What wages to expect when sacked?

Hello,

My Dad was recently sacked from his job of 15 years. He was sacked on the grounds of Gross Misconduct - which I don't believe is right. My Dad was asked to do something by his emploer which my Dad flet was unfair and it was not in his contract, and outside his normal duties. My dad refused and he was then suspended without pay and broght in the following day and sacked on the grounds of gross misconduct (surely this could not possiblty be seen as gross misconduct??.) My Dad asked that he have all of this is writing and the employer responded that it would be forwarded to him in due course. He never said what monies he was going to pay to him etc, and he still hasn't recieved anything in writing from him (6 days on). In this case would it seem like he should have given my Dad some notice or payment in lieu of notice?
This is a small family business and he already had one case of unfair constructive dismissal against him? Can anyone offer any opinions??

Is your father considering taking a case for unfair dismissal? If so these links might be of interest:

• DETE

If the issue is simply how much he is due then I presume that, at most, it's any outstanding wages, payment in lieu of holidays accrued and (perhaps?) payment in lieu of notice? Since this is not a redundancy situation there is no statutory or contractual redundancy entitlement.

I am sorry to hear about your fathers situation. I myself am in a similiar situation. I would get advice from your local citizen information centre they can send you out details on how to start your unfair dismissal case.

I myself have hired a solicitor to act on my behalf the thing is it will cost you around 2000 euros and you can not get this back if you win your case.
The maximum your father can get is 2 years of salary. It can take 10 months before it goes to the employment tribunal.

The length of notice someone is entitled to when they leave or are sacked from their job, generally depends on your contract of employment. In the absense of anything in the contract of employment, the amount of notice set down by law is one week.

An employer may dismiss you without notice for serious misconduct, although you can contest whether the employer was justified in such action.

Your father may now consider taking a case of unfair dismissal to the Employment Appeals Tribunal, provided he is not among those people excluded from doing so. As Clubman mentions, there is a good document on the Oasis site about unfair dismissal - a good general overview of unfair dismissals procedures, how to take a case and information on how employers must be able to demonstrate that dismissal is justified.

You will generally require one year's continuous service to bring a claim under the legislation, although there are specific exceptions to this. The claim must be made within 6 months of the dismissal, although this can be extended in exceptional circumstances to 12 months.

As regards salary matters, I presume your father should receive all pay for work done and pay for untaken holidays up to the date his employment was terminated.

Your question is an interesting one, given your father has been employed by this firm for 15 years. Had he ever experienced difficulties before?

No, he has never had difficulties before, however his job is very physical and he is heading for 60, and has started to make life tough for him. He feels that he was trying to push him out to get a younger person for a lesser wage, and started bullying him in a sense

Although there is a lack of detail, it does not sound like this man committed a sackable offence. I would strongly urge that he look into submitting a claim for unfair dismissal asap. If he thinks that there was discrimination on the grounds of age,he should also contact the Equality Authority. If the cost of a solicitor is prohibitive, consider asking a union official for assistance.