EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL UNFAIR DISMISSAL CLAIMS

[POSTMAN]

13 March 2012
LTb 17612 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL UNFAIR DISMISSAL CLAIMS

No. 176/2012
Ref AJR/cf
Date: 12TH March 2012



To : All Branches




Dear Colleagues


Re : EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL UNFAIR DISMISSAL CLAIMS


Branches will be aware that the Coalition Government are in the process of introducing a number of significant changes to the legislation that will affect the Employment Tribunal process.


The first significant change is to the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal. The current situation is that an employee with 12 months continuous service has the legal right to make a claim to Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal.


Forthcoming Legislation


The qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal is to be extended to 2 years for employees starting a new job on or after the 6th April 2012. For employees employed before or on the 5th April 2012 the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal will remain at one year.


Further reports will be given to Branches detailing future changes.


NB : The Legal Services Department in conjunction with its Panel Solicitors, Irwin Mitchell LLP will be holding an Employment Law Update Fringe meeting Monday lunch time the 23rd April 2012 during Annual Conference. Further details will be published in due course.


If you have any enquiries regarding the above then please contact Tony Rupa, Head of Legal Services, CWU Legal Services Department.



Yours sincerely




Tony Rupa
Head of Legal Services

[POSTMAN]

:dcfo

[General Mannerheim]

Yep two years before you can make a claim,having to pay a deposit of £1000 oh and also they are scrapping the payment when your witness might incur expenses and using the old chestnut of "Well you can claim off the other party IF you win your case".

Yep real employee friendly Tories helping their business buddies! :dcfo :ncfo :vcfo Fucktards!

[Red Robbo]

Irwin Mitchell LLP what happened to Simpson Millar LLP ?????

[fishtank]

Irwin Mitchell LLP what happened to Simpson Millar LLP ?????

Nothing.
One of many.

CWU Approved Panel Solicitors

Please find below list of CWU Approved Panel Solicitors You may wish to visit their websites to view the services.

England

Edwards Duthie
http://www.edwardsduthie.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Irwin Mitchell
http://www.irwinmitchell.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

McCool Patterson Hemsi
http://www.mphsolicitors.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shakespeare Putsmans LLP
http://www.sp-legal.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Simpson Millar LLP
http://www.simpsonmillar.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Walker Smith Way
http://www.walkersmithway.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Scotland

Brodies LLP
http://www.brodies.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lindsays
http://www.lindsays.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace
http://www.raeburns.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Northern Ireland

Dermot Walker Madden & Co
dwalkerandcosols@btconnect.com

O'Hare Sols
http://www.jgohare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Isle of Man

Gelling Johnson Farrant
Email: gjf@manxlaw.com

Guernsey

Babbe le Pelley Tostevin
http://www.bltguernsey.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jersey

Backhurst Dorey & Crane
http://www.bdc.je" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Red Robbo]

You get what you vote for !!!!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

You get what you vote for !!!!

In a prefect world yes. However, to my recollection in the 8 years I have been a member of the CWU I don't think I have voted for The Gen Sec or the DGS(P). I may be wrong but I think they have both been elected unopposed every time.

[Red Robbo]

You get what you vote for !!!!

In a prefect world yes. However, to my recollection in the 8 years I have been a member of the CWU I don't think I have voted for The Gen Sec or the DGS(P). I may be wrong but I think they have both been elected unopposed every time.

If no one bothers to oppose them they will both be returned to office, which tells me their both doing a good job.

[fishtank]

If no one bothers to oppose them they will both be returned to office, which tells me their both doing a good job.

That's an interesting take on the democratic process.
Who would oppose them?
Everyone in a senior position is comfortable in that position and more importantly knows that an unsuccessful challenge is a difficult position to recover from.
They also know that securing the necessary support in a union that is as apathetic and fragmented as ours is almost impossible.
I personally prefer to judge whether someone is doing a good job by looking at the job they are doing and making a decision based on that rather than just accepting that because no-one opposes them everyone must be happy with them.
My personal opinion for what it's worth is that Billy is Billy,his position is mainly political and that will never really translate to the grass roots membership.
Dave Ward...i feel has lost his way completely.
Just personal opinions though.

[clashcityrocker]

Dave Ward...i feel has lost his way completely.
Just personal opinions though.

Ward was at the Glasgow Branch AGM and I think he made a lot of sense regarding the problems the industry faces.
I think he is also very aware of what happened to the NUM and the print union, and he doesn't want to lead the CWU into oblivion.

[fishtank]

I think he is also very aware of what happened to the NUM and the print union, and he doesn't want to lead the CWU into oblivion.

Oblivion due to apathy is still oblivion.
No one expects an NUM scenario to play out or indeed another Wapping,our situation is entirely different.
The CWU has not opposed change like the print unions,the CWU has not opposed closures like the NUM,the CWU has not opposed job losses like both groups.
To make those kinds of comparisons is entirely inaccurate and plain scaremongering.
Dave Ward may be very aware of the problems facing the industry as conveyed to him by Royal Mail management but i think it's time he realised he is also paid to be aware of the problems facing the membership...particularly in delivery.
Why are we still waiting on a new Attendance Procedure almost 2 years after we were promised it?
Why are we still waiting on a resolution to most of the issues set out in the EM at last years conference?
Why does the union continually bottle it when it comes to dealing with bullying managers?
Where is our colleagueshare money?
Why is RM Scotland allowed to implement it's own version of the BT2010 agreement?
Are these all now "state of the industry" issues?
Do we wring our hands and think at least it could be worse,we could be the NUM?
I don't pay my subs to have the union manage decline.

[clashcityrocker]

I think he is also very aware of what happened to the NUM and the print union, and he doesn't want to lead the CWU into oblivion.

No one expects an NUM scenario to play out or indeed another Wapping,our situation is entirely different.
The CWU has not opposed change like the print unions,the CWU has not opposed closures like the NUM,the CWU has not opposed job losses like both groups.
To make those kinds of comparisons is entirely inaccurate and plain scaremongering.

Is our situation entirely different?
The print unions were faced with massive changes to their working practices, due to automation, they resisted and lost.
The attack on the NUM was a political decision to destroy trade unions. The NUM resisted and lost.

Changes in society mean that type of resistance (year long struggles) are unthinkable today.
The disappearance of heavy industries and with them mass trade union membership has further eroded any sense of solidarity among the "working class".
Anti trade union legislation, increased home ownership, the increased job insecurity that accompanies mass unemployment and a general social drift away from the "left" towards centre right politics have all weakened the trade union position.

I don't pay my subs to have some sort of don Quixote lead me into battles we have no hope of winning.

[fishtank]

I don't pay my subs to have some sort of don Quixote lead me into battles we have no hope of winning.

Using the Armageddon scenario to justify the complete avoidance of any confrontation with an employer renders a union impotent and pretty much pointless anyway.As i already stated unlike the print unions and the NUM no-one is asking for resistance to change,it would be pretty pointless now anyway since we have accepted all of the changes put to us.

What we are asking for is that the union protects the negotiated agreements that we have in place or if those agreements have to be re-negotiated it does so in a way that gives members the confidence that their aspirations are top of the agenda,not the continuing survival of the union.

If you are saying that the socio-political environment now makes it impossible to fulfil that most basic of union principles without being terrified that we have "no hope of winning" then the morphing of union into Staff Association is an inevitable consequence.

There are many people at HQ much smarter than me who know what the final outcome of constantly changing position to suit the employer will be so the question isn't should we always give ground but why,when the union is aware of the endgame would it do so?
I think the answer is short term and self-serving and that is why i believe that Dave Ward and an important few around him have lost their way.
As i said at the start though it's only an opinion.

[Jayfin]

I'm in total agreement with fishtank . Reading posts on here , working in this industry for 7 years , I've seen the changes in attitude from the union , when I started there was mutual respect and my ex union rep had respect from rm management and up to a point feared him , he became fed up of trying to fight the battle with rm on issues facing his colleagues and quit being a rep 18 months ago after 2010 agreement .now we have an in experienced guy where rm management steamroller changes in and he signs everything rm want . Staff r becoming apathetic towards the union because they don't seem to be protecting there workforce at grassroots level . Which obviously is part of rm strategy to break the union . We've given far to much ground to rm .that it's going to be impossible to regain . I can only surmise with privatisation on the horizon how the top union guys r going to sell it to there members after years of opposing it . If they do oppose will there members have enough fight after two years of the union not protecting them .

[clashcityrocker]

I think you have to pick your battles and you have to pick the timing of your battles.
We might look back with nostalgia to the time when the union managed to negotiate a 3.5% pay rise and a 75% full time work force.