discrimination in the workplace

ewelina123

Hi
I got job in may as a bookkeeper. When I started that work I was very happy, after 2 weeks problems started. One English women who supposed to live company, started discrimination my strong accent, where i come from. The situation turned very bad, She started talking about me very badly to manager. I lost job out of the blue. In fact non one never complained about my work, until last day of my work boss came and told me how useless I was at work. I am single mother I lost so much money. I stopped my benefit now i stayed with no money to live on. I just feel like to take that women to court I dont know what to do? Please advice me?

Zeezee

Hi I am really sorry to hear about the problems you have been having, it's awful that this kind of discrimination is still being experienced by some people, it's mindless and certainly not the norm. You can contact ACAS they deal with employment laws and discrimination is definitely against the law. They will give you advice and point you in the right direction and maybe aid you with a wrongful dismissal case. I hope you get the help you need, but don't take this lying down.

QuestionMore

Hi all,

Just to throw my two pence in...   I feel sorry for @ewelina123.   This seems, from the information provided so far, like a common case of poor processes together with poor communication.

1.  There should be at least one written warning from the employer representative to the employee stating that employee performance was in danger of becoming unacceptable and offering a chance for the employer and employee to agree and commit to a written performance improvement plan with explicit targets that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound (SMART).  All targets should outline units of measurement and by whom, how and by when they shall be measured.

2.  I must also say, however, that the first area of performance that I noticed is ewelina123's command of written English language. As a totally unbiased third party observer, I can advise that I found the original post a little hard to follow.  This may, of course, be because ewelina123 was trying to cut down on the word count if typing on a mobile device?  Just out of interest, ewelina123, have you taken an IELTS test for verbal and written English language?  If so, what score did you get? When dealing with customers (either internal or external), I think effective communication is critical to ensure no misunderstanding of requirements, etc.  An IELTS overall score of 7 or higher is a desirable skillset for all international employees.

3.  I hope ewelina123 has a copy of the company guide for their employees or some kind of 'Employer Commitment' document setting out the escalation path for all disciplinary issues.  If company AND LEGAL policy obligations  were not followed/complied with, then ewelina123 should seek legal representation immediately. It is also critical to document a chronology of events leading up to (and after, if relevant) dismissal.  Put together a timeline of events ASAP so this is always clear and easy to explain to any new representatives engaged in a potential disputed.

JenniferU

Thank you all for great comments. @Chell is our community employment advisor, and she might be able to offer some advice too.