Employment rights

[druiaghtagh]

I work for a large manufacturing company. Been there for 20 years so there is no doubt of my ability to do my job. Employer is now starting to do this to everyone... we are  being assessed on criteria as yet to be determined on our 'suitability to do our jobs', no threat as yet of what action will be taken if we allegedly fall down on any points they may raise. A lot of us believe that it will be used as a big stick to brow beat the more vocal elements among us into toeing the company line, what are the opinions of answerbank contributors on the possible legal and moral impications of this. Some staff are already very stressed over this. Our union have not yet responded , but we do not have a lot of faith in them anyway as they are very weak, thankyou.

[betty-nugs]

www.acas.co.uk is a good site for employment law.

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay ,

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however,

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might turn an otherwise

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might turn an otherwise fair

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might turn an otherwise fair dismissal into

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might turn an otherwise fair dismissal into an unfair one.

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might turn an otherwise fair dismissal into an unfair one.  (end of quote).

[Hgrove]

It is complicated.  Obtain the ACAS Code of Practice 2000.  A dismissal for lack of capability to carry out the work the employee was employed to do is potentially fair under sec. 98(3)(a) Employment Rights Act 1996. I quote from a textbook: M. Sargeant: Employment law, 2nd ed., Longman 2003, page 151: The employer has a right not to have their business affected by an imcompetent employee, but the employee also has a right to be treated fairly (...).  Treating an employee fairly does not necessarily mean not dismissing them because they have many years of services. (...) An unreasonable procedual delay, however, might turn an otherwise fair dismissal into an unfair one.  (end of quote). 

[archbishop]

Sounds like a Health and safety issue.

The nanny state and all that.

[Hgrove]

The following appears to be missing from my answer above:- ).   I suggest you get advice urgently from a law centre, union or ACAS.   I also suggest you read the staff/procedures manual very carefully and note (better in writing) whether your employer is following procedures correctly.  As I mentioned earlier, if the employer does not follow the correct procedure, an otherwise fair dismissal can become unfair.

[AllYourBase]

Your company can do this, so long as it is across the board and follows a clear, fair and specific procedure that is common to all involved. It is often used as a tool when the company is restructuring and should not be feared as most companies do it out of necessity for the business, not out of spite for a minority of moaners (there are other ways to deal with them!).
I went through this last year and found that a bit of preparation went a long way - lreviewing my progress but also detiling what I wanted to achieve and considering the big pitucre all enabled me to come out of the other side OK.