how can i find out about union on rules of warnings?

Question

asked for holiday given by manager ,he said it was ok then he retired.and the manager that took over said i should of put it in writing .and then was told after my holiday i would be taken into office could face instant dismissle ,i was took in office and given a written warning which lasts for two years .can they do this as i have never had a verbale warning.what are union rules on this

Answer 1

It does sound unfair.

Few people realise that you have no say over when you take your Holidays, and your employer can turn down all your requests and can tell you when you will be off!

Answer 2

From what you say, you asked informally for leave, made your plans on the basis of what you were told and then, when it was presumably too late to change them, were told that you couldn't take your leave because there was no written proof of this. It sounds as though this new manager has it in for you from the start. Is there a grievance procedure at work? If so, it should be outlined in your contract of employment.

A grievance is defined in the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 as "a complaint by an employee about action which his employer has taken or is contemplating taking in relation to him" (subject to certain limited exclusions);
under Step One of the statutory grievance procedures, a statement of the grievance must be set out in writing and sent to the employer -- the legislation does not specify the form of the statement in writing;
under Step Two of the standard statutory grievance procedure, the employer must invite the employee to attend a meeting to discuss the grievance; and
if an employer fails to complete a statutory grievance procedure, an employment tribunal can increase any compensation awarded to the employee by up to 50%.

So before you do anything you might regret, approach someone higher than your manager to sort out whether or not a grievance procedure exists. Of course, this manager might be the big boss, in which case you are in difficulty.

A first written warning is often the first or second stage in a formal disciplinary process under a disciplinary procedure. It should be issued only following a disciplinary meeting in which the complaint / allegations against the employee were discussed and the employee had a chance to put forward his / her case. A first written warning is normally issued following a number of incidents of poor time-keeping, work performance or behaviour but where the employee’s conduct is not so serious as to justify a final warning. This warning takes account of current legal requirements and good-practice recommendations, eg in relation to the right to be accompanied and the right to appeal against a warning.

It sounds as though you were not offered the chance of having anyone there to support you or told of your right to appeal. Presumably you are not unionised, or the manager could not have got away with this behaviour. I have no idea of how big an enterprise you work for and perhaps if it is small and you feel that you are being unfairly treated by this man, the best thing is to look elsewhere. When you are at loggerheads with your line manager, it is very difficult to make the working environment a pleasant one again.

Answer 3

Depends on who you work for. Do you have a contract? If so demand to read it if you dont have a copy demand one...that should ruffle their feathers and then state you had a verbal agreement with the previous boss which should still stand. On what basis would you face dismissal? By having a holiday? You are probably owed holiday if you havent used it up already. Sounds to me that you are in the right. I would try and persue this with the correct pesonel and try and resolve it professionally.

Answer 4

it a no no join the union and get help