is this actually true?!?!

moretothegirl

not sure if this is the right place but basically ive been battling with lawyers etc for months now and finally have been granted that i was dismissed unfairly and advised to be given a certain amount of money.

my problem is that my solicitor has just told me that i cant get both my unfair dissmisal and my redundancy money (which makes no sense to me at all). im very angry as my redundancy is worth more than the some of money advised from the unfair dissmissal.

i feel as though all the money ive been putting into this case with lawyers etc and the last 10 months have just been a complete waste.
can anyone tell me is this true, and if so can anyone explain to me why its this way?

Joe1919

moretothegirl wrote: »

not sure if this is the right place but basically ive been battling with lawyers etc for months now and finally have been granted that i was dismissed unfairly and advised to be given a certain amount of money.

my problem is that my solicitor has just told me that i cant get both my unfair dissmisal and my redundancy money (which makes no sense to me at all). im very angry as my redundancy is worth more than the some of money advised from the unfair dissmissal.

i feel as though all the money ive been putting into this case with lawyers etc and the last 10 months have just been a complete waste.
can anyone tell me is this true, and if so can anyone explain to me why its this way?

A person is made redundant because there is no longer any viable work for that person to do.
A person is dismissed because they are unsuitable/unsatisfactory/unable to do the job.
Redundancy has to do with the work, dismissal has to do with the worker. You are either dismissed OR made redundant, it either one or the other.

Its normal to take a case under both the redundancy act and the unfair dismissals act so that your employer wont get off on say 'unfair dismissal' by claiming 'redundancy' (or visa versa). Your employer will have to nail his colours to the mast and say he either dismissed you or made you redundant.

Its unfortunate that people are not in trade unions because some trade union representivates are much better than lawyers with employment law and it can be a waste of time and money employing solicitors in many cases as the payouts are quite low.

dats_right

Joe1919 wrote: »

Its unfortunate that people are not in trade unions because some trade union representivates are much better than lawyers with employment law and it can be a waste of time and money employing solicitors in many cases as the payouts are quite low.

In many cases it may not be economically viable to instruct a solicitor and in which case a Trade Union is adequate, however, I think for the most part a skilled and experienced employment lawyer are much better and effective than trade union reps.

In my experience dealing with trade unions they often miss crucial deadlines to the detriment of their members, in one such recent case in which I was involved where the union rep allowed their members become statute barred on a payment of wages action. Even though the Union had been aware of the potential claim months before the deadline passed, the union rep took their eyes of the ball and missed the crucial deadline for a Payment of Wages Act claim, the Union then tried instead to utilise the Labour Court under the Industrial Relations Acts, but the thing is that the Labour Court Recommendation is not binding on the parties, it is just that a recommendation, whereas if they had been on the ball they could possibly have obtained a legally binding decision under the Payment of Wages Act. So they rattled everybodies cage and made a song and dance but at the end of the day, the employer could legally ignore the Labour Court Recommendation because the union messed up. If a solcitor had missed such a date the client would have a claim in negligence against the solicitor.

The other thing that I find when dealing with unions is that they aren't very practical and far more interested in having a row and arguing about issues then engaging constructively to try settle matters. I find it is quite often more about the trade union reps ego and extracting a pound of flesh from the employer rather than what it is actually about, viz. representing and protecting the claimants/their members best interests and getting their member a good compensation package as soon as possible. Energy is wasted on writing inflamatory and petulent letters rather than just sitting down and trying to resolve things. It can sometimes therefore be that the trade union rep is actually obstructing things rather than helping.

In my experience, if both sides are represented by a solicitor it is far more likely that a mutually agreeable settlement be entered at an earlier stage and thus the claimant gets his/her money a lot quicker. And at the end of the day compensation is what it is all about for the claimant.

alrilad

Hi all,

I need some advice. I own a company that employee around 40 staff. I treat all my staff well, they get paid well time off when required and I am never hard on them. All I ask in return is that they carry out their duties to the best of their ability. Recently we were awarded a new contract and we hired 12 new staff all of which were given contracts which stated they were on a 6 month probation period. Three of the staff members I had to let go as they were not able to carry out the tasks they were given even after numerous warnings. My problem is that in the area we have this contract there are other contractors. One man in particular is a union member and he takes it upon himself to talk to my staff and tell them what they should and shouldn’t do. I have barred my staff from talking to him while in work at least but shortly after I let the 3 staff g he contacted them and told them to go to the labour court. He then approached me today and tried to tell me my business. I’m a fair man and my staff like working for me and if I didn’t hit him today I never will. I told him to f off and mind his own business and that I would mind mine. How can I get him to just leave me and my staff alone?????? Please Help

Dante09

No legal advice on this forum. Please read the forum charter. Contact a solicitor.
(no need to thank me Tom!:D:rolleyes:)

alrilad

I really am losing all faith in this country