Resignation letter - employment issue making potential claim

[scoobysnac]

Hi

I have posted before about my co refusal to allow me to take my accrued holiday.I am currently on mat leave. They will not let me carry over or get payment in lieu.They have hired someone permanent for my job and now i see they are recruiting yet more people but job description looks very similar to my job and another girl shortly going on mat leave. the stress is making me sick and i just cannot take it anymore. my boss will not have a meeting with me to discuss my return to work- only time given were before work of before xmas party in evening. not suitable.

anyway we have been going back and forth for weeks. I work for a law firm i must add. They have now offered me a "goodwill payment" equal to 1/3 of what they owe me. they are tight g**s88tes.

I am resigning today as I cant take this anymore. i may take them to the tribunal for 10 unlawful deduction of wages 2/ sex discrimination 3) possibly constructive although I would prefer not to.

Can someone have a look at my resignation letter. Should i state why I am leaving if I may make a claim?

Dear *

It is with great reluctance that I now submit this letter of resignation.This was not an easy decision and took a lot of consideration. I have enjoyed my employment with which has been both satisfying and beneficial. Unfortunately, the stress caused by * refusal to allow me take my annual leave and the associated matters is having a severe adverse effect on my health and I feel I have no other option but to resign.

As required by my contract of employment, I hereby give you 3 months notice of my resignation. I understand that my last day of work will be Friday 2nd March 2012.

Yours

Is this ok or should i lose the reason why?

Have you spoken to an employment lawyer.

I'd do that before you go any further. You may have to pursue lines of grievance within the company before you can resign with a case.

They are possibly within their rights not to allow you to carry over your leave or take payment in lieu, I'm sorry to say.

Hi Yes spoken to an employment lawyer. I do have a case for the holiday and sex discrimination. Constructive harder to prove. I may raise a grievance but would prefer not to. I just want my accrued annual leave given or paid and not to work my notice as they will make my life unbearable.

I will probably get signed off sick as I am very stressed and depressed at the moment. My and DH have been trying for a baby and I have just had a mc which i attribute losing due to stress I have been under for last few weeks. I cannot afford to leave but my health is more important.

Hold up with the letter scoobysnac - please please please take legal advice. I went through all this (work as a lawyer with other lawyers in-house) with bullying throughout pregnancy and even during mat leave (evil bullying line manager never had time to see me for end of year appraisal before i went on mat leave - yet she did have time 5 days after I'd given birth and wrote me an email to demand I attend one w/i 2 weeks - screwed herself with that one because was breach of H&S.)

Have you raised a grievance? Please list everything you think they've done on this thread so we can get it clear what the issues are. I'm saying hold back on the letter because my solicitor advised me not to resign because constructive dismissal was a massive hurdle to ovrcome (think she said 90% constructive dismissal claims fail despite merits of rest of the case) and this is why you can continue to be employed even when running a discrim case against your employer so I would say do NOT resign but use this thread to gather your thoughts, get advice and make a plan of action. Please come back and post more - I did my masters in employment law (rusty now) but there are plenty of employment lawyers that frequent this board who give good advice.

Just don't want you to make a rash decision when you may just need some guidance on how to fight them and win.

Much much MUCH easier to go for constructive dismissal if you can demonstrate that you have tried other forms of negotiation first eg raised a formal grievance and followed the procedure, suggested third party mediation etc. Resignation really is the last resort and cuts out a LOT of your options.

If you think there is even the slightest chance you want to sue the fuckers, do NOT resign yet!

And get some legal advice from someone who specialises in employment law. Might be worth contacting your union / professional association if you have one?

unfortunately I have to resign. I just ant take the stress and the effect it is having on me and my family. I work in a very anti mother environment. I probably wont bring a constructive claim but i will do for the loss of holiday and I will need the money. Just wanted to know whether i should state reason for leaving in letter.

If you want to leave, leave. But it will almost certainly be something you regret.

You will be unlikely to win constructive because the breach would not be considered so fundamental as to make your continued employment impossible. From your previous threads there is also some confusion about giving them the required notice period regarding return to work, so it all looks a bit cloudy.

You will also have a much harder job proving your case because you yourself will be breaching your terms of employment by not raising a grievance. If the only reason you are considering taking legal action is because of this leave issue then TBH I am not sure you have a strong case - employment law in this area is very grey. The ECJ I believe has ruled that it needs to be given in full, but UK law itself is a bit garbled on the matter. I imagine a defence would be that they relied on UK law. If they found in your favour (which they probably will, on balance) then they would order a reimbursement for your loss - which would almost certainly be the holiday pay only. I would be surprised if you would be awarded for loss of salary (by resigning) or injury to feelings (because the law is grey and I don't think on what you have said that they are intentionally acting illegally). From whatever sum you are awarded you will have to pay your own legal costs. There is a possibility that your employers may counter-claim against you if you refuse to serve your notice period, having told them you are returning to work (very unlikely though, and I am not sure on law if you say you are returning from ML and then don't - I think you need to give them your normal notice period at least).

What you really ought to do is the following:-

1. Raise a formal grievance regarding the withholding of maternity leave, explaining that it is your understanding under ECJ rulings that you are entitled to carry over any leave that you have not been able to utilise during the holiday year because of absence due to maternity leave.
2. Depending on outcome, put in a formal claim to a tribunal (YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESIGN TO DO THIS). If your time is running out (you only have 90 days from their action of refusing you accrued pay to put in a claim) then do this, pending the outcome of the grievance. If you have time in hand then wait for outcome of grievance before doing this.
3. If you cannot face returning to work then at the end of your ML because os tress, you need to see a doctor to obtain a fit note.
4. If you truly believe they don't want you back (I have seen no evidence to suggest this in your previous posts - making your ML replacement permanent is not evidence of this on its own), you would be in a much better position is you actually went back. They would then have to work out what to do with you (which might involve them offering a compromise agreement and paying you to leave). Things might even work out.

What do you see is the benefit of resigning? It will not reduce your stress levels - especially if you are going to take action against them.. I think TBH it is a knee-jerk reaction which allows your employers off the hook but doesn't benefit you in any way.

By the way, it can often take 18 months for a case to come to tribunal.

Hi Thanks. I know i dont really have a case for constructive dismissal. If I went back i probably will. But i dont want long and protracted proceedings. I just want to get on with my life.

I know my employer does not want me back because she has employed too many people. There is not enough work in our dept for the amount of people she has employed.

I would prefer to leave on good terms with my employer and this is why i have not submitted a formal grievance yet. I will work my notice but would prefer to not and receive just my accrued holiday which is all i want really.

I think i will just resign and see if i can get to speak to them to discuss my notice period.

Should have said, sorry you're going through this. Bad employers can get away with so much, and the stress and distress they cause to employees is awful.

Agree that you need to put your complaints in writing first/follow company grievance proceedure before resigning if you want a chance of constructive dismissal.

I think it really depends what area you are in with regards to how long for a hearing. I issued a claim in September which was listed for January which I didn't think was too bad.

Good luck

Lets unpick this:

1. The employer is refusing accrual of annual leave

Annoying but probably bot enough to cause you stress at this level - but you should follow the grievance procedure.

1. The employer won't meet you to discuss your return

They don't need to. You are entitled to return on the same or similar terms. You simply turn up. Them having employed others in similar roles has bo bearing on your right to return.

Please ensure you raise a grievance BEFORE resigning. A ET will not look positively on your claim if you haven't exhausted all of your internal procedures. Good Luck!