employment law

[maggs1703]

can someone just let me know if your employer has to keep you job open if you get sent to prison if so for how long many thanks

[redcrx]

I doubt theyd have to, Im sure it would be down to the employer to decide if they wanted to keep the job open.

[blondie123]

No they do not have to keep your job open if u get sent to prison!
most employers are not going to want to employ an ex convict let alone keep there job open!
some will but they are not obliged too.

[dot.hawkes]

I think this is a very difficult thing to make a cut and dried decision on. It probably would have to depend on each individual case, and also whether the Employer had proof that the employee was actually in prison, if they were informed in writing by the employee or their representative then they could then make a decision as to whether there is any disciplinary prodecure that they need to put into place, if however they just hear that someone is in prison, unofficially, they have no grounds to make any decision as any communication has to be from the employee or representative. I would be very very careful to obtain such confirmation before putting the company in a very difficult legal position

[CheekyChops]

It depends on how long the sentence is. Also to some extent I suppose what the crime was and whether it could affect your job. See this:

Question:One of our employees recently came up in court, and was sent to prison. Surely we can dismiss him?

Be careful. Even though your employee has been convicted of an illegal act, you should still carry out such investigations as are reasonable in the circumstances before making any decision. Such investigations must be carried out promptly to ensure that any dismissal is fair.

If the employee's offence was related to his or her work, a dismissal would probably be fair on grounds of conduct. Alternatively, the circumstances of the imprisonment might be such as to reflect adversely on the image of your business, and/or destroy trust and confidence in the employee, which might count as 'some other substantial reason' for dismissal. But great care should be exercised and legal advice sought.

The fact that the employee is in prison and therefore cannot do his job is not in itself enough: it may 'frustrate' the contract, but as a general rule Employment Tribunals are reluctant to decide that the contract of employment has ended because of the employee's inability to perform it

[dot.hawkes]

good post there Cheeky, it isn;t as easy as peeple think to dismiss staff

[buildersmate]

Cheeky's extract sounds as if it was written by an employment lawyer in one of those 'free' news-sheets that seeks to justify why one needs to employ a qualified professional for just about everything these days.
Apart from the last paragraph "ETs are reluctant to decide that the contract of employment has ended because of the employee's inability to perform it" - which seems designed to scare off any line manager, I agree with it.
You can fairly dismiss a lorry driver who lost his driving licence for 'some other substantive reason' because he simply can't do the job. It is the same if a person is sent to prison. You cannot dismiss for them having a criminal record per se, but you can dismiss them if they aren't going to be able to turn up for the next 12 months for 'some other substantive reason'.
It is all about scale and proportion - the length of the absence (in the nick) versus the previous service they have had. And each case has to be reviewed and the clear fair process followed.

[EverClean]

What about asking this the other way, then.

If I didn't turn up to work for 6 weeks - would I be able to 'claim' I had been in prison to satisfy my line manager, any hearing or ET that I shouldn't be sacked?

[thugulike]

Your employer can dismiss you for breach of contract. Your contract will be frustrated as you will not be available for work. I have known employers keep jobs open but they don't have to.

[big wullie]

I worked for an employer where the rules were that if you were absent from work and could not provide a self certification or doctors certificate for more than 1 week you were then deemed to have terminated your employment