Employer dismissed me, now wants to hear grievance. Please help!

[Tootiredtosleep]

So, I raised a grievance with my employer back in July this year, and a further grievance re a protected characteristic.

They acknowledged the first grievance and invited me to a meeting with the Director (who the grievance was about - it's a small company - no HR). I asked for a reasonable adjustment, could it be held in written form and this was not acknowledged.

The further grievance re the protected characteristic (race), was never acknowledged by the company.

However, they invited me to a disciplinary whilst I was on sick leave, for gross misconduct/fraud. I was subsequently sacked. They were wrong on all counts of what they accused me of. However, for one small thing I had no evidence, and it was upheld as 'reasonable belief'.

The last correspondence from them re my grievances was 27th July 2024.

I have now filed a case at the tribunal for race discrimination, sex discrimination (they contacted my ex husband to find out information) victimisation (raising disciplinary after I done a protected act) and failure to provide an employment contract.

All negotiations with ACAS have failed. They won't communicate.

However, some 5 months since they acknowledged my grievance, they have now written to me to say they would like to hear these grievances and want me to attend a meeting. This is one month after I have been dismissed. It wasn't mentioned in my dismissal letter.

I know I need to show the tribunal that I have exhausted the grievance procedure, but surely contacting me after all this time, when I am no longer an employee is wrong? Can anyone advise?

I have tried to keep it brief, but can provide further details.

Anyone?

No advice - just bumping

Thank you. I'm so confused about whether to attend this meeting and if it will go against me in tribunal if I don't attend.

Also, my mental health is shot to pieces over the whole thing.

Do you mean that the company aren't engaging with ACAS or ACAS don't want to get involved.... sorry, I wasn't quite sure from your OP.

In not an expert but surely the time to hear the grievance was when you were an employee???

I mean that the company won't engage with ACAS re our settlement offer, to keep the matter from reaching court.

@ToBeOrNotToBee you would think so!

I assume now that you are taken them to an employment tribunal they are panicking a bit and trying to row back by looking at your complaints.

I would get further advice from ACAS and ask them if this could mean a financial settlement from the employer or if you are better off continuing with the legal action.

Firstly. What a relief to be out of that shit show. I've been there....

However I doubt very much it would go against you for refusing to attend a meeting after you've already been sacked. To what end? Sounds like you worked for a rampant narcissist who is just trying to reel you back in and gaslight you into dropping the claim.

Id tell them to get to fuck and continue with your claim.

Good luck.

I second this.

The time for them to hear your grievance via an employer-led process has been and gone, and their option now is to engage in ACAS-supported mediation.

Liaise directly with ACAS.

do you have a copy of the grievance policy/procedure? they are normal run to tight timescales.

there is usually a time limit on when you can raise a grievance, typically 3 months after an event. they are supposed to respond within x number of days and so on. if they haven't responded since July, I think it's totally reasonable that you don't engage with them now.

you usually are asked 'what do you want from the process' when you raise a grievance eh. an apology, change of something. you don't work there anymore, so it would probably be pointless. and if you are going to court, then the grievance has been over taken by events. grievance procedure sometimes proceed to tribunal/ is used to avoid tribunal

but 1) check their grievance policy and 2) ask ACAS or your lawyer?

Thank you @Startingagainandagain. I believe they are panicking a bit. I have spoken to ACAS who just said if it goes the full way to tribunal I need to show that I exhausted the internal processes re the grievances.

However, I believe I have done that and they ignored it. Now they are expecting me to attend a grievance hearing 6 months after I raised them and 1 month after they dismissed me. If I don't go, will it look like they were open to hearing the grievance but I refused?

I would be guided by ACAS here and ask for someone to attend with you - it sounds like they're backtracking massively which likely means that you have a case.

I'm a small business owner so no HR and thankfully have only ever had one serious incident with an employee and I had to provide substantial evidence to ACAS when the person tried to take it to a tribunal. Do you have legal cover on your home insurance as an employment solicitor can be a lot more useful in situations like this? They don't come cheaply sadly.

Thank you . I believe they are panicking a bit. I have spoken to ACAS who just said if it goes the full way to tribunal I need to show that I exhausted the internal processes re the grievances.

this is true if you still work there. I don't think it is true if they ignored your grievance for 6 months and sacked you!

@Treacletoots sorry you were in a similar position. Honestly, I'd rather be struggling and unemployed than go back there. I don't think I'll ever work for a small owner managed business ever again. He is totally a narcissist. Also, a racist misogynistic bully.

@ramalamadingdonk they have no policies. I also had no written employment contract. There's nothing in writing.

They are massively out of timescales and it's no longer an internal process, the minute they sacked you it stopped being an internal process. As long as you can prove the time lines etc and they haven't engaged when they were supposed to you should be ok.

yeah, decline the meeting request regarding the grievance!

really sorry you are going through this, it is very stressful

I wouldn't have thought that compyling with their grievance procedure would go beyond the date of your employment. You are no ,longer employed by them so shouldn't be subject to their grievance procedure. Sounds like they have broken employment law.

@ramalamadingdonk it's extremely stressful, I've ended up on medication for anxiety and have lost 3 stone in weight trying to deal with it. It's horrendous.

To be sacked for fraud, when you work in finance is almost career ending. My main concern is to get that overturned, as it's completely false.

Some great advice here. I'm so glad I posted.

I recall there’s also the possibility that they pay an additional 25% damages if they haven’t followed/don’t have a dismissal procedure.

My last encounter with the same sort of employer saw them initially say they were sacking me for “misconduct” (unspecified incidents of incompetence following a shouting match where he swore at me until I told him not to dare talk to me like that 😬) which then got changed to “gross misconduct” I think once they’d spoken to a lawyer. I’d been there less than a year but because they didn’t follow procedure I was able to go to ACAS on breach of contract.

The grievance ship has sailed. Write to them and say, you have sought a resolution via the grievance process that is not documented as you had no contract, furthermore you have attempted to seek a resolution through ACAS, to no avail.

you have now lodged your claim as is your right, and the correct process is to either settle with you out of court or defend your claim.

and tell them that they should now contain their correspondence to what is pertinent to your claim, and how they intend to proceed or settle.

Thanks @everyone, the advice is invaluable. I think tomorrow I will decline to attend the grievance hearing.

good luck. let us know how you get on

How can you follow an internal process when you no longer work for the company after quite a few months?

Sounds like they are trying to cover their arses. I'd be careful if you do go and see them as they may try to pull something because they don't want to pay. I'd speak to an employment solicitor (I've always found ACAS to be a bit shit), and if you do go and see them, take someone with you and document the whole meeting.