dave7634 wrote:POSTMAN wrote:Oh and NEVER EVER EVER see management alone for conduct issues.
Could it be argued though that if the offer of having a Rep present at the interview was not given by the DOM then this in itself could be seen as not following procedure or is it the case that it's up to the individual to ask for representation prior to being interviewed?
Possibly, but the reality within Royal Mail is that managers will themselves inform the individual that there is no need for union representation at fact finding interviews. As it is supposedly only an informal one to one meeting to establish the facts. It is where it digresses into a more formal situation (talking discipline) that the informal meeting should be concluded there and then, and if need be a more proper and formal meeting is arranged with union representation present.
Maybe better put:
If your employer refuses to let you bring a companion, you should not attend a formal hearing, Instead you should put in writing that you will not attend until you are allowed to bring a companion with you as is your right under the Employment Relations Act 1999.
If you have a meeting with your employer that you think is entirely informal but he or she then tries to give you a formal warning or impose some other punishment, then you should politely ask for the meeting to stop at that point and then be reconvened at a time when you can bring a companion.
If they still go ahead, you should write after the meeting and ask for it to be held again with your chosen companion present. You should also write down as full a note as possible describing what happened at the meeting. But don't forget you can be dismissed on the spot without any hearing for gross misconduct.
•If your employer refuses to allow you to bring a companion you can complain to an Employment Tribunal.
•If they sack you because you tried to take a companion into the hearing, you can claim unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal. Unlike some unfair dismissal claims how long you have worked for your employer does not matter.
•If you are sacked for other reasons, but you were not allowed to take a companion into the hearing then you are likely to have a strong case at a Tribunal, and you may well get extra compensation.
•If you lose out in some other way - for example by losing performance related pay - you can make a claim to an Employment Tribunal.
Any complaint to an Employment Tribunal must be made within three calendar months of the day on which your employer refused to allow you to be accompanied or from the date of dismissal if you are dismissed.
If you are still employed by that employer, the tribunal can order the employer to hold the hearing again and allow you to be accompanied. If you have been dismissed you will be entitled to compensation for the breach of your right to be accompanied as well as compensation for the dismissal if it is found to be unfair. This is a complex legal area and you should seek advice from your union or another advice agency.
,we would have lost most of our staff over the years if such mistakes resulted in losing your job! 
Feel sorry for you Jessiegirl--let us know how you get on, and good luck, but as other posters have said, you will not be the first person to do this, and if you can prove others in your office have done the same, it's start, and no way, should you have been interviwed on your own.
