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!

Best of luck OP. Can't believe they're still dragging this out!

@Titslikepicassos how are things progressing now tits?

Mediation and mitigation are two different things.

Mitigation is that the claimant who is dismissed/loses job is expected to "mitigate" their loss by applying for other jobs, lessen the financial blow, etc. You cannot just sit on your bum and wait for the money.

In the case of OP she has lost opportunities for her/her family because her legal status has changed through no fault of her own. This in turn has impacted upon her finances and her health.

She needs to incorporate this into her "schedule of loss."

They will begin with a low offer but my advise will be to hold on. I was initially offered 3k but settles at 10k and an NDA.

Looks like 10k is a common figure for settlement. My first offer exceeded that - which surprises me when reading a lot of the responses on here.

Quiet week - the solicitor has been doing solicitor stuff which didn't require any input from me. Namely, telling the ET that while I asked for my original ET1 not to be sent to my employer, that I wasn't asking for the case to be dismissed.

We have a phone call tomorrow to discuss my schedule loss and how to proceed with a counter offer (if we do).

driving on the motorway to disperse anger is not a good thing to do.

@sneakysnoopysniper

Mediation and mitigation are two different things.

Mitigation is that the claimant who is dismissed/loses job is expected to "mitigate" their loss by applying for other jobs, lessen the financial blow, etc. You cannot just sit on your bum and wait for the money.

In the case of OP she has lost opportunities for her/her family because her legal status has changed through no fault of her own. This in turn has impacted upon her finances and her health.

She needs to incorporate this into her "schedule of loss."

They will begin with a low offer but my advise will be to hold on. I was initially offered 3k but settles at 10k and an NDA.

Thanks

@ilovemydogandMrObama

Not sure if you have already answered the ridiculous, 'mitigation,' issue, but your response to this is simply that you had previously agreed to mediation, which was being organized by HR at the time of your termination of contract.

Thanks @ilovemydogandMrObama this is what my union rep said too. That I had already attempted mitigation by agreeing to mediation and then again with an appeal they didn't offer me and then by ticking reinstatement on my ET1, as I was already in litigation at the time of dismissal.

Thanks, as always, to you all for all your lovely supportive messages!

@alexdgr8

driving on the motorway to disperse anger is not a good thing to do.

I wasn't trying to disperse my anger. There's not enough motorway on the planet. I've been apocalyptic with rage since March last year.

Update - my solicitor isn't budging on my original settlement offer, she thinks it's completely fair and has sent my schedule of loss to the respondent, so the ball is in their court.

I was concerned that she would think my original offer was far too high and negotiate it down to close to their laughable counter offer.

Sounds like they know what they are about. Unlike your ex-employers!

Good I'm glad your solicitor is completely thorough and on the ball!

Great news. Surely they won't want to pay the court fees!

Good news. Let's see if they now get real now their solicitors are on board.

So glad I found this thread, I was looking for the one that had been in AIBU.

I'm really sorry this is so protracted, OP, and think your employers are woefully incompetent.

I think you've been amazing the way you've carried on with this absolute shitshow, and really hope you end up with a decent settlement. Your employer's actions have been appalling from start to finish, and they need taking to the cleaners to teach them a lesson.

Are exemplary damages a thing at ET's?

Gosh is this still rumbling on? I thought someone revived a zombie thread!

Fingers crossed for resolution

I think a 10k settlement is piss poor, I would think 50k would be more reasonable for emotional distress alone, not to mention ruining your maternity leave and all the anxiety they have given you. It has affected your health. Really hope you get a great settlement.

Thanks all, I think I would have given up if it wasn't for the posts on my threads!

My solicitor seems amazing and really on the ball, noticing things that I've missed and not just working towards settlement. She seems happy to take things as far as it needs to go.

I couldn't stop reading this thread 😉 please let us know what happens good luck

@Titslikepicassos

Thanks all, I think I would have given up if it wasn't for the posts on my threads!

My solicitor seems amazing and really on the ball, noticing things that I've missed and not just working towards settlement. She seems happy to take things as far as it needs to go.

That's great Tits, seems like you've got a solicitor that is equally on the ball and will also play hard ball! 🤞🏼❤️

Good luck OP, I really hope you get the settlement you absolutely deserve

You lot are bloody lovely

The incompetence has been a shock and very frustrating. I was in the Royal Navy before this, where everything ran like clockwork. They were also a lot more family friendly, surprisingly.

I’ve been dipping in and out of your thread and just read all the updates. You’re doing so well to keep going, when it would be so much easier to give in. You will get there!