Wrongful/constructive/unfair dismissal?? (Scotland)

[Birthhippy9]

Could someone who perhaps understands these terms point me in the right direction with this?

-30 months employment set at an agreed formal salary by email (selection of email negotiations with clear agreement on salary but no contract or proper terms given),

-confirmed in post without problems after probationary period,

-9 months later told a dip in salary for the coming months has to happen due to business doing badly and would be reimbursed ASAP written letter given to say not agreed and that we expect payment and will be looking for other jobs (no luck on the jobs front)

-after 13 months on reduced salary presented with a backdated contract to sign refuse to sign, present them with another letter demanding reimbursement of wages
-wages go up after meeting and begin to be reimbursed very very slowly each month
-7 months later hand in notice for the end of that month stating that we expect full payment

• They send employee home after two days and only paid 2 weeks out of the months notice refusing to pay any more

-they sent an excellent reference to new employer -Employee was without work for two weeks

So I believe it would be classed a unpayment of wages but what about the confusing options of dismissals? Could it be wrongful...constructive...unfair dismissal (or all..help) in the last month to effectively terminate employment half way through given notice period without good reason nor ability to answer to any dismissal?

I'd be grateful for any opinions on this..(we cannot afford a lawyer, we're stuck for money and I can't get into the free law college help centre due to childcare issues)

Any thoughts?

How did they actually send the employee home?

Was it due to a contractual dispute or were they dismissed from the post? If so, what were their reasons for dismissal?

I think this is what it would all hinge on. If they were sacked outright I don't think that the employee is entitled to any payment for a notice period (although it tends to be common practice that they are paid an extra week or so as a courtesy).

Sorry have re-read, the employee handed in their notice... so were they put on garden leave after the 2 days that they worked?

Did they receive the difference in the amounts in their Salary that they previously didn't agree to?

Hi MrsCB thanks for having a look at this. Employee handed notice in, two days later on the way home he opened a letter given to him on the way out, received both text (followed by email) that told him "it was not necessary to give a long notice" and that they plan to reduce it to immediately. They then refused to pay for the rest of the month leaving employee further in financial trouble.

Employee responded immediately that the notice period still stands as was given (to the end of the month) and that if they wish he would accept "gardening leave" and ensured that he was known to be available to work if they asked him in. He was contacted at the end of that week about work issues (4 days after being asked to leave and not return).

I think the statutory minimum notice period is a week, although this dies not apply to contractors or freelance agents. Ending the fixed term contract early could be breach of contract, but you definitely need proper advice on this.

Employee's responce was by phone, text and email (email was recieved and replied to by them stating that they were of course happy to provide a reference). The given reference was good. There was no aspect of conduct or capability with their action to send him home unpaid for the notice period, no investigation and no ability to answer to it.

You keep referring to the notice period as a month, how do you know that if there was no contract? The statutory minimum is a week, they paid 2 weeks.

I thought it was 1 week notice for employee to give or if the employer was giving it was 1 week notice plus a week for each full year employed up to a month. Employee was giving reasonable notice and I thought they couldn't shorten it. I must admit that this is very intimidating especially as it has left our family in real financial trouble.

info on notice periods here

It's not clear from your post how long they actually worked there.

It looks like they were employed for 29 months, so 2 complete years and two weeks statutory notice.

It was 30 months, thanks for chatting to me about this Trix

Sorry . A similar thing happened to me do I know how hard it can be when money you are expecting doesn't appear.

Employee gave one month as he got paid monthly and in the absence of a proper T&C to refer to he gave them the same time that he gets paid in ie monthly as he thought that was implied reasonable notice period. So they could have reduced the notice period given by the employee to two weeks without agreement from employee even though employee had done nothing that could constitute a dismissal?

When we requested the unpaid backed wages they claimed that he had been sacked on the spot after 9 months of employment to be rehired immediately on a lower wage. He does not remember that and has not been written to say that plus his job was exactly the same without break throughout the entire employment. :(

I don't know tbh. I dont know what the law says about fixed term contracts. Hopefully all this chatting will bring it to the attention of someone who does.

What?!?!? They sound like total tossers!!!! N

I really appreciate you chatting t me about it. It's a worrying time. I know for a fact that they do this to other employees but that as they were living in a foreign country they didn't feel they had any rights and just left disgruntled without chasing it.

Try posting in employment issues, there are more knowledgable people there. I really hope you get them to pay the extra two weeks and the back pay.