Letter of appeal for dismissal

[aandme]

My employer has just dismissed me for gross misconduct - I have not done what they are accusing me of . It all started when I went to see HR about my new boss who was making my life hell so I believe its all driven by her.
I have a no-win no-fee solicitor in place for if they do not uphold appeal but in the meantime really want to ensure my appeal is correct and cannot afford advice on it.
Any advice on the letter would be very welcome.
Thanks

Hi aandme I dont have any legal advice, but if you have not done what they have said then you should sue them! Some people let too much power go to their heads and think they can do what they like. You should stand up for yourself as this will go on your record if not and your unlikly to get another job if it is bad! They also need some proof or witness to what you are supposed to have done and if they havnt got any then it wount look very good! And they will have to show that they followed policy for this i.e a warning and disaplinary meeting etc......

you need to speak to a union if you are in one, or ACAS if not.

also, if you are being accused of gross misconduct as defined in your company handbook/contract etc then you can be summarily dismissed withouth warning/notice.

or speak to CAB , they should be able to point you in the right direction for correct legal advice

if you have absolutel not done what you have been accused of and have a good chance of proving so, then take it further

" They also need some proof or witness to what you are supposed to have done and if they havnt got any then it wount look very good!"
Unfortunately, no they don't. As long as they have followed the process and investigated fairly.
OP, hope you can get this sorted - personally I would get legal advice as soon as possible,

How much service do you have with your employer OP?

On the appeal letter, just set out as clearly as you can (numbered paragraphs sometimes help) what they have alleged happened, what you say actually happened and any problems with the initial hearing (e.g. not being given enough time to prepare).

If you believe that the dismissal is motivated by a falling out with your boss, put that in the letter too. Did she make the decision to dismiss you? If not, why do you believe she influenced the person who did -put that in the letter.

The aim is to make the appeal chairperson understand your side of the story and why you are concerned.

when you appeal you'll need to bring new evidence in favour of your case, which you haven't mentioned before. Some examples would be in the general areas of: not having been given enough support from line management in the area concerned (have you had adequate supervisions to discuss any concerns you had? Have you raised any concerns surrounding this issue which were not answered adequately? Even better, did you send line management any e-mails asking for support which went unanswered? If so you are entitled to access your e-mail account to get your evidence); not having received adequate training in the relevant area; not having policies and procedures made clear to you or that they are inaccessible - perhaps the companies policies and procedures are inadequate.

It would also be a good idea to read through your companies Discipinary Policy and Procedure to see if you can find any areas where they did not follow the procedure adequately in investigating or dismissing you.

I'd also look through the evidence they found to dismiss you and look at how reliable this is, if it is one persons word against another then it might be worth including in your appeal how unreliable this is, and any reasons this person may have had for fabricating their story.

Let us know how it goes and good luck

Ginni it's gross misconduct, not capability

Yes I am well aware of that. I have known a number of employees have their dismissal overturned on appeal, the latest was for the very reason that she could evidence she had had inadequate support from her line manager which she said led to the incident of gross misconduct occuring.

I see what you mean, sorry. However " I have not done what they are accusing me of " makes it sound like a one off incident rather than something that has built up over time, requiring support or training. I'm probably wrong

the incident I referred to above was also a one off incident whereby harm came to a vulnerable adult who was in the care of the employee at the time. The employee had raised concerns about this service uers to their line manager and support had not been forthcoming.

Yes, I see what you mean.

I was just giving some general areas which aandme could look at in her appeal as it's difficult to give advice without knowing the details.

Generally, it's useful to take it in headings, rather than a long letter.

For instance, you would have been dismissed on specific grounds. Whatever they wrote, gross misconduct, they probably gave reasons.

So, I would do:

Write letter to H/R or whoever is listed as the person to address appeals to.

Re: Gross Misconduct

quote what they accused you of. And then explain why this either didn't happen or why there is a misunderstanding.

If there are several inacurracies, deal with them one at a time, and use headings.

You may also wish to do a timeline of events - incidents with your boss and then you went to H/R

Ginni,

I agree with you that it is good to raise new points. However, since the statutory dismissal rules came into effect in 04, it is also clear that an employee has the right to appeal simply on the grounds that they disagree with the decision (i.e. ask for a second opinion on exactly the same stuff they said at the disciplinary hearing). I totally agree that new evidence is more likely to get a result though, if that's what you meant.

Hi all, thanks for the advice. I really can't afford any legal advice now. I did CAB - referred me to the no-win no-fee who will not do anything until appeal held.

Called ACAS - not hugely helpful I am afraid. They referred me to Community legal - phoned them and they said I earnt too much last month to qualify... er hello.. I am now earning nothing and a single parent!!!!

I do not want to put what been accused of on here as I believe some staff members may use mumsnet.

I have already submitted around 25 pages of statements through the disciplinary process.

I have little doubts I would win an unfair dismissal case as it is really quite shocking what has happened.

Thanks again for your replies

Good advice here, but I would like to emphasise that anything you can say that was inappropriate or wrong in the procedure they followed is really important. It's much easier to appeal and to bring a case to tribunal if you need to on the basis that a proper procedure was not followed than you disagree with the decision - not following the procedure is obviously much easier to prove and understand.

Do you think they genuinely believe you did this? Or is it purely about wanting to get rid of you?

Have you been there more than a year? If not, unless you feel there has been some kind of discrimination, you don't have much of a leg to stand on.

Hi - without doubts they do not believe I di dthis - they were just trying to get rid of me.

I have support from colleagues and they have been telling me whats going on - I was suspended for two months. Boss going round trying to dig the dirt on me... thankfully I have been a good girl and they have therefore coming up with the most ridiculous things to add onto original of which there is no evidence and no reasonable person would beleive.

Been there over a year - exemplary record.

Have done letter now and am quite pleased with it. First part is on disagreeing with them, second is where they have not followed procedure (albeit somewhat minor).