Unfair dismissal because of maternity leave. Please help !

[wduk2005]

Hi try to be as brief as poss.

Other half worked in care home as senior carer, her and other senior had disagreement with nurse, 2 other seniors agree with them being in the right however manager is taking nurses side and has given out lots of warning to everyone else written and verbal, My other half is pregnant and needed a break at the time of the arguement so went out for 5 minutes and rung one of the ladys who is in charge and she said have a 5 min break then go back and tell the nurse straight that she doesnt want to speak to her today and will speak tomorrow.

Today the manager took her into her office and demoted her from senior and every time she tried to defend herself the manager kept changing the subject. In the end she muttered under her breath for god's sake ......... and was going to carry on saying why wont you listen to my side. but was stopped at gods sake fired on the spot.

Can she do this legally, my other half has been treated badly since the day she said whe was having another baby almost as if they were trying to make her quit so they dont have to pay her maternity leave. And now this ive heard the story and it seems completely unfair how she has been treated and spoken to like a child but neither of us know anything about rights and law etc.

We'll probably try citizens advice but just wondered whether it'd be worth it

Thanks

[Twenty20]

Well.........employers do have to tread more carefully where pregnancy is involved, but is this really pregnancy related? The only part relevant to pregnancy seems to be that she took a 5 minute break, which may or may not be pregnancy related? Anyway, I'm not sure the 5 minute break is relevant here.

From what you say it seems that the employer feels that your other half was at least partly to blame for this argument at work. I'm not sure what the maternity issue has to do with this? It just seems to be muddying the water.

By the way, the Government reimburses companies for the maternity pay, so in effect it doesn't cost the company anything (apart from finding cover for her while she's off).

Leaving aside the maternity issue, it comes down to whether the correct procedure was followed for a disciplinary procedure. It's a 3 step process - letter, hearing and then appeal (if necessary). If the employer doesn't follow this procedure exactly then they leave themselves open to finacial penalties. Was this procedure followed?

[Dassie]

There must be an employee's manual available which lists grievances and dismissal terms. Ask her to obtain a copy and it should provide info on the categories for dismissal e.g. theft = instant , verbal abuse = written warning etc.
You need to check their own rules first but if she is telling you the full and correct story with nothing left out it does seem a bit heavyhanded.

[EverClean]

She can't be "fired on the spot." There is a set procedure to follow and if the manager had an issue that he/she felt needed dealing with in terms of discliplinary matters then suspension and a full hearing to consider the facts involved in the matter. After this the person dealing with the hearing (and this cannot be the manager who was spoken to) needs to consider the facts and make a decision.

After this your other half has the right to appeal the decision to the original decision-makers line manager.

If things have happened in exactly the weay you have outlined then take them to the cleaners.

Is this a major employer? If so try to deal with their human resources department directly and bypass the people your other half has already had an issue with. If not then try to deal with these people directly in a professional manner - taking all emotion and anger out of the dealings - to try to establish facts and the correct procedures.

Citizen's Advice will certainly help.

[wduk2005]

1st answer, not sure if it is pregnancy related its just her treatment has been bad since she told them, i agree she probably was partly to blame but also she was doing exactly what she has been told to do in a situation. her procedure was calling her into office, no letter, demoting her from senior to normal care assistant she than said for gods sake and thats when the manager started shouting thats it your fired on the spot (word for word)

2nd
we'll have to do that and check if they have any rules on it

3rd there was no procedure at all followed, we thought that she would have to write a letter but nothing like that happened, no not a big employer only 60 people.

Thanks to everyone for your answers