If you dismissed her for Gross Misconduct (sounds like you did) then no this is without notice.

If you dismissed her proceedurally at end of process (or probation) then yes you do need to pay notice.

Probably - unless he agrees to shorten his notice period.

But as this is a VR situation (not clear if you were going through a redundancy exercise anyway) to a certain extent you could negotiate a total figure for severance (bith redundancy and notice) and get it tied up in a compromise agreement. This way you could ofset some of teh 8 weeks aganst some of the redundancy

James

Yes you have grounds for an appeal which you should have (based on what you have told us) every chance of winning.

Your employer may well have been entitled to dismiss you on capability grounds (as due to your absence you are incapable of performing your duties). However to do this they must follow a fair and transparent process. At the very least you should be allowed to state your case at a hearing. If the first you knew of the process was your dismissal then they have acted unfairly.

Your case will be weakened if there is other information missing. Such as warnings on file, letters saying you have to attend a meeting at X date etc etc. However unless you were aware there was a meeting on Y date to consider your future then its likely to be an unfair dismissal. You wont have helped yoursef by not attending the Occ Health meeting but this is not fatal.

throw in an appeal, then if unsuccessful go to an ET.

Keith

The problem with the previous post is that the individual is not sick. I go with the first answer to follow the advice of the NHS and to monitor the condition of the individual and if they show any symptoms get them to a health professional. Mexico is apparently over the worst of the flu now and it is prevalent in around 30 countries worldwide - are you going to ban all individuals who travel to the states? Or Glasgow?

If you ask them to stay at home you may well be breaching their contract (doubt they would object however) but you would have to pay themm both basic and any other remuneration they could have expected to earn in that time.

This is a serious threat that will peak sometime in the autumn so it is well worth considering how you are going to cope in advanced with any potential loss os staff.

There is nothing that legally require an employer to pay sick pay over and above SSP even if the illness or injury was caused by work or caught while at work. Its all down to what is in the contract. There is an argument that a small claims court might find against them if you can show they were negligent but with an infection it would be a hard one to show I think.

As to if it is right or not? Hard to say really - it does seem harsh but then so in my book is only paying SSP. If that's the type of firm they are i doubt that your grievance will get very far and its a question of if you want to rock the boat?

Sorry the question is just too broad and vague to be able to give any sensible answer?

Is this an exam question by any chance?

What do you mean by multi-tasking? In what context? How far do you envisage using it? etc etc etc

Hi
This isnt that complicated to be honest so I think that using generic advice would be entirely possible - maybe the ACAS guide on redundanbcy. Basically you are closing the office so its a reasonably straight forward redundancy situation, you will need to discuss the situation with the 5, but due to the numbers there are no overwhelming consultation requiremnets. Look for ways to avoid redundancies (doubt there are many), and invite them to a couple of meetings to discuss. Pay statutory redundancy (calculator on BERR website) and notice pay (unless contractual redundancy is higher)

You could get a reasonably competent local HR consultant to do it and would prob only take a couple of days to wrap it all up safely and legally if you didnt fancy trawling the net etc.

Keith

Agree with Duncan

Has anyone ever been asked at the recruitment stage how long the probation period is? Come on hands up?

With a 3 month probation period - much of first month is settling down in many jobs...leaving only 6-8 weeks to decide if they are a solid performer.

Personally I think that you ought to look at incorporating into your contracts different/shorter disciplinary and dismissal processes for all employees with less than 12 months service. Adding this to a 6 months probation period that is well managed (ie regular and proper reviews) ought to see you identifying poor performers well before 12 months.

Also as I think I commented on another post probation periods have no standing in law - but they are a useful marker to employees

If he has passed his probationary period in line with your T&Cs and contract then you will have to pay him two months notice. Otherwise you are in breach of contract which he does notrequire one years service to enforce.

How on earth did he pass probation if there are these serious concerns over him that warrant getting rid?

You have the "option" of dismissing him for Gross Misconduct if you can prove the expenses breach was deliberate and sufficiently serious to warrant GM.

Probationary periods are questionable in their use (have no legal standing) and many people are moving towards having different notice periods and disciplinary policies for entire first year of employment.

But is it going away any other way?

You have a process and its probably best to follow it. You have carried out an investigation and on face of it there is a charge to be addressed. You should now convene a disciplinary hearing

At the hearing an indpendent manager will listen to both sides of the arguement and reach a judgement based on her reasonable believe as to what happened. Thats what the disciplinary process is for.

If she finds the allegations proven then sanction up to or posisbly dismissal will apply. If not then you as service provider need to find a way to resolve the situation which might include mediation or moving the employee to another site for a fresh start.