Legal Questions and Answers by
Jonathan Stones of John Barkers
Question :-
My son was made redundant eight months ago when the factory where he worked closed down. Despite dozens of applications he was unable to get work until a few weeks ago when he secured a job in a local factory.
At the interview he was told that there were two different jobs on offer. One involved working on a machine where nimble fingers and speed were required. The second involved working a machine that required heavy manual work.
He opted to take the job with the second machine and was accepted, however, when he started work he was put on the first machine. When he explained that this was not what he had applied for, he was told that the other vacancy had gone to someone else.
Now he has been told that he is not working fast enough, despite trying his best. He is worried that they will sack him and so he will have no job at all. He is also concerned that he will have even greater difficulty getting another job if it goes on his CV that he was sacked?
Has he any redress?
Answer :-
From the information you have provided, I do not believe that he does have any legal redress. Employees have very few rights . . . some people would say scandalously few rights . . . until they have been with a company for a year. Their employment can be terminated without explanation or justification and there is no right of appeal to an industrial tribunal.
So if the firm continued to feel that he is not working fast enough then they could dispense with his services.
That said, at a practical level there is action he could take. First, if he is having difficulty achieving the targets they are setting he needs to be talking to his manager. It may well be that with additional training or help he will achieve the required speed. If that is still not possible it may be that the targets need to be adjusted.
Secondly, he should remember that employment is a two-way street. They might be able to sack him but he can also leave them. There is nothing to prevent him continuing to apply for other jobs whilst he is working there.
He may feel that after a bleak period in which dozens of applications were unsuccessful that it just is not worthwhile trying but jobs are amazingly like buses: You can go for ages without a single one . . . and two or three turn up at once!
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