He was Forced to resign or be fired

[light186282]

My 19 year old Nephew, was recently given an alternative: resign or be fired. The manager of the local council run Gym he works at, called him into the office claiming he (my nephew) had committed over 30 different misdemeanours: leaving his sandwich half eaten in the kitchen, not putting a can of beans back in the fridge - all small stuff, except for the alleged use of the term *** as in reference to the local shop run by ***'s. He was talking to a mate and saying that "locals still refer to Patel's as the *** shop". Allegedly an older couple in the Gym were up set by this, and wrote a letter in, which turned out to be an anonymous. The real reason my nephew was removed, was because the Gym manager was getting his family and girlfriend in. When my nephew was called into the office, the manager had already printed out a letter of resignation for him and basically said, you have the option to resign now, or be fired. Being young and frightened, he took the resignation offer, for fear of being fired and having a blot on his career. It turns out that the manager has a criminal record and his girlfriend was fired from the police for deleting case information against the Gym manager in respect to a road rage incident. The Gym manager had followed none of the required procedures. My nephew has decided to fight the issue now and had a meeting with the council who have subsequently looked into the matter and reported back that since he resigned its nothing more to do with them.
Any advice please ?
Is this constructive dismissal ?
For the record, my nephew is 25% Nigerian so not a racist at all !

[redcrx]

Firstly your nephew would need to have been employed for 12 months at least before he could even consider a claim.
http://www.direct.gov...Dismissal/DG_10026696 should explain the basics

I dont think that the criminal record part has any relevance here though and being 25% Nigerian doesnt stop someone being racist, though if what you mention above is all he said I wouldnt say it was a racist comment.

[buildersmate]

Assuming he has more than 12 months continuous service, then claiming Constructive Dismissal would be the route to try and follow (because he resigned and was not dismissed, it's the only route he can take).
He has 3 months from the effective end date of employment to put in a claim to the ET.
Did they also force him to resign on the spot without allowing him to work his contractual notice period? - that would strengthen his case - which looks pretty reasonable based on what you said.

[quizgirl_65]

Constructive dismissal can only be claimed for if he was employed at the location for a period of 12 months or more. (Civil Law) If he was, then he should contact the Citizens advice bureau about how to proceed if he wishes to go down this line.

The matter regarding the "racist" comment comes under "criminal law" and anyone who hears anything they deem to be racist can make a complaint, even if it was by them overhearing a conversation. However with this particular incident, if it is as you say it is, you would probably find that the police would say it is not in the public interest to prosecute as there does not appear to be any malicious intent. Whether he is from Nigeria or Outer Mongolia it makes no difference. Any person of any race, or religion, can be classed as being a racist by their comments. Just because he may be "black or asian" and is making a comment about someone who is "black or asian" it can still be deemed as a racist comment. He just needs to be aware of this before making comments that could be overheard by a third party and misconstrued.