Any Employment Lawyers or HR people around?

[Marie2023]

I could really do with some guidance, if that’s OK.

Basically I have been bullied at work by a very senior member of staff. The Board are now involved. It is clear that me and the member of staff can no longer work together so I have offered to leave.

I have been told that I will receive a ‘generous payout’. The thing is, I don’t know what I should be expecting. Given the time of year, I may be out of work for some time.

So what does a ‘generous payout’ look like, in relation to monthly salary? Any ideas please?

Thanks.

@Marie2023 in addition to making a decision about whether to accept the offer, please also think about your stress levels and what support you need in real life. This is a difficult and stressful time and it’s only natural to be anxious and unsure about what to do next.

Not unless they committed an assault on you for example AND you have not signed a compromise agreement.

The company is your employer not these individuals and it is the company who is liable for any alleged breaches of employment law.

What exactly are you alleging they have done to you?

Thanks @Katrinawaves. That makes sense.

Sorry, but what’s a ‘Compromise Agreement’?

It’s an agreement which records the terms of your deal with the employer.

Usually it will say that the employer agrees to pay £x and provide a reference in agreed terms and the employee waives all future claims against employer and its employees and often that they agree to keep the circumstances of the settlement confidential

Thanks @Katrinawaves.

What sort of action would you take though op, uou have less than 2 years service. Unless you can prove discrimination , which is notoriously difficult, then you have no claim to bring, you have not been employed long enough.

Strangely ungrammatical wording from the CEO - off the point, admittedly, but if this is the exact phrasing used, I am quite surprised it got past a lawyer..

'Alternatively you are welcome to return to work and we can work through these issues. I want to do what minimises the stress the least[sic].' Meaning, of course, the most. But that isn't what is said.

Anyway. Just another oddity in an odd case.

I wonder if the op miscopied.

No, I cut & pasted. Just changing the names to job titles.

Something isn't adding up here.

What do you mean @GuinnessBird ?

Thank you @Katrinawaves , I really appreciate that. I am actually considering going to see the doctor. Last Wednesday I was at a company-wide event that I had a large part in organising. Everything was great. I felt happy and proud. CEO congratulated us all on a superb effort.

Two days later I was being forced out of my job.

It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't feel real.

@Marie2023 i think you have had a name change fail

I detailed earlier all the reasons it didn’t add up, and to add to that, you don’t get “severance pay “when you resign. You get severance pay when you’re being fired. So back to the points I made earlier, inc being offered the opportunity to resign when being fired.

severance pay is what you get when a contract is being terminated against the employees will.

No, it's not a name change fail, I am on my home laptop. I obviously have two Mumsnet accounts, but didn't realise. I normally post from my phone.

Anyway, I didn't realise that Severance Pay is when you are being fired. There is clearly a lot I don't know.

Anyway, I have asked them to increase the Severance part to 8 weeks, so let's see what they say. I will update tomorrow. Thanks. Goodnight.

😱. That’s really high risk!

Did you understand that by doing so you were rejecting their very generous offer and therefore putting yourself in a position that if they do not increase their offer to what you have requested, you might only get the 2 weeks pay in lieu of notice which is your legal entitlement?

You cannot go back and accept the offer of 6 weeks now unless they consent to this - it’s legally unenforceable

Or did you use the script I gave you last night which was clarifying the offer, expressly not rejecting it but asking if there might be scope to improve it?

[Back on my proper account]

Yes @Katrinawaves, I used your script practically word for word 😂.

Yes, if you resign from a job they clearly don’t give you severance pay. You work your notice/get pilon and go. As it’s your choice to leave. So as much as you have technically resigned it is clear they are treating this like dismissal.

the question op is why? You state you’re being forced out your job, which it’s clear they are forcing uou out, it’s resign or dismissal. You said you were bullied, but it doesn’t appear any investigation into this or formal complaint. It appears you’ve mentioned it to the ceo after the agreement to go. You say two days before all was fine, you were happy and proud. That’s not someone enduring bullying.

but we can’t help you in terms of should there have been an investigation or are you right to ask for more, if you won’t explain what happened in the 48 hours after the event that caused them to wish to terminate your employment.

Good luck OP, I suspect that you'll get laughed out of the room but you do you.

I dunno, I mean she’s never going to see them again, they already don’t think well of her, she needs the money, it’s worth a last punt. Asking for 400 percent of what you’re entitled to takes a set of brass balls, particularly if you’re effectively being fired, but she’s asked correctly and the worst they can do is say no.

The worst they can do is say no and revert to legal entitlement, in which case OP only gets two weeks pay plus holiday. It's a big risk, hopefully for her it pays off.

That seems highly unlikely given how she’s worded it. So I’d not say it was a big risk.

Is there any update @Marie2023? Did the CEO increase the offer and if not have you been able to accept the 6 weeks pay and negotiate the wording of a reference?