Dreadful work situation

[lizi]

Hi all:

in brief I got pregnant 3-4 weeks after I started here and the boss's reaction wasn't even close to good ("this is a f**king disaster" then threw me out of his office because he was too angry to talk to me)

I hadn't (and haven't) had a contract but I saw one that I was emailed by accident that he's putting together for me in which they've put that if I'm off for three consecutive months FOR ANY REASON they can terminate my employment.

I was also hired as a trainee to learn and then fill a position for someone who'd been promoted up and they've now told me that they're going to hire someone in above me when I take my leave to whom I'd have to report when I get back - ie filling the position I've been hired to train for, making my training and the studying I'm doing (2 hours a day outside of the 10/11 hours a day I've been working) completely pointless.

They've also gone from talking about me moving into higher management to taking almost all the tasks I was responsible for off me and pulling me up on tiny things or mistakes that aren't mine but that are being blamed on me.

I feel sick every day when I'm here and I'm horrible in the evenings because I know I have to go to bed then get up and come back here the next day and now I'm starting to make stupid mistakes because I can't concentrate on what I'm doing and I'm so nervous and stressed.

I've kept a record of things that have been said and things I've been blamed for and how those things were resolved (And not my fault in the first place) but I just hate coming in here and it's making me feel unwell and I don't know what to do. I can't leave because we can't afford the rent without my salary and we can't move because we've only just tied into a contract on the place we've taken.

 

[nazmomi]

AH Im sorry your having such an awful time. Your boss sounds awful.

I assume your not a member of a union or anything. Could you get in touch with acas or something?? they would have a good idea as to where you stand with contract etc..

Hope things get better for you you dont need this right now

 

[lizi]

Thanks. I'm not in any union but I've also not signed a contract so really I don't think I have a leg to stand on! I'm just so stressed and that's not good for me or my OH and certainly not for baby

 

[nazmomi]

you do have some rights even without a writen contract, I'm just not entirely sure what they are!!
SEriously I would get in touch they may be able to help you . They have some info on their web site that may be worth a look

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1577

 

[lizi]

Thank you x

 

[nori]

That sounds awful and really not what you need being pregnant! I would contact the Citizens Advice bureau to see what your rights are. I know you dont want to leave but do you really want to work for a company like that. Is it just one person or is it the whole management team that are being nasty? Maybe worth looking about to see if theres something which you can do just to pay the bills?

Good luck, i dont envy you one bit!

Claire x

 

[Urchin]

I agree talk to ACAS asap, you'r boss can NOT do that he can get in big trouble.

 

[drea b]

It is there responsibility to give you a contract to sign - so that fact that they haven't up until now will not be good for them!!! try speaking to CAB or the likes asap

 

[tuck]

Your employer has to give you written terms of employment within 2 months of starting a job

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ ... G_10027905

He CANNOT dismiss you for taking maternity leave of more than 6 months, although you probably wont qualify for SMP through this employer, but your maternity pay will depend what the company pays. if you have a personnel officer I would speak to them or ask another employee if they have any employee handbooks/conditions of service you can look at.

The way your employer is carrying on you already have a case of discrimination against them.

I would also advise you contact ACAS.

 

[reallyoldmum]

I have to agree with everything Tuck has said - they have a legal obligation to issue you with particulars of employment (basically a contract) if they don't then they are in trouble and you would have implied terms anyway which would be the same as the rest of the company!

Absence during pregnancy and maternity leave cannot be counted for disciplinary matters so I would suggest by writing that in a contract it could only apply if it was not maternity connected and again unless this is a company wide policy then in my opinion they are leaving themselves open to a discrimination claim.... There is no time limit on working for a company to make a claim under discrimination laws (usually its 12 months service) and also no ceiling to the payout that can be awarded!!

If you are feeling compromised due to the fact you are pregnant I would make a diary and note everything that happens then speak to ACAS. I would also document how you feel an approach the HR department directly - it maybe that they are unaware of what this manager is doing!!

Hope you get it sorted - there are very strict rules to stop this happening to people.

Jane x

 

[lizi]

There is no personnel dept. it's a small company and the director deals with all the HR and personnel stuff - and it's him that's doing all this. I can't go to anyone else because at the end of the day this is Daddy's company and he can do no wrong.

I know there are all kinds of other ways I can earn money but who's going to hire someone who's already 3 months pregnant?

If I leave (which I do very much want to do because I feel ill all the time and I'm not sleeping properly or handling this well at all) I have no idea whether I'd qualify for any kind of benefit and I hate the idea of doing that when I've never fallen back on that before.

 

[Urchin]

Don't leave !! No way!!

Ring Acas, they will tell you your legal rights and will tell your employer too.

I would perhaps write a letter to your employer outlining what you are concerned about and reminding him of your legal rights. You can find a lot of info online, print some stuff off and give it to him.

 

[lizi]

I know I shouldn't want to leave but I hate this so much - I know I'm good at my job and I know I work hard, but I'm constantly looking over my shoulder wondering what's going to 'go wrong' next and who'll point the finger at me. I just feel ill all the time and so completely exhausted.

Do you know what hours ACAS are open? I can't call at all during working hours

 

[Urchin]

Monday - Friday 080 - 180 - 08457 47 47 47

Were you working before you had this job?
If so you should be entitled to Maternity Allowance, it's worked out using 13 weeks of your choice out of the 66 weeks (15 months) before your due date

Maternity Allowance
What is it?

Maternity Allowance may be available to help you take time off to have your baby. You must not be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay from any employer. You must also have been a registered self-employed person or have been employed in at least 26 weeks out of the 66 week period running into the week before the week your baby is due.

You should claim as soon as you can after you have been pregnant for 26 weeks. If you delay, you may lose benefit. There are a number of conditions that you need to meet in order to claim maternity benefit.

What are the benefit rates?

Standard rate: £117.18 or 90% of your average gross weekly earnings if this is less than £117.18.

This is the same as you would get from your employer.
Maybe someone should point out to him that he doesn't actually have to pay you for the 9 months you are off, well....he pays it but then claims it back of the government anyway, so he won't be out of pocket.


ALso read this:

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/rights/ive_ ... gnant_what

That law is well and truly on your side don't give up before you know your rights.

 

[nazmomi]

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1565

opening times and number on link, could you maybe call on your lunch break??

they will be able to help you hun, hang on in there

 

[lizi]

Thanks all.

I was out of work for a few months before I took this job and only temping before that - my last full time employment finished last december. He seems to have taken it as a personal insult that I got pregnant so soon after starting here but it wasn't planned.

I was also under the impression that I qualified (though only just) for SMP - do I definitely not?

 

[kalia]

Yes you do qualify for SMP if you keep working there until you are 26 weeks pregnant. If you leave now you are not entitled to SMP.

What Urchin is saying is that although you get SMP from your employer, they then claim that money back from the government. Or if you decide to leave, as long as you have worked (and have the payslips to show it) for at least 13 weeks in the 66 weeks before your due date (it doesn't matter whether this is temporary or permanent) then you would get MA which is the same amount as SMP.

 

[Urchin]

Yes you do qualify for SMP if you keep working there until you are 26 weeks pregnant. If you leave now you are not entitled to SMP.

What Urchin is saying is that although you get SMP from your employer, they then claim that money back from the government. Or if you decide to leave, as long as you have worked (and have the payslips to show it) for at least 13 weeks in the 66 weeks before your due date (it doesn't matter whether this is temporary or permanent) then you would get MA which is the same amount as SMP.

Yeah thats it

You have to have earned a minimum of £30 quid a week for those weeks you need to get MA, although remember you will get 90% of what you earned, or £117, whichever is less. Basically IF you decide to leave, (which you shouldn't do LOL) all is not lost, as hopefully you will be able to get MA instead of SMP. You have to carry on working to get SMP, as that is calculated buy counting back 15 weeks from your due date to your "qualifying week" and uses the average money earned in the 8 weeks before that.

read this link, you can't start your maternity leave too early or you don't get it

http://www.youandyourfamily.co.uk/artic ... cleID=1431

 

[shesmurf]

hi Lizi,
I don't think what your employer is doing is legal. Would Citzens Advice maybe be able to help? They'll certainly point you in the right direction for free. Personally I'd take them to court. It's not just the fact that you may lose your job nut the strain the whole situation must be putting you under. You should have a good case. I just hope you are taking care of yourself and bump and ignoring your incompetent boss.

I found out I was pregnant not long after starting my new job as well. Turns out I must have conceived before I started but my boss has been brilliant. Even suggesting we could stage my return to work. I have more of a problem than him in that my job is high profile because local people fought to have the post created for a long time and it's now getting to the time that I'm having to attend public meetings. I feel akward turning up with a bump. In the long-term it's only 6months off but I can understand that people might me a bit miffed when I've only been working here since May!

 

[lizi]

Thanks everyone - I'm glad I'm not just being hormonal and over reacting!

I'm going to call the CAB for some more direct "what to do next" advice