HR

[NameChange101113]

I was given a letter to attend Stage 3 meeting regarding absences due to my disabilities, where it stated I could potentially be dismissed. I asked the HR officer if I should resign, since I’d probably end up being dismissed anyway.

She re-assured me that I wouldn’t be dismissed because if the employer wanted to dismiss me, he’d call me “into his office and do it that way.”

Long story short, I ended up being dismissed. I feel so stupid for believing the HR officer. I feel so wronged that she told me I wouldn’t be dismissed, then ended up having my contract terminated immediately.

Do I have any grounds to attend a tribunal for that issue with HR? I’ve already decided that I’m going to make a tribunal claim for disability discrimination anyway (for other reasons that I haven’t mentioned).

I had worked there for 3 years btw.

I really feel this thread and can feel the obvious stress it's causing. Do you have a good support network around you? Is your health ok? This type of shit can impact health.

Yes. My partner has been great, as have my best friend.

I have had significant mental health issues for almost three years now, but it has been worsening since my dismissal. Everything feels so urgent.

Thank you for your compassion x

It really has impacted my health in other ways too, I’m running on survival mode and this whole experience has been consuming me 😞

Feeling slightly better. Thank you for your advice

Can anyone offer any input about my issue please?

I’ve yet to hear from the tribunal, when I phoned them the other week - I was informed that my claim was “with the judge.”

I forget where you are in the process. Is the judge deciding whether to proceed to a hearing or is he making a final judgement?

@Offredismysister The judge is deciding whether to accept my claims.

I’ve also made an application for an amendment because more evidence has come to light since I submitted my original claim. I think that it has slowed the process down, but the evidence and new claim is extremely important!

My ET1 was accepted, the respondent has 28 days to respond to it now

I made a number of SARs to build my case evidence, and it turns out the company does not have some of the documents I have specifically requested.

Conveniently, it was crucial evidence I needed for my tribunal claim. I know this document exists because I watched this document being filled out.

I’m getting the impression that the company has even been negligent with their documentation, or they are hiding evidence from me.

I challenged them by expressing how the documentation should have been kept for six years after my employment ended…

Is there anything I can do, or at least try?

Sorry, but is anyone able to provide some guidance?

Hi op. Would you be willing to say what the documentation is? In some cases the retention period suggested by e.g. CIPD site is only a guideline.

It’s documentation regarding the extension of my probationary period, and the reasons why.

I thought it was classed as “employee personnel file”, which means retention should be 6 years? I could be wrong, though!

I might be wrong but I don't think that would have a statutory retention period, it's only advised to keep them for 6 years after employment ends, usually in case they are required for civil claims etc.

Id have thought whether or not them not having that puts them in a bad light would depend on how key it is to your case. They could just say unfortunate admin error they no longer have it.

Did they have the rest of the info requested in the SAR?

https://www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/resource-hub/hr-policies-documentation/retention-of-hr-records/

Might be helpful!

Ahhh okay. I remember the HR officer tell me in a different conversation that she had to keep all of the files for 6 years regardless of what it was.

They had most of what I asked for, except for that (which was a piece of key evidence) and they’re also avoiding a simple question posed by my representative.

They’re responding to other emails, but are specifically avoiding a simple yes or no question from my rep. They’re being extremely difficult at the moment

I have screenshots of WhatsApp messages discussed with a former colleague from the day my probation period was extended, including the reasons why.

These are helpful, but of course, the documentation itself would have been much more substantive

So that's 3 instances in 12 months then. There must be more to this for you to have gone from stage 1 to stage 3 and dismissal in 12 months op.

@Punkrockprincess here’s all of my absences listed for you.

Stage 1 - 6 days off due to my diagnosed disability, which they knew about (Winter 2022 - Spring 2023).

Stage 2 - 5 days off due to an infection (Winter 2023)

Stage 3 - 4 days off due to a different diagnosed disability, again, which they knew about. I was hospitalised for two of these days. (Winter 2023-Spring 2024)

Only one of these absences was due to general illness, not a disability.

What are your disabilities and were you referred to occupational health? What were their recommendations?

@Punkrockprincess I’m not comfortable sharing that level of detail, but I suffer with mental health difficulties and I have a long history of breathing difficulties (was diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome at birth and I was diagnosed with chronic asthma at a year old).

Yes, I had an Occ Health appointment, they suggested a number of recommendations. My former employer put in place one of them as a temporary measure.

So what adjustments did OH recommend?

The OH recommended:

Mental Health risk assessment
Stress risk assessment
Time out to de-compress, when needed
Not to carry-out a specific task
Not to undertake certain tasks on my own

And what kind of job do you do op?

Have you retained a copy of the documentation yourself?

Presumably you were provided with a copy so could just include it in your evidence?