I think work is trying to get rid of me (ie fire me) before I start my maternity leave........

[fannyannie]

just been in an given a Final Warning!! Which I'm positively about. Apparently there's a catalogue of complaints about me speaking "abrubtly" to the residents (I'm a Night Care Assistant in a Residental Care Home) the latest incident apparently happening around 5am this morning - when I didn't even speak to this particular resident at that time. - Another resident - very kindly (not) decided to back her up and say that I speak to all the residents like that - including herself (the other resident) but she "puts me in my place" actually she tries to put ALL the members of staff "in their place"

I've been working so f*cking hard at trying to do my job properly, yet it seems the harder I try the more things they find to pick me up on.

The thing is though - although I haven't got my contract on hand in front of me - I remember reading in it - just before Christmas (when I was given a verbal warning for - well TBH I'm still not exactly sure what it was for) that

a) I'm supposed to be given sufficent time to prepare for disciplinary meetings (I was called at 11am this morning and she wanted to see me ASAP - said it was about a complain from this resident but nothing more - I said I could make 1pm - thinking it was just a case of the resident being a twit because she wasn't put 1st (she has a record of getting arsey if she's not put in front of other residents that need more immidiate attention). So I hardly had any warning - and I've been up since 8am yesterday morning.

b) It says in the contract that I'm allowed to have another member of staff in the disciplinary meeting with me.........I didn't have anyone else with me except DS2 (who's 3).

c) It also says in the contract (from how I understand it) that I should have been given a letter informing me of the verbal warning from before Christmas - which I never recieved).

Just spoken to DH in floods of tears and he thinks (as I already did) that they're trying to get rid of me before I go on Maternity leave (due to go in May), tried to call my local CAB for advise - but they closed at 1.30. Incidently (and I never thought too much of it at the time) I saw them advertising my job (for Maternity leave I presumed) in the paper the other week - but it had NO mention of the fact it was to cover Maternity leave......I put it down to the fact that it was a space/cost factor for the ads - but now I'm not so sure...........

May be post parts of your letter on here for us to give a view on before you send it as good advice on this thread.

Thanks Xenia - will probably do that.

I've now stopped crying (for now - probably start again once DH gets home from work later LOL) and I've decided.

1. I'm going to appeal this Final Warning, and I'm coming out all guns blazing, I shall contact ACAS again and CAB to get more advise on it.

1. I'm going to check with CAB re my rights re leaving/SMP/etc etc and once I know where I stand, will definitely NOT be going back after my Maternity leave - I'm not going to work for somewhere that treats their employees like they do.....I deserve better.

1. They can take a barge pole and shove it up their ar*es

Most important thing is not say anything remotely like you resign however bad they make you feel. Don't say =- that's it. Or I've had enough of this or I won't be back. Just do the appeal and keep going in to work and give them no reason to complain about anything.

Many small employers hate dealing with maternity leaves and try to find spurious reasons to get rid of people wrongly.

How long have you worked for them as an employee by the way?

Oh I shan't say a word to them about resigning......not quite that blonde or pg (ok maybe I am slightly pg but hey ).

I've worked for them since November 2005 and have had 'issues' with them (or perhaps that should be the other way round - they've had issues with me) on and off from the start (and no I didn't get off to a great start found it pretty tough going but once I was used to the job I know for a FACT that I improved greatly.

Just checking because I think you have to work for a year before you can claim unfair dismissal (but that might not be right) so some people try to get rid of people before the year is up. My father has carers at home who have to do the things you do. It is really important but very hard work.

oh and you know what made the meeting even worse??? Was the fact that, probably due to the fact I've been on my feet so long, my joints in my pubic area (groin, whatever you want to call it) were really painful walking to work - and then we had to up to the 3rd floor to the Directors office for the meeting.......and then back down again - I was in agony by the time I got home......it's settled down again now thankfully.

Are you in Unison? May be worth joining even if you're not atm, isthere anyone else in UNison at the Home?You should be able to get a rep to sit in any meetings with you.
Is there anyone else who works in the home to back you up?
How long have you been there?Can you start maternity leave soonish and then deal with other stuff when you are off.Then could come under Sex Discrimination?
Also have you a risk assessment for doing your job when you are preg?I worked in SLD car when I was preg with dd1 and had loads of tasks I wasn't allowed to do.

Look up the Dept of Trade and Industry website, it has all the info on employment law. They have to follow certain disciplinary procedures laid down in legislation esp. wrt issuing verbal and final warnings. Employment tribunals love it when employers fuck up the process as it is so easy to make a decision (get the process wrong and the employer loses, basically).

Thankyou everyone - I knew I could rely on MN for some advise and a friendly ear

Hi fannyannie - how's things today?

Juat wondering how things are going? Hope you're okay.

Things pretty much the same - saw CAB on Monday and they were really helpful. They recommended waiting until the end of this week to hand in my appeal letter - just incase they (work) suddenly remember they have to give it to me in writing. They asked if I was prepared for the fact that they may decide to dismiss me - and I told them I was......they said that if they did I could get them for unfair dismissal and TBH even though I now have NO intentions of returning to them after my Maternity Leave (a rare thing for me but I've realised I deserve better) I'd still like to make sure I follow this through as if it's not me it'll be someone else that's being targetted next.

Hi there

Just popped over to check on how you are doing. Soooooooo glad that CAB have been so helpful, and that you sound OK. Have a strong feeling that things will work out for the best for you.

Hugs.

oooo I had a interesting piece of 'inside' info at work the other night - something one of the night girls had found out via her taxi driver one night. Apparently last year his wife started nights - but only did just over a week - where she did some days for training and 2 nights (I didn't work with her at all) also 'training ones'. She decided she didn't like the job and left - but work refused to pay her saying that it was "training" so she wasn't going to get paid. Apparently she took them to an employment tribunal......and WON - the money they owed her plus a bit extra.

This night girl is 99.99% sure that the information is accurate as when she heard about it at handover the next morning - when 3 of the most senior carers were on she mentioned the name and asked if anyone remembered her...........and was met with a deathly silence and awkward looks - followed by "yes her name rings a bell".....

Bet they won't like the thought of being taken to a tribunal again within the space of 12 months - especially as they're not even a big employer - only have about 40-50 staff between the 2 homes.........so I shall wait with bated breath their reaction to my appeal letter which I'm taking in with me tonight/

Well and interesting update for you all.

Handed in the appeal letter on Friday (night) and was in at 9.30 this morning for all day training (very interesting all day one on Dementia as it happens).

Anyhow as we were about to start I was called out for "2 minutes" into the managers office and (once again) was faced with the Owner and Manager. Basically Owner talked (shouted?, patronised???) to me and told me I had NOT been given a final warning only threatened with one and if it had of been a proper disciplinary meeting they would have done it properly after all "he wrote it so he knows what it says"....

Basically felt like I was about 5yrs old and despite their claims that I hadn't been given the warning I think they've actually decided to back off.........

Was also given a REALL crap Risk Assesment that she'd done on me - apparently despite the fact that I'm 24 weeks pg, work 9 1/4hr shifts (at night) of which probably 80-95% is on my feet constantly I'm "low risk"........couldn't be arsed to argue so just took it said "thanks" (yeah right LOL) and brought it home and gave DS2 it to use for scrap paper.............

Hi FA

Well, that sounds like good-ish news. I trust that they will be writing to you in response to your written letter of appeal, rather than just shouting at you. If you don't hear, then I think that you should write again briefly to ask for confirmation in writing of the situation. You need this down on paper in case things should escalate again.

You mentioned before that you "should have been given a letter informing me of the verbal warning from before Christmas - which you never recieved." Did you raise this in your letter of appeal too?

If not, perhaps now is the time to raise this, again to clarify what your status is. Someone mentioned below that you have a right to see your personnel file. Would it be a good idea to request this now, to make sure that there are no notes lurking there, which have not been through due process?

I sincerely hope that this is the end of this matter for you, but personally would be very cautious, and make sure that you get everything in writing. Other posters obviously know more, but I would have thought that at the very least this will show them that you are taking the process seriously and that you are not someone to be messed around with.

Of course, when writing to your boss, that third paragraph should say something like

Would it be a good idea to request (your personnel file) now, to make sure that there is nothing else there about which you might have become confused . . .

CAB CAB CAB You MUST get this documented. Everything.

Every time you are called into the office for '2 minutes' you MUST take somebody with you.

"apparently" I did have written confirmation of my verbal warning - on my supervision notes....which I signed.....I showed some suprise that this counted as the confirmation in writing but hey ho.....I only have 7 weeks left (and counting LOL) then I'm off on Annual Leave followed by 9 months of maternity leave. At the end of 8 months maternity leave I shall hand in my notice.......and as it will be in the next Annual Leave year they can't make me pay back this years AL

Good for you fannieannie.

When will it occur the the idiots who run care homes that if they didn't treat their employeses like shit, their employees might be loyal?