Employer have said I have resigned - I haven't. Urgent help please!

[Titslikepicassos]

I have a loooong thread in AIBU and received excellent support but things have escalated.

Long story short, I went on maternity leave this time last year. I had issues at work throughout my pregnancy, being shouted at and sidelined and told to move locations. Sorted it all out informally.

In March I asked to return to work early from Mat leave due to financial issues caused by lockdown. At this point my boss attempted to move me again, that didn't work and she then went back on the hours she had given me and it messed up my childcare.

I raised a formal grievance and put a flexible working request in at the same time. The company failed to do anything with my request and the grievance process was mismanaged and a data breach occurred in the middle of it, where my grievance letter was upload to a public file and seen by others.

The grievance was upheld in parts but they again tried to move me to a new location which doesnt work due to childcare issues.

I requested mediation with my boss in order to go back to work as I'm still not back 7 months later.

Today the regional director has said that they won't honour mediation and I have now resigned.

My union rep has disappeared and I received this at 16:00 today so couldn't get hold of ACAS.

Any advice would be very welcome!

[BlueThistles]

you are being shafted OP.... keep fighting

[Thingsarel00kingup]

Hi OP, this is horrendous. ACAS and your Union will be the best advice so try and relax over the weekend and contact them Monday. Also check your home insurance as a lot of contents policies provide cover for legal expenses which may help with the tribunal costs. It sounds like you've got a very strong case, so just try and stay strong (and don't let it overshadow the time with your little one).

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

Don’t claim UC until you’ve had most/all of what they owe you. Take advice/do some research first.

[caringcarer]

This is now constructive dismissal. Take legal action against this employer.

[DianaT1969]

Was there a date they said you had to be in the new location to start work? This week perhaps? I'm wondering if what a previous poster said may be happening - that they are saying not willing to work (in the location they say) equates to resignation.

[mofro]

Nothing constructive to add but wanted to send hugs and best wishes xx

[Veterinari]

This sounds like constructive dismissal

Keep copies of all communications, speak to ACAS and contact an employment solicitor for advice

[Viviennemary]

Not clear on whether OP has been offered a position and given a starting date. And has the company made an effort to offer alternative employment if she couldnt return to her previous position. You can't just say unfair dismissal if a job is there and it's been turned down. I did read a little bit of the previous thread and agree why should OP be the one to move and not her partner. That would be discrimination.

[EnjoyingTheSilence]

Who the hell are these people? They just keep getting worse and worse

[Veterinari]

@Viviennemary

Not clear on whether OP has been offered a position and given a starting date. And has the company made an effort to offer alternative employment if she couldnt return to her previous position. You can't just say unfair dismissal if a job is there and it's been turned down. I did read a little bit of the previous thread and agree why should OP be the one to move and not her partner. That would be discrimination.

Under maternity legislation the role should be the original one or similar I believe. And their needs to be due process followed with appropriate discussion and documentation.
It doesn't appear to have happened

[Titslikepicassos]

I haven't been given a post or a starting date. I was offered a transfer at the end of the grievance process but I couldn't take it owing to childcare issues. Plus my grievance was about being pushed out of my role when pregnant, three times they've tried to move me to keep my maternity cover in place. Why would their solution be to move me?!

HR were lovely last week, telling me they were sorting mediation and that when I was back in post they'd go through my flexible working request.

There was nothing at all to suggest I was about to be gaslighted into resigning.

[picklemewalnuts]

I'm so sorry its all kicked off again! Have they learned nothing?!

Im sure you are sick to the back teeth of it but hang in there!

[Titslikepicassos]

Sorry missed some questions -

The letter stated because I'd turned down the other post, they won't agree to my request of mediation to rebuild trust in my original post and therefore I have resigned from my position effective immediately. I have 7 days to return all work equipment but no mention of pay, the qualification I'm in the middle of, annual leave they owe me.

[Bluntness100]

Ok, what they are saying is as you didn’t undertake their offer they are taking it as you’ve resigned.

Habe they been paying you since the end of March?

I think you’ve reached the end of the road op. You now need to go to tribunal, and you need to speak to a lawyer, but it seems they have decided they have had enough and they will take whatever you bring next rather than continue this.

[Titslikepicassos]

When they offered me the transfer, which is around 1.5 hours away from my current work location (and childcare). I offered to transfer to the 'office' in the building next to ours - which was, and still is, recruiting. It's not a similar job but I'm qualified to do it

[Titslikepicassos]

@Bluntness100 - yep, SSP until September and then annual leave and some pay until they sorted out the grievance. My pay stopped yesterday when i 'resigned'.

[OhLookHeKickedTheBall]

Did they make it clear to you that by turning the role down you are in effect resigning? Also the 1.5 hours away can easily be shown to not be a reasonable alternative especially if others are available, plus you role is still there and not redundant so you've got a failure of maternity laws (not the technical term). You really need to lawyer up on this.

[Titslikepicassos]

No they said nothing about resigning, in fact they said, in writing, that turning down the role doesn't take away my legal right to return to my old role!

In order to force and end to this situation, I asked for mediation and to return to my old role.

Which was agreed, until yesterday

[Bluntness100]

Op you need someone to look at your work contract, an employment solicitor, to see if there request was reasonable in terms of your contract. You don’t have a right to the other job you wished.

Errors have been made on their side, with the data breach and the initial request, but they’ve called it now, as such the best you can hope for is some compensation via tribunal but they are going to fight it hard. So you need a lawyer. And a good one.

I very much doubt you stand any chance of getting your job back. Speak to an employment lawyer as soon as possible and decide how to proceed but you need to assume your employment is now terminated.

[Requinblanc]

I would urgently write to HR and copy your manager into your email.

State calmly that you are surprised about the claims that you have 'resigned' and state that your email is your statement that you have done nothing of the sort and are requesting an urgent written explanation as to what is going on.

Frankly they are digging themselves into a hole as it is very likely that an employment tribunal will take a very dim view of their behaviour towards you. Speak to ACAS/your union and pursue legal action.

Do not leave your job until you get legal advice about claiming constructing dismissal (that you were forced out of your job), as far as you are concerned you are carrying on as normal. They will either have to sack you or show proof to back up their bizarre claim that you have resigned.

This company sounds like a complete shamble.

[Titslikepicassos]

@Bluntness100 - I'd love to speak to an employment solicitor but we can't afford it. I've used savings up to get us through maternity leave and I'm now unemployed.

I've also ran out of steam, I was put on anxiety meds part way through the grievance process because I was barely coping and this has finished me off.

I'm trying to keep things unemotional but fucking hell, the lack of empathy from my company is unbelievable - especially given the work I do. They've allowed my boss to bully me out of my role, done nothing to address it through the grievance and ultimately let her win.

[Titslikepicassos]

And to make matters worse.

I'm the main earner, DP works for the same company and in order to facilitate my return he resigned to provide childcare - with confirmation from his boss and HR that he could withdraw his notice if they agree to my flexible working request. He now has to send a begging email to the man who just dismissed me, asking to keep his job so we don't end up completely fucked.

[Piggyhoolier]

I haven’t see your previous thread OP, but the gist I’m gathering here is making me think you should consider a compromise agreement. It’s surprisingly common in large corporations- and your company might even be expecting it. They just won’t offer it in the hopes you’ll walk away. But they probably have a significant pot of money set aside for exactly this type of situation. You need legal advice. Also a CA is only any good if you now don’t want to return to work for this company - which I would say is likely given how you’ve been treated. But as a result they would make a payment to you in a lump sum and your lawyer and their lawyer would work out details. Your lawyer would get you something similar to redundancy pay, including holiday and bonus that might have been accrued. The whole thing would be confidential, neither party can talk about the details ongoing and you’d be given a proper reference which would never mention anything of the real situation. The fact you’ve been on mat leave means for future cv purposes you can just tell next employer that you took a career break for childcare.

You can probably tell I’ve been in this situation myself. So maybe this won’t be the right route for you, but either way try to not worry and know that many people have experienced similar and it will be resolved. Best of luck.

[DianaT1969]

Gosh, I know it is too late - as it is done now, but couldn't you have found a childminder instead of your DH resigning to cover childcare?
Unfortunately I think Bluntness may be right about them sticking to this. You need to put your mental energy into finding a new job.
I hope your DH gets his job back.

[GreySkyClouds]

@Bluntness100

Ok, what they are saying is as you didn’t undertake their offer they are taking it as you’ve resigned.

Habe they been paying you since the end of March?

I think you’ve reached the end of the road op. You now need to go to tribunal, and you need to speak to a lawyer, but it seems they have decided they have had enough and they will take whatever you bring next rather than continue this.

Agree.