Passed probation period at work, but was fired for clash of characters?

I had passed my probation period without having any meeting with the Manager as defined in the contract to review my quality of work, therefore I thought I had become permanent.
To my surprise 2 weeks later Iwas called for a meeting with the HR Director and my boss to let me know that I was not going to continue with immediate effect due to a clash of characters with my boss (according to him and also for not having passed an invoice to the relevant department for it to be paid). The person who should have done it had just joined our department and was being trained by me, even though I had only been there 3 months myself. It happened that one of her tasks was the invoicing, but she wasn't doing as she was taught and reminded enough times.

This was in 2005 in the UK, what I want to know is whether I can still take this case to an industrial tribunal and claim compensation. If so, how do I go about it?

Many thanks

Cari

You were certainly dismissed unfairly. If your probation period comes to an end, you are assumed to have successfully completed it if you were not told otherwise. Once passed, except in the case of gross misconduct you cannot be fired without going through a formal disciplinary procedure. So, you could have been given a warning for not passing the invoice on or not training your colleague properly, but not fired on the spot. It's a bit slack of the company really because whilst on your probation, they could have easily got rid of you simply for a personality clash, so they should have got their fingers out and done it two weeks earlier!

You should contact ACAS (google them) who will advise you on how to take the company to an employment tribunal. However, I would check with them whether it's really worth you doing this. After only three months' employment, it's unlikely that you'd be awarded a large amount of compensation. An employment tribunal will never order the losing party to pay the other party's legal costs the way other courts would, so you could find yourself out-of-pocket even if you are in the right.

kapn

No.........most corporations/business have at will clause in the paper work somewhere......sorry....

Wendy H

Your emplyer had grounds to dismiss you, if there was a clash of personality . I have put a * next to relevant section.

As he had grounds to dismiss you there is no reason to take it to a tribunal but you would be out of time for this anyway , and I should point out a tribunal would only have got involved after you had gone through your employers grivence procedure.

Fair reasons for dismissal
Your employer must have a good reason for dismissing you, and has to show that the reason is genuine and justifies your dismissal. The potentially fair reasons for dismissing an employee are:
Your conduct
This usually means you've broken one or more of the terms of your employment, eg:

continually missing work
poor discipline
drug or alcohol abuse
theft or dishonesty
Your employer should follow a fair disciplinary procedure before dismissing your for misconduct.

Your capability
This means that you can't do your job properly (including because you don't have the right qualifications) or aren't performing to the required standard, eg because:

you haven't been able to keep up with technological changes to your job eg introduction of computerised systems
*you can't get along with your colleagues*
long-term or persistent illness makes it impossible for you to do your job
Your employer should make sure you're given adequate training to do your job. If you're performing poorly, you should usually be warned that your work isn't satisfactory and given a chance to improve before any action is taken.

If you are persistently off sick (or long-term sick), you employer should normally look at any alternatives before deciding to dismiss you. For example they might have to consider whether the job itself is making you sick and needs to be changed.

You should be aware that you can still be dismissed if you are off sick.

Your employer would normally be expected to allow a reasonable amount of time for you to recover from your illness. The actual amount will depend on things like:

how long it will take to recover
how certain it is that you will recover (with some illnesses, like broken bones, it is clear how long it will take but with something like stress it can be uncertain)
how easy it is to get cover
whether your job can be kept open
If you have a disability (which may include long-term illness), your employer has a legal duty to try to find a way round the problem by making 'reasonable adjustments' to how and/or where you work. Dismissal because of a disability may be unlawful discrimination.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: