest an unfair dismissal claim and possibly a maternity discrimination claim if the reason for the dismissal was related to your leave.

Even a standard unfair dismissal claim is usually worth at least six months pay, often closer to 12.

FYI I’ve dealt with two cases in the past where employees were accidentally/mistakenly dismissed, brought unfair dismissal claims and won both. But in both cases there was no doubt whatsoever that they had been dismissed, even when the employers tried to backtrack and continue to pay them!

Good luck

Do EXACTLY what @MrsPinkCock says.

And DO THIS ALL BY EMAIL. Do not “ phone anyone to sort it out “.

I see this all the time on these threads. Posters are given excellent advice, which they ignore and instead phone their mate Melissa who is a secretary in HR who says they will investigate. Three weeks later she comes back to say she can’t find out anything.

Or they phone their boss why says “ don’t worry it will be fine “ then they hear nothing. Later the boss says they they confirmed their resignation on the phone call.

So put everything IN WRITING.

Sorry to shout but its frustrating to see good advice ignored, time after time.

@MrsPinkCock you’re a legend thank you!

I’m currently single so no weirdos in my account sending emails, dunno why everything boils down to that on here.

Thank you everyone, if i can claim for unfair dismissal I’ll send you all some lindors in the post

[quote popsydoodle4444]@zaffa

She definitely wasn't due back yet as her colleague asked her boss if they should do something special to welcome her back to work and the boss has lied and said OP has handed in her notice.

It would seem that the bosse's niece needed a job so they've simply replaced OP with her thinking OP might just take this and stay at her with her baby instead.What a sneaky vile sod they are.[/quote]
Yes but if she was due back on the 11th September (for example) and didn't show up, her boss may well take that as her resignation and not want to share the exact nature of how she 'handed in her notice' with her colleagues.

I think I am just struggling to see how any company with even a smidgeon of sense could possibly spin this situation and think it won't end badly for them, so I assume there must be some sort of explanation somewhere.
For example I'm on Mat leave and technically return in September but am taking all accrued annual leave before I return officially so won't be back in the office until October. If there was a misunderstanding then they may well expect me in at the end of this month and assume I have decided not to return when I don't appear.

My boss has stated in email that my job is redundant (despite his niece starting soon 🧐🧐) and more information regarding this will be sent in the post. I’m a fucking sales advisor unless the branch is closing (it isn’t) my job can’t be redundant?? Can it?? No one has been told of any financial difficulty Within the company nor has anyone been warned about job security. I’m gonna ring ACAS now.

I’m sorry to hear this, they are foolish and will end up paying for this.

And yes, you are right - it’s the position that is redundant and not the person. However a position can be redundant even if there’s no branch closure.

And there are special rules that apply to redundancy during maternity leave.

I know you will be upset and angry but you need to take advice and follow each step correctly.

As well as ACAS there’s some good links upthread.

Are you the only sales advisor? If not how did they decide it was you who'd lose your job? Is his niece starting as a sales advisor?

Is the boss that's said you've been made redundant the same boss who claimed you handed your notice in?

I'm sure you are but keep (print hard copies if possible) all communication. They're putting this stuff in writing!

Even if the niece is starting with a different job tile eg Sales Administrator rather than Sales Advisor, that doesn’t make it legal.

Pregnant then screwed have a free legal advice helpline that’s open now.

here.

Free legal adviceline
0161 930 5300

We may be able to deal with your query quicker through our helpline number above. However, if your query relates to a dispute with your employer or you feel you are being discriminated against, you may benefit from specialist legal support. In which case, you can call our free legal advice line on this number and make an appointment to speak with one of our employment solicitors

You can call this number Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm. However, at busy times you may have to leave a message, but someone will call you back so please make sure to leave a number

@LeaLoo82 I read this last night and was hoping there might have been a mistake or something, so I'm sorry to ready your update.

The ABSOLUTE FUCKERS. They can't do this if they are bringing someone else in (boss' niece) as a sales advisor!
I'm so disappointed for you to be treated like this after working there for so long.
I hope ACAS are helpful. Good luck with this. I totally agree with other posters saying take them to the cleaners!

So sorry you're going through this OP, what a nightmare.

And thanks fuck we've got good employment law in this country to mean they can't do this to you without hefty consequences. Breathtaking the stupidity displayed.