Sacked for domestic abuse!

[Lindtballsrock]

So I have been shocked to find out that one of my friends has lost her job, because she is a victim of domestic abuse. Her partner is an awful human being, who goes through this cycle of being extremely physically abusive, and then convincing her not to leave him by being all apologetic and full of promises that it won't happen again. She has alluded also to him having made threats that if she leaves he will 'find her' and I think she is really scared of him.

She ended up telling her employer about the abusive relationship because she needed to request a specific day off (finally she has made contact with a domestic abuse charity and they can see her that day). Her employer said that he's really sorry but he doesn't want someone who 'gets involved in this kind of situation' working for his company, and he thinks that she will not be a reliable employee so he has given her notice to that she is being sacked in a month!

She's worked there for 7 months and had passed her probation no problems last month, but apparently she has no legal right to challenge the employer because employers are allowed to discriminate against you for reasons to do with domestic abuse.

AIBU to think this is crazy and that it shouldn't be allowed?

There are some things employers cannot discriminate against - like pregnancy, disability, race etc. I think domestic abuse should be included in that list. Since getting involved in my friends situation I have seen there is a petition to get this law changed, link below if anyone is interested. Apparently the government are consulting at the moment on how domestic abuse victims can be better supported at work so it seems like they do recognise there is a problem. I just hope something changes because this is awful.

www.change.org/Protect_domestic_abuse_survivors

Sorry I meant tribunal, not court.

A lot of people here are missing the fact that unless the OPs friend has a wodge of cash lying around to initiate any form of action - or a body prepared to do it on their behalf like a union - then discussion of rights is pure speculation.

If you can't enforce a right, you haven't got that right. Something a lot of people need to bear in mind when they assume they have any protection in law.

@Doccomplaint my thinking if DV were a protected characteristic is that most of the time there should be trust between employers/employees - so if your employee told you that they were experiencing domestic abuse you would probably believe them.

If you thought they were lying about it maybe you could ask for evidence such as a supporting letter from any domestic abuse charities, medical staff, police, social workers etc who are involved in supporting them.

Its not like there would be any sanctions for the perpetrator of the abuse, so it doesn't need to be proved beyond reasonable doubt like in a criminal case, it would just be between the employer and employee. And if it was a protected characteristic employers, at least big ones, would have policies in place saying how they will deal with it.

@QueSera

Surely one doesn't have to solely rely on an Equality Act protected characteristic to avoid being unfairly sacked - an employer can't simply sack someone for any reason they want, regardless of whether it falls within the protected characteristics. The main problem will be that if your friend wants to challenge it, it is a horror-show to challenge an employer in the courts. So even though it's unfair and absolutely disgusting, there is little your friend can do unless she goes down a really horrible, stressful, expensive challenge. So sorry OP.

Yes they can, under 2 years employment.

[quote Lindtballsrock]@Doccomplaint my thinking if DV were a protected characteristic is that most of the time there should be trust between employers/employees - so if your employee told you that they were experiencing domestic abuse you would probably believe them.

If you thought they were lying about it maybe you could ask for evidence such as a supporting letter from any domestic abuse charities, medical staff, police, social workers etc who are involved in supporting them.

Its not like there would be any sanctions for the perpetrator of the abuse, so it doesn't need to be proved beyond reasonable doubt like in a criminal case, it would just be between the employer and employee. And if it was a protected characteristic employers, at least big ones, would have policies in place saying how they will deal with it.[/quote]
Sorry but I don’t see how that would work, legally.

Fucking awful this has happened to her and I hope this doesn’t throw her off from getting help to leave the situation she’s in at home. Women’s aid or whichever organisation she’s seeking assistance from might be able to at least signpost as to who can help with employment regarding DV.

What a disgusting company though pp's are right anything under 2 years makes you disposable at any time.

Surely one doesn't have to solely rely on an Equality Act protected characteristic to avoid being unfairly sacked - an employer can't simply sack someone for any reason they want, regardless of whether it falls within the protected characteristics.

@QueSera Yes they can, if the person has been employed for less than two years.

I agree with previous posters that there is no formal legal avenue for unfair dismissal. However, her boss is a shit and I really would not allow this to lie. Options. If there is a union contact them. If there is a whistleblowing policy use it to note that this behaviour is unreasonable and potentially disastrous for the brand of this company.

@orangenasturtium

Yes possibly. It is certainly worth a call to ACAS.

an employer can't simply sack someone for any reason they want, regardless of whether it falls within the protected characteristics

⬆️ Yes they can sack her if the employment duration is under 2 years

Tories introduced that I’m afraid

Sadly the lessening of legal protection for workers has been a feature of tory government. The increase to two years from one year to bring a case for unfair dismissal came in 2012. Here's a list of rights we have lost www.ier.org.uk/news/7-employment-rights-you-have-lost-under-tory-pm/.

Not wishing to hijack your thread OP, as your friend is in an awful situation, but too many people are naive about their rights and how politics affects them directly.

Name and shame the vile employer OP!

If she is in London Mary Ward legal centre offer free legal advice inc employment. I’d suggest she start there

It’s All very well to be aerated and it’s not right, pragmatically her options are limited and potentially costly

Name and shame the vile employer OP!
Absolutely not, shocking advice and it will on no way enhance her case

@Corono

Name and shame the vile employer OP!

Don’t do this.

Jeez, to all the pedants pointing out that I said gender not sex, thankfully you all clearly knew exactly what I meant. Yes it’s an important distinction in certain areas, but for the specific context of this post it really doesn’t matter!

On the other hand, there are lots of people saying stuff on here which is fundamentally incorrect in law and misleading the OP. Your time may be better spent pointing those errors out!

The employer can claim legitimate aim for running the business.

Whether or not it would be indirect discrimination would need to be tested in a tribunal, it’s not clear cut.

The employers sound horrible.

As a op suggested I would wonder if she had a case of discrimination on the grounds of sex given that DV is usually perpetrated by men against women.

There was a case ruling earlier this year regarding ‘no DSDs’ which found it discriminatory in the grounds of sex since the people most likely to need to rely on HB are women.

Her employer said that he's really sorry but he doesn't want someone who 'gets involved in this kind of situation'

That is an absolutely disgusting thing to say. "This kind of situation"! As if her employer is basically telling her to grow a pair and stand up to her tormentor

I've also signed the petition. What a disgusting attitude on the part of the employer!

@Lindtballsrock
If she is in London Mary Ward legal centre offer free legal advice inc employment . I’d suggest she start there

Name and shame the vile employer OP! and be sued for libel for doing so, absolutely dreadful idea.

For one, we don’t know the whole story. If this is true and the friend has been sacked purely because she is a victim of domestic abuse then they are an awful company to work for, but it’s far more likely there is more to this story which the OP is not privy to.

Secondly, there is absolutely no proof that this is the reason given why she has been sacked, it is literally her word against the employer’s and I have no doubt that the employer will be able to produce some evidence as to why she has been sacked if they were called on to do so. Not necessarily actual evidence, but they will definitely give a reason which doesn’t amount to them not wanting victims of domestic abuse working for them.

As for indirect discrimination, that will never stand up. It’s not good enough to say that most victims of domestic abuse are women, while that’s true, while there are men who are also victims of DV you cannot claim that it is discrimination based on sex, you would only be able to claim this if it could be proven that a man has gone to the employer with the same kind of story and not been sacked as a result.

Your friend needs to just put this behind her now. It’s shit. Really it is. But she has no legal rights, and even if she were to find the means to go to court, it will likely cost her far more than she would ever get back, if she won that is.

Can I just ask out of interest, were people aware of this legislation?
I do think a lot of people don’t know/understand how Tory policies impact and disadvantage whole swathes of people
And get all it’s not right,that’s not fair and then forget. Until it directly affects them