Unfair dismissal after 22 months

[ehi]

hello guys,
I was employed a software developer for a new startup project and hit the ground running with my new team. However the parent company was asked to "HANDS OFF" my company, by the equalities commission UK, as they purchased too many companies. 12 months later we were bought over by another global company. and the new startup project was totally abandoned and team reduced from about 20 to 6, amongst many other cuts

Hence my job spec changed, Now I was then asked to fix bugs (defects) vs building novel software

(i) Thats like job change from building a NEW sky scrapper from ground up ( with the lastest tech)
vs
(ii) to looking for reasons for cracks in the OLD EXISTING sky scrapper ( Old legacy tech ) or like looking for mouse in an old mighty creeky mansion

Obviously the latter, ie Item (ii) being a headache, resulting to a few spill overs of deadlines

Kindly note: When I had the spill overs, my team mates (Who had been there 10 years and 6 years respectively) got involved, as the spill overs were complex and there were a few notable spill overs that no one found a fix. Hence parked

UNFORTUNATELY: The top IT boss, called me, last week, and told me I was under performing and fired me asap, and escorted me out of the building, ensuring I spoke to no one, to the shock of my team mates, and he took my ID card, laptop etc and said HR would email me


PRIOR TO THAT

1. Its worthy of note, 2 months prior: I got a letter from finance saying my performance was quite impressive and rated as 80% and would get 1% company bonus, which came to £1,600 addition to my salary

2. I always got praise during my 1-2-1 sessions ( and no concerns) from my immediate boss whatsoever

According to law I cant apply for unfair dismissal, as I have only been there for 22 months to date, so what can I do ?

many thanks
E

 

[ehi]

An employment tribunal is probably your only option now, but you need to consider whether it's worth the trouble.

What kind of trouble, if I may ask ?

is it court fees ? legal rep ? or are they allowed counter claims ?

 

[ehi]

At 22 months, with the forced change in role to what you were hired for, the fact that they fired you without notice (assumed due to you not mentioning any prior disciplinary) then I'd speak with ACAS to see if there is a case.

If you've had no prior disciplinary action then that may be the point that helps your claim.

A lot of points have been said and taken on board and I cant reply to each and everyone. So thank you for all advise given

Moving forward, I just called ACAS who just sent me a template to appeal, and I would appeal it. As I said earlier, I dont think the top level manager liked me in the least, as in the almost 2 years I worked there, he has been cold to me, never responded to my emails or requests, and we go into the office once or twice a month and when he walks past me, he always has a straight face, never says hello or good morning. and if I did, he woudl look away

Most importantly, since I have been at the company its all been praise and I have excellent banter with my team, got a 1% bonus paid to me, 2 months back and got praises from my line manager and rest of my team

I am told, the appeal, could be independent and if reinstated, I would get my job and salary back, only problem is the elephant in the room (An angry top manager)

 

[ehi]

You'd typically expect a higher salary to offset the risks of working with a start-up

Apologies, its not a startup, but a well established company. I had to get UK government security clearance, as we deploy high level solutions for sensitive areas. It was to revamp a legacy software and modernise its usage, hence a new department was created, hence reason for my employment

 

[ehi]

You indicate you were earning £160k and so if you're going to be looking for jobs in that range still then it might be worthwhile getting a consultation and maybe negotiating some stuff - like guarantees re: what reference they'll send any future employers, maybe see if the notice can be extended slightly etc. If there is anywhere they've slipped up but not to the point where a tribunal is worthwhile then maybe there is a bit of leverage for you to get some concessions. Just the fact that their legal department might otherwise need to spend hours dealing with it might be sufficient to get some concessions.

That bonus is low, while you can't expect six-figure banker bonuses a typical bonus in tech firms is more like 10% or 15%, so you should have been looking at £16k or £24k for your bonus and paid annually not just after 20 months! If you join mid-way through a year then you'd expect a pro-rata amount for the months prior to the annual bonus. Also finance doesn't know what your performance is like, any pay rises or bonuses are going to be prefaced with congratulations etc. and put across as a great reward for your hard work even when they're stiffing you - it's odd that you weren't told about it in person with your manager though - the whole point of a bonus is retention (people who are due to be let go often either don't get a bonus or get a small one) and typically they want to know how the employees react to them.

Lastly, it sounds like it's just the big boss needing to make headcount reductions and you're an easy one to cull. While your immediate boss might like you does he also like the other team members. There could be multiple reasons.

Is there an obvious donkey the team has issues with or is everyone fairly decent at their jobs?

Have the other guys been there for more than 2 years?

What are the stats like for the other guys compared to yours?

Do you have a higher basic salary then the other guys?

It could be that there isn't any obvious bad performer to cull but big boss still needs to cull someone so some combo of you being easy to fire + maybe your stats look average etc.. (your teammates know you're not slacking, your direct manager might be ambivalent and says all his guys are good but big boss just has the stats, your base salary, the fact you're easy to get rid of or just whatever personal bias/perceptions he has of you).

I never said I earn £160,000. I dont earn half that. I said they paid 1% bonus, I dont know how its calculated. But I think its 1% of total profit, shared with the entire company. Again I dont know and dont care, as I know the fat cats would only do so to keep their conscience happy from the bonuses they pay themselves

No, you typically wouldn't, especially if you're good - hardly any startups can't afford to pay big tech levels of comp, instead, you're relying on your equity and hope that owning a significant chunk of a small but rapidly growing business is going to be better than owning a minuscule chunk of an established firm.

It is not a start up, its been running for almsot 20 years, and extremely successful, so it was bought over. Hence the new company employed me

apologies if this is covered already and I missed it but what is your notice period and are you being paid that? That could open up a wrongful dismissal option as there isn't much you can do other than make sure contractual matters are followed.

30 days and I never took any of my 25 holidays

I am yet to get my final communication letter/email

And Yes, I think I have a much higher salary that most, as I was hired when the company was bought over. Prior to that it was just a local northern company. I know cause a lot of my colleagues resigned and complained.

 

[ehi]

I intend to

You could threaten to make a subject access data request which would be a massive pita for them to fulfil which might mean you can squeeze a bit more of a settlement out of them?

Thank you, I sure will request that, and I see it as a good thing, not just getting more settlement. But a free holiday, while I get a higher paid job.

Many thanks