Invited to a grievance hearing but they will only pay my travel expenses

[LazyJourno]

I'm in the middle of quite a messy work situation and I've finally been given a date for my grievance to be heard.

I am on maternity leave and now in the unpaid for part of it. I have asked what the arrangements for paying me will be as this will be half a day for the hearing. They say travel expenses only.

I have had no keeping in touch days arranged and I would have thought they could use some of that for the grievance hearing?

Everyone else at the meeting will be paid and it makes my blood boil to think that I will have to give up my time for free to have them hear my grievance that they have caused!

Are they allowed to get away with expecting me to work for free?

If getting paid is more important than resolving the grievance can't you pospone the hearing until your return to work?

The grievance hearing won't resolve the issues unfortunately. I've had my role made redundant whilst on maternity leave without consultation.

I object to having to pay for childcare etc and not be paid. I don't ask my staff to work for free so how dare they.

I am mad furious.

Er, sorry, but you don't have the right to be paid for attending the grievance IMO.

KIT days are, as you rightly said, paid. However, a keeping in touch day is a day where you attend work for training, or to work, or whatever and is by agreement between employer and employee. I don't think that you have the right to have attending a grievance treated as a KIT day.

Life's shitty sometimes.

If they had followed their own redeployment process I would have been invited in for KIT days and briefed with the rest of the team regarding the closure of my office and I would not be needing to go to a grievance hearing in the first place.

A hearing which should have happened in December. I am tempted to say "too late". You missed the deadlines I'm going to tribunal.

I think I'll end up at ET any way.

But thanks for replying

What Ribena said.

If you are incurring childcare expenses specifically to attend your grievance hearing, I would probably advise your employer that they should consider reimbursing you those as well as your travel expenses. But there's no legal obligation for them to do so.

I've calmed down a bit now and finally managed to get hold of the lawyer dealing with my case. He is delighted because apparently it makes my case stronger.

I appreciate that he has info I haven't shared but thank you Red and Ribena for replying. It was gooood to vent.

Thanks flowery too.

No worries.

I was in a bit of a hurry when I posted, and I think Flowery's point about directly incurred childcare is important.

Also bear in mind that, if you got to tribunal, you would include the missed KIT day earnings and the childcare in your statement of loss.

ps. I assume you aren't really lazy, otherwise I think I know why you were picked for redundancy

Ha ha no I'm not a journo either.

They've closed my office and combined with one literally next door. Except they forgot to tell me... because I am on maternity leave.

I read about what was happening to my office in a Sunday Newspaper nearly 4 weeks after I put my first grievance in for not being told what was happening (which is what they're hearing on Wed) and my second grievance went to the HR Director and should be heard by this Wednesday and hasn't been acknowledged yet... So I'm not exactly confident in the process

I know they pay other colleagues for attending grievance hearings who are not on mat leave. I've emailed them back and asked them to reconsider. They can only say no which with the rest will just make them look worse.

I've got my DH to take the day off to look after my baby now and he's taken annual leave. Just can't afford to be spending money we won't have if I don't go back to work.

Just felt a bit raw earlier like they were just rubbing more salt in the wound

They've agreed to do it as a keeping in touch half day

This may be because I asked what arrangements they make for staff not on maternity leave to make the time up. Were they expected to take annual leave/have pay docked?

Now it seems it was never a problem to do it as a KIT day Not like I didn't ask it to be a KIT half day last week...