Walking out of job

H

hardassfunk

Guest
I walked out of my job on Thursday after an incident with someone that i've made a written complaint of bullying against,basically this occassion i've seen him do something he shouldnt have and his sister stuck her nose in saying he didnt,she was nowhere near the area! she ended up saying to me dont tell me to f*** off! I didnt say that to her and I have a supervisor witness this,i asked for an apology she just put her head down,the supervisor then asked her to apologize and she still wouldnt so I walked out.I've since handed in a SSC stating the reason for sickness as work related stress.Ive been working for the company for over 16 years.If they sack me where do I stand?

Regards -----
 
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Hi there,

I have experienced almost the same thing. If they fire you, then you have them for unfair dismissal. However, if you leave the job due to constructive dismissal, you also can have them in court for that too.

My advice to you is maybe ring up the HR in the company & request a meeting. Get your witness to join you in this meeting or ask same witness to give a written statement. I think this should be your first move anyway.

Also, seek if you are able to get sick pay from the company.
 
Does the company have a grievance procedure? If they do, and if you have walked out without engaging in it, then you may have a hard job convincing a court that you have been unfairly dismissed.

Walking out could be considered as gross misconduct. Or alternatively it could be considered as you have terminated the employment yourself by walking out.
 
From a social welfare point of view, if you have a medical cert to say that you are unfit for work, then you should be able to claim Illness Benefit.

If you are fit for work, but have left your job voluntarily, then you MAY be disqualified from receiving a Jobseekers payment for a maximum of 9 weeks. This will depend on whether the deciding officer considers that you left unreasonably. Again, failure to engage in any grievance procedure would be a factor that they would consider.
 
Thanks for your replies! i've since had two meetings the second on friday to discover the outcome.I was told i had two option
A) they would sack me
B) I could keep my job and as a "punishment" I would have to earn a reduced rate of pay for 6 months

I was struggling before the "pay cut" and having a young child I cant afford to earn less money! so for now im signed off work and on company sick pay that lasts 8 weeks,this should give me enough time to find a new job
 
Don't forget to collect your social welfare also.

They have put you in an impossible position. Either way you are screwed. I would be tempted to take them to the EAT for constructive dismissal.
 
What would i actually gain from trying for constructive dismissal?
 
hardassfunk said:
Thanks for your replies! i've since had two meetings the second on friday to discover the outcome.I was told i had two option
A) they would sack me
B) I could keep my job and as a "punishment" I would have to earn a reduced rate of pay for 6 months

I was struggling before the "pay cut" and having a young child I cant afford to earn less money! so for now im signed off work and on company sick pay that lasts 8 weeks,this should give me enough time to find a new job
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Hi There

I am sorry to hear about your situation, I would be interested to hear what size company you work for. As you walked out and made no contact with your company they would have considered you 'gone awol'. HOwever if you have not formally handed in writing a resignation you have not technically left the company. I am confused by the options they offered you. They would be able to sack you for gross misconduct for unauthorise absence, however you would be required to attend a disciplinary hearing with notice and the right to representation prior to them doing this. I presume the company has provided you with a contract and also has a disciplinary and grievance and dignity at work policy, if they have not proivdided you with the above this would not be favoured by the court even if you are in the wrong.Have you made the compnay aware of the situation you witnessed, as from their point of view unless they have all the details they can only view your situation on what they know. Why have they offered you your job in a reduced rate of pay did they offer any reasoning behin this
 
hardassfunk said:
I walked out of my job on Thursday after an incident with someone that i've made a written complaint of bullying against,basically this occassion i've seen him do something he shouldnt have and his sister stuck her nose in saying he didnt,she was nowhere near the area! she ended up saying to me dont tell me to f*** off! I didnt say that to her and I have a supervisor witness this,i asked for an apology she just put her head down,the supervisor then asked her to apologize and she still wouldnt so I walked out.I've since handed in a SSC stating the reason for sickness as work related stress.Ive been working for the company for over 16 years.If they sack me where do I stand?

Regards Gary
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Hi Gary, Can you please clarify if you have walked out on job and confirmed this or if you are currently on sick leave, apologies for cofusion; Thanks
 
I had 2 Disciplinary meetings last week the second to be told the outcome.I said I would stay on and earn the reduce rate as I have no other options at the moment.I am currently signed off work with stress.The company is a local one but they supply national supermarkets.
 
Thanks Gary when the company gave you the outcome of the hearing did they give you the right to appeal also before the hearing how much notice were you provided with in advance of the meting and were you give the right to representation. When they offered you a reduced rate of pay was this as a demotion of position?
 
Yes they gave me the right to appeal,recieved the signed letter with the date of the meeting the day before!! was also told i could have a representive but had no one with me.The lower rate of pay was offered as "punishment" and was told it would change after 6 months possibly earlier and I would still be doing the same job working with the same people! I've been back to my Drs and hes signed me off for a month and said come back if i need more time off
 
. . The reason I walked out was just the final straw that broke the Camels back! other incidents have occoured to such as we work mon-Fri We were told we would have to come in on a sund as an extra day due to shortage of product.I explained that I had to have my son that weekend (one year old and he lives 60 miles away) obviously i didnt turn up for work as i had explained why to my supervisor! I recieved a written warning for that when other people who literally told the supervisor to **** OFF had no action taken against them! i mentioned this in the Disciplinary meeting and the manager said they couldnt bring up individual cases as all cases are differant!Another occasion a large amount of products that i made were ruined due to no fault of mine (outside contracter drilled in blast freezer contaminating product) the supervisor came out the freezer grabbed me by the throat and pushed me.Im sure you can understand now why i walked out? :/
 
Gary it seems very strange what they have offered you as normally the outcome of a disciplinary hearing is to place you on a verbal or written warning which would remain on your employee file. Or they would dismiss you. A company may offer to demote you if they felt the need (eg from a manager to assistant) However I would believe this should be included both in your contract and in the companies handbook or disciplinary policy. Normally a hearing would allow you 24 hours notice in advance of the hearing, I know these things may sounds small but they build the grounds for appeal should you wish to do this. I would encourage you to appeal this decision if you still have the allowed time to do so. I would also ask the company for a copy of their grievance and dignity at work policy. You can request this in writing from them, you have grounds to do this based on what you have stated below, whereby you were treated differently to others in the incident where you did not show up for work and were give a warning but when they did not show up no action was taken, this can be seen as discrimination against you, decisions made in a company must always be fair and reflect that the company treats everyone the same. Again all cases are different and confidential but the decision on why you were treated in this way needs to be communicated to you in writing. I am very concerned about the processes and procedures your company seems to follow and based on the information you have provided without knowing the other side of the story(company) I can only say it appears you seem to being treated unfairly by the management f this company, while you would be deemed to be in the wrong on the fact you went awol in work and have not shown up, the problem seems to be with the companies processes and how they are adhering to these, these small technicalities can be grounds for having a hearing decision reversed. I would advise you to document all the communication you have received from the company keep a detailed diary of events, request a copy of the grievance and dignity at work policy. I would be strongly advising you to appeal the outcome of the hearing; you cannot be refused your right to appeal within the timeframes. As you are currently on stress leave I would be advising on documenting this from your GP and sending a letter to reflect the same to your company.
 
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I think you need professional representation for an appeal. You are too involved and too emotional. e.g.
1. The company don't care if you have a child that you only get to see at weekends. That's your problem, not theirs.
2. You're engaging in "he-said,she-said" which is not constructive.
3. Clearly your relationship with the relevant supervisor has broken down to the point where he physically assaulted you.

Ask for an appeal, ask to have representation, say that you didn't fully understand what was happening. Get a union rep or someone to represent you - not necessarily a solicitor.
You may have to apologise for walking off the job, and not working the Sunday. But these are not disciplinary offences, especially if other people also refuse to work the Sunday but have escaped disciplinary sanctions.
You have leverage in that you were physically assaulted by your supervisor at work. Not only is this a criminal offence should you choose to report it to Gardai, the company is obliged to provide you with a safe and secure working environment. If you leave your job due to physical violence or a reasonable fear that you will be assaulted, you have an excellent case for constructive dismissal.
But beware that constructive dismissal can be hard to prove and the onus is on you to prove it.

However if the company fire you, you have a good case for unfair dismissal, as you have an open complaint (against the same supervisor?), were assaulted, were subject to an apparently unfair disciplinary process, and have been certified as having work-related stress.
 
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