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Q&A: Employment Doctor - March 2010

22 February 2010

Our reps handle thousands of work problems each year on behalf of PCS members. Here are just a few of the issues that have cropped up

Q1. I asked my employer if I could work more flexibly so that I can arrive home early enough to spend time with my children. Over a month later I was invited to a meeting, and then a month after that I got a letter stating that my request had been refused because my employer wouldn’t be able “to meet business demands” unless staff worked 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. I appealed but this also failed.

Q2. I arranged with my employer to take paternity leave but agreed that I would stay in contact. A couple of days after my daughter was born my manager called me about a deadline. I swore at him, told him I was exhausted and that he shouldn’t call me at home again. He told me I was sacked and I’ve not returned to work since. Do I have any rights?

Q3. During the recent snowfall I heard on the news that employers, local authorities and even householders could be liable if someone was injured on an icy pathway. I slipped and fell in an ungritted office car park. Can I claim?


Q1. I asked my employer if I could work more flexibly so that I can arrive home early enough to spend time with my children. Over a month later I was invited to a meeting, and then a month after that I got a letter stating that my request had been refused because my employer wouldn’t be able “to meet business demands” unless staff worked 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. I appealed but this also failed.

A1. Applications for flexible working arrangements have to be made in a certain format to be legally valid. More details are available at http://tr.im/MGA2 If you used this approach your employer may have failed to comply with the law which sets time limits for holding the meeting and responding to you afterwards.

There is also the issue of whether your employer based the decision to dismiss your application on a legitimate business reason and on the basis of the correct facts.

An employment tribunal can award up to eight weeks’ pay if it finds a claim to be well founded. However, your first step is likely to be to take out a grievance against your employer.

This would need to be done as soon as possible so it is worth speaking to your PCS rep about how to take this forward.

Q2. I arranged with my employer to take paternity leave but agreed that I would stay in contact. A couple of days after my daughter was born my manager called me about a deadline. I swore at him, told him I was exhausted and that he shouldn’t call me at home again. He told me I was sacked and I’ve not returned to work since. Do I have any rights?

A2. You may have a claim for unfair dismissal but that depends on whether your employer accepts that he dismissed you. If he does, then the dismissal is automatically deemed unfair under the Employment Rights Act 1996, because the correct disciplinary procedures were not followed before the sacking.

You may also be able to claim that the dismissal was automatically unfair under the paternity and adoption regulations. These state that a dismissal is unfair if the principle reason for it is ‘connected with’ the fact an employee took, or sought to take, paternity leave.

If you have not had anything in writing asking you to attend a disciplinary hearing or even confirming your dismissal your employer may dispute that he sacked you. There is then a risk that an employment tribunal may decide you actually resigned.

The longer you stay at home and don’t do anything about the situation, the more difficult it will be to sort it out. It is also worth bearing in mind that a tribunal claim needs to be lodged within three months of the date of the dismissal. We therefore recommend you contact your PCS rep straightaway for further guidance and support.

Q3. During the recent snowfall I heard on the news that employers, local authorities and even householders could be liable if someone was injured on an icy pathway. I slipped and fell in an ungritted office car park. Can I claim?

A3. The media hysteria surrounding the recent snowfall gave the impression that there would be an avalanche of personal injury claims against anyone who failed to clear the walkways outside their property.

The reality is less dramatic. Liability for an injury caused by slipping on snow and ice depends very much on the individual circumstances of the case.

Employers are responsible for ensuring all their walkways are suitable for the purpose for which they are used, and that their surfaces are not slippery or covered in a substance that exposes workers to the risk of slipping.

But this duty only goes as far as is ‘reasonably practicable’. This means, in effect, that employers have a get-out clause.

Nevertheless, ice is predictable at this time of year, so slipping on it is a foreseeable hazard.

This means that an employer who takes no action to clear snow or ice, or to grit pathways when they should have known that the icy conditions were coming, would probably be found liable for any injuries that result.

Proving an employer has breached this duty, however, is always the responsibility of the injured person. She or he needs to demonstrate, not only that they have suffered an injury, but that this injury was caused by their employer’s negligence.

PCS offers free legal assistance for members and their dependents who are injured in certain circumstances. For more information or to register a claim contact the PCS legal department on 020 7801 2651.

The information contained on this page is not intended as legal advice on individual cases. If you have a query about your employment rights please contact your PCS rep. The employment doctor cannot answer individual queries.

With thanks to Thompsons Solicitors and the PCS legal department.