ET for Breach of Contract

[YorkshireBloke]

Hi,

A learning point for me: has anyone got actual experience of helping or being the Claimant for BofC in an ET?

Especially interesting is the potential for employees with CONTRACTUAL rights to a disciplinary process being able to seek redress for poor treatment.

What would happen?? Specific performance by running a DP? What is the loss; just the time delay the process would take and the remuneration for it?

Any other experiences? Your thoughts are eagerly awaited!

YB

[atticus]

Surely an employee who believes he is being treated poorly raises a grievance.

If the employee thinks that treatment amounts to a breach of contract, he may bring a claim for the loss sustained. If the breach of contract is sufficiently serious he may resign, and bring a Tribunal claim for constructive unfair dismissal.

This is all subject to ifs and buts, dependent on qualifying periods, and the nature of the poor treatment, so others may add to this.

[YorkshireBloke]

Thanks, but without 2 yrs service etc, yes of course raise a grievance.

My post is aimed at finding if the remedy of BofC is used at all and what remedies in real life have been achieved.

So what IS "the loss sustained" by denying a DP?

YB

[atticus]

Can you explain why any employee should want to be subject to a disciplinary process (assuming that is what you mean by DP).

[dls]

I may be getting this wrong, but I think that the OP is possibly confusing the issues.

If an employee has a grievance against another employee, than, if the issues amount to an actionable tort, he may bring an action against the other employee.

Where the employee thinks that the employer should take some responsibiity, he commences a grievance against the employer.

Where the OP may be wrong is in expecting his involvement to continue beyond that point. If as a result of the grievance he lays against his employer, that employer commnces disciplinary proceedings against the co-employee, then the original complainant has no involvement or interest in that disciplinary process, beyond acting as a witness.

The employer in no way acts as referee between them or provides any redress to the employee who suffered the detriment. The employer can be liable to the employee for the employer's own failure to control or restrain or whatever the employee acting wrongly.

[YorkshireBloke]

Hi,

First, thanks for our inputs: it is hard for me to get this level of "critique"; essential to learn (if you're willing to Be A Grown Up"...

Right, what I mean is that many folks seem to get "shafted" by the 2 year rule and have NO redress. Pay employee notice. Gone.

For some people a contractual right to a Disciplinary Procedure would allow them redress and, therefore, induce rogue employers (imho) to listen to employees rather than "avoid all that messing about" with due process...

But to what avail? What could an employee taking an employer to an ET for breach expect to get as an award? And has anyone handled a case like this?

YB