Are there any employment lawyers that could give me advice, DH is talking about claiming unfair dismissal, not sure what to do?

[MillyMoop]

Dh was made redundant today but his employers haven't followed any of the basic procedures and those they have they have made a hash of.

Dh thinks he could have a good case for unfair dismissal and asked me if I think we should get a lawyer. I know not much about the law but am worried about spending out like this when we have 4 LO's 4 and under and now no money coming in...

any advice welcome?

Check your household insurance. You may be covered. Has he appealed against his dismissal yet? He'll need to do this.

What does he do? Is he a member of a union? Obviously if he is, they're the first port of call - mine gave me the help I needed to claim redundancy pay.

I found a lot of useful info on the web as well which will give you a good starting point to see if you have a case. Look for the govt. websites which highlight the laws regarding employment. Make a note, including dates and times and names of any meetings/conversations which are relevant; keep any emails, etc.

acas

If it's a case of not following the basic procedure that's fairly straightforward and easy to prove. In theory you don't need a lawyer as the tribunal system is supposed to be accessible to all, and you can claim online now.

However, I would always recommend you talk to one.

One of the procedural requirements they may or may not have followed is letting your DH know that he can appeal, and how to do it. He must do this first as llareggub says.

Lots of lawyers will give you a free initial consultation and agree definitely check your insurance.

here

Has he been there longer than a year Milly?

Don't know where you live but there are some places that offer free advice on these issues. The only one I know of (and which a friend says was great) is the Mary Ward Centre in London.

www.marywardlegal.org.uk

Yes he has been there 3 and a half years and what basically happened is this:

He had one meeting only was not told he could have a witness, his boss never had a witness, no notes were taken, was not told about appeals procedure, no other possible positions were discussed even though there is a vacancy at the moment which he is qualified for.

He was given a redundancy offer which was half of the amount that he was previously offered (6 months ago when there was the last lot of redundancies, which he survived) When he challenged this he was told the previous offer was a mistake so never mind, he further challenged it with the original paperwork from that original consultation and they then backed down and agreed to give him the full amount.

I think that's everything.

How does he appeal his dismissal? Just he just write to the HR department?

Unfortunately not in a union so not help there?

How much was offered previously in terms of redundancy pay is irrelevant, as long as they have given him the basic minimum, although it's good they have upped it.

Have a look here about what they're supposed to do, but yes he is entitled to be accompanied by either a union rep or a colleague (but no reason for boss to have a separate witness), must be told about other vacancies and offered them if suitable, and must be given right to appeal.

To appeal it he should write to his boss and copy HR, saying he is appealing his dismissal on the grounds that they did not follow statutory procedure and give details of the problems.

Thank you all for the advice will tell him now