Husband sacked over the phone whilst on furlough - legal case?

[Kelcat9494]

Hello,

We need a bit of advice my husband has been working for a company since September, they didn’t make him aware of any probation period or how long it lasts. It was a permanent contract he signed. There was no prior warning or reason he knows of that would get him sacked now apart from him having a performance meeting on January where he made a couple of mistakes but this was a week after we suffered a miscarriage but by March he was told his
Performance was perfect and to keep up the good work.
My husbands boss tried to call him but it was on an old number my husband changed so he received an email mid June telling him they tried to get in contact with him to ask him to volunteer to take a weeks holiday in June but since they can’t contact him he will be force to take them, my husband emailed back and asked if the boss could call him on the correct number as he needs to discuss the holiday situation, the boss called him back the next day whilst my husband was in the bathroom, my husband called back a minute later and his assistant hesitated for a moment saying he was suddenly busy, my husband then received another email saying the boss wasn’t chasing him around and he WILL take the holidays so my husband emailed back apologising and said he called back a minute later and the reason he needs the holiday days is I’m pregnant will my first baby and he’d like to go to the appointments with me, the boss reluctantly agreed.
Another boss messaged him and asked how he were and told him people were coming back, but didn’t ask my husband to come back so it was a bit of a pointless text, he only texted him once throughout lockdown so he wasn’t really bothered “how he was”.
Throughout lockdown when my husband knew people were going back to work he was messaging the other boss asking when he was going back and he’d receive messages like “you’re on our radar, won’t be long” etc
So yesterday his work friend messaged him saying “oh I’ve asked “Greg” about you coming back to work and he said something about twisting tables, muttered under his breath and walked away” - my husband was confused by this so sent him a quick text and he said “Richard” was trying to call you yesterday, my husband didn’t receive a call and no email so “Richard” was trying to call him on the old number my husband had already changed with him.
My husband called “Richard” to see what was going on and he said I don’t have the information in front of me, I’ll call you tomorrow morning but was unsure how anyone else knew he was trying to call my husband as he hadn’t told anyone.
This morning my husband received a text from his friend at work to say “Rick (son of senior management) has told me you’re getting sacked”.
Low and behold he’s received a call this morning from
Richard to say the business no longer needs him (just him), I’ve told my husband to ask for an email with the content so we have it in writing but my husband feels like he’s being treated this way either because he didn’t take the holidays or because we’re having a baby as the company is very backwards that way and wouldn’t want him taking paternity leave etc - do we have a legal case?

an employer can decide when you take holidays as long as they give twice as much notice. if they want you to take a week they need to give two weeks notice etc. same notice if they want you to cancel holidays.
if you have been employed for the company under 2 years they can get rid of you when they want.

@imamum21

an employer can decide when you take holidays as long as they give twice as much notice. if they want you to take a week they need to give two weeks notice etc. same notice if they want you to cancel holidays. if you have been employed for the company under 2 years they can get rid of you when they want.

I wonder if that still holds true when the employee has already been furloughed for three months?

The holiday notice, I mean

Hi OP, I'm sorry this has happened and unfortunately, as others have said, there's nothing you can do. He is entitled to be paid his notice period and any accrued holiday so make sure he gets this. Good luck

Your post indicates that your DH hasn’t performed well (mistakes), he hasn’t been available (email/telephone calls etc) and has been inflexible with holiday despite having been paid for not working for a large chunk of time. He hasn’t been in the job long, and therefore I can understand the employers decision just from your post. Less than 2 years means that his rights/ security Olof position is limited.

@Isthisfairornot

Your post indicates that your DH hasn’t performed well (mistakes), he hasn’t been available (email/telephone calls etc) and has been inflexible with holiday despite having been paid for not working for a large chunk of time. He hasn’t been in the job long, and therefore I can understand the employers decision just from your post. Less than 2 years means that his rights/ security Olof position is limited.

He's never worked in a warehouse before and he made a couple of mistakes which resulted in an informal meeting which fair enough, some people aren't perfect at a job straight away but I'm sure employers know this, I'm not going through the whole number situation again, he was available but the director didn't have the correct number for whatever reason. He emailed them back straight away and then just happened to be in the bathroom when he called back the next day sadly, he didn't have the directors number to call him. He wasn't refusing to take the holidays as it was offered on a volunteer basis he asked if he could save them, if the employer said no then he would have taken them.

It's all over and done with and I don't need anymore comments, thank you. Everyone has been helpful and now we're moving on with our day. If I could delete the post I would as I have the answer to my question.

Thank you again everyone, I really appreciate the help.

The problem with this Covid furlough scheme is that employees are accruing annual leave whilst on furlough so while is seams as though it's' not costing a company money to keep an employee on and furloughed, it actually is. I'm guessing the company have realised this and are trying to mitigate their loses. And as previously stated, what companies are keen for is that staff use annual leave now as 80% of that payment is covered by the government, and not take it when the company starts up again, later in the year.

I don't think your husband has any "lessons to learn", his employer could have explained it better. From the sounds of it they are not the most professional outfit. Onwards and upwards OP.

Hi OP. What your husband needs to do is ensure that they give him the required notice that's in his contract (at full pay, not furlough pay) and that he gets any annual leave that he is due. If you can work that out and get a figure, you can look at his last pay slip and ensure they've done things correctly.

In the mean time, he needs to keep applying everywhere he can for a job. Also check out any benefits you may be entitled to. I'm really sorry this has happened. For what it's worth, I don't think it matters whether your husband answered a call or not, they probably had him pinned as the one to go some time a go and have arsed around looking for any excuse really. It seems his direct boss is fine but the director is quite unprofessional. Onwards and upwards OP ♥️

Dear OP, I am sorry you have been having a hard time on this thread. It is an awful situation to be in.
I should know because this happened to me in the past. My DC are now adults.
My DH was made redundant when I was 6 months pregnant. I already had a toddler, so was a SAHM for a while. The 2nd pregnancy was planned with the aim of having 2 DC close together, so I would be able to return to work later.
Like you my DH had been there less than 2 years. He was omitted from the first tranche of redundancies, but as he had not been there the 2 years, was included in the 2nd tranche, and no redundancy pay. Or bare minimum notice payment.
Obviously, it was a bit hard to go looking for a job myself, when 6 months pregnant.
My DH started job hunting, and had to drop out of a cheap caravan holiday we had planned, because he had an interview that week. (didn't get the job)
However, we managed.
The reason I am posting is because you are considering terminating your pregnancy. Of course, you may decide this is the right decision for you, but i wanted to let you know that others have been in this situation in the past.

Sorry you've had such a rough time here OP.

You can 'report' your own OP and ask MNHQ to take it down, if that makes you more comfortable, I'm not sure if you were already aware of that or not though so sorry if you were.

The only practical advice I can offer, from having had the rug pulled out from under me a couple of times in the past, is to make an extra special effort to get back on the horse as quickly as possible. Try very hard not to dwell on what's happened. For what it's worth I do think it's worth your husband seeking some kind of advice from a union, because every case is different, and people on MN may have the best intentions but you're very limited with what information you can give without breaching the confidentiality of the company and of your husband. A sharp mind with the full details could make all the difference for you here.

All the best

A legal case for what?

As others have said he doesn’t have qualifying service for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. I suppose he could have a punt at arguing he’s been dismissed for asserting statutory rights to holiday/attending pregnancy appointments/paternity leave but from what you’ve said they don’t seem that strong arguments either really.

It is crap but I would just make sure he gets what’s owed and look for something else.

Christ this thread got hijacked 🤦🏼‍♀️

The people bickering have posted on this thread more than the OP herself!