Dimising a PA (Information urgently needed)

martie · September 2018

Hi,

I'm disabled and have employed a carer on a probationary period of three months starting on the 16th July 2018, as her employer can I dismiss her without giving a reason? I need everything done for me, when washes me she drips sweat onto me, I refuse to eat when she on duty, she is unsteady on her feet I her witness her neatly falling over quite a few times and am getting quite frighten of her. Social Services told me that if I dismiss she could sue me and that I will have to pay out of my pocket which I can ill afford. Can anyone advise me on what to do? Please find a copy a contract which she has signed. Kind regards, Martie.

Contract of Employment

Statement of main terms of employment

Employer: ___________________________________________________________

Address of employer: __________________________

Employee: ____________________________________________________________

Address of employee: ________________________________

Any work undertaken by the Employee for the Employer which occurred prior to the commencement of employment under this contract does not count as part of your continuous period of employment.

The Employee commences employment with the Employer on _________ under the following terms:

Job title and place of work
1. You are employed as a Personal Assistant.
2. Your usual place of work will be at _________________________________ and when requested you will work away from the usual place of work either accompanying the Employer or independently of.
3. Your specific duties and responsibilities are set out in the job description.
4. The Employer may from time to time, require you to carry out other duties either on a temporary or permanent basis.
Probationary Period
1. There will be a probationary period of ____ months. At the end of this period the Employer and the Employee will meet to review the position. If the Employee’s performance is satisfactory the Employee’s continuing employment will be confirmed in writing.
2. The Employer may terminate your contract for any reason during the probationary period. During this period you will be entitled to one week’s notice of termination. A payment in lieu of notice may be paid in accordance with clause 7.4.
3. The Probationary period may be extended, with reason, by the Employer if necessary. During the Probationary period the employment may be terminated by either party giving one week’s notice.
Hours of work
1. You are contracted to work a minimum of _____ hours per week which will include:
  ____   Hours during weekdays
  ___   Hours during weekends
  _____   Sleepover hours
2. The Employer reserves the right to vary your start and finish times and the number of hours worked on any given day. You may be required to work overtime including weekends and on bank holidays according to the Employer’s needs.
3. You are required to make yourself available to cover shifts of absent Employees through sickness and holidays and the Employer will endeavour to provide reasonable notice of any request for additional hours.
Rates of pay
1. Current rates of pay are:

£________ per hour Monday to Friday

£ _______ per hour Saturday and Sunday

Bank Holidays will be paid at £ ______________

You must complete a weekly / monthly time sheet to be submitted to the Employer no later than _____ in order that the Employer can sign and authorised the hours claimed and calculate your wages. Payment will be delayed if the time sheet is submitted after this date.
The Employer may, in addition to National Insurance and/or PAYE, deduct from your wages any overpayment made or sums that you may owe the Employer from time to time.
You will not be paid for any overtime worked that has not been expressly agreed with the Employer in advance of the shift.
Payment will not be made for any hours where you have been absent from work without the express authority of the Employer. This applies to hours comprising a whole shift or part of a shift.

Holiday Entitlement
1. The holiday year runs from __________________________ to ___________________
2. The Employee is entitled to 5.6 weeks’ of holiday per year which accumulates pro-rata for each week worked. A week is equivalent to the numbers of hours/days usually worked per week. Bank holidays are included within your entitlement.
3. You are not permitted to carry over any unused holiday entitlement from one holiday year to the next.
4. You must give your Employer two weeks’ notice of your intention to take annual leave which will be granted at the sole discretion of the Employer and may only be taken with the Employer’s consent. Taking leave without the Employer’s express consent may be considered unauthorised absence and result in non-payment of wages for the relevant period and subsequent disciplinary proceedings.
5. Bank holidays may be taken as annual leave but otherwise you will be expected to work them where they fall on a working/rota day.
6. The Employer reserves the right to ask you to take two weeks paid annual leave at a time to be determined by them.
7. In the event of termination of employment, you will be entitled to holiday pay calculated on a pro-rata basis in respect of all annual holiday already accrued but not taken at the date of termination of employment.
  If on termination of employment you have taken more annual holiday entitlement than you have accrued in that holiday year, an appropriate deduction will be made from your final payment.
Absence
1. If the Employee is unable to attend work because of sickness or any other reason they must inform the Employer personally, by telephone, as soon as they are aware of their inability to attend so other arrangements may be made.
2. Notification of absence for any reason by text message is not an accepted method of communication. Failure to follow an acceptable notification procedure may be considered misconduct and may result in disciplinary action.
3. Unauthorised absence may be considered by the Employer to be gross misconduct and may result in the termination of your employment without notice.
4. The payment for sick pay will be Statutory Sick Pay according to the prescribed rate, which will be paid providing the Employee follows these procedures:

Inform the Employer as soon as the Employee knows they will not be able to come to work and in any event not less than two hours prior to the shift start time;
If the Employee is off sick for more than three days they are required to complete a self certificate form;
The Employee will be required to provide a Medical Certificate if they are absent for more than seven days;
For the purposes of the Statutory sick Pay scheme the agreed qualifying days are Monday to Sunday;
There is no contractual right to payment in respect of period of absence due to sickness or inability to attend work.

Notice period
1. After you have successfully completed your probationary period your Employer will give you written notice should he intend to terminate your contract of employment as follows:

One week’s notice if you have been continuously employed for up to two years
One week’s notice for each completed year of employment when you have worked
more than two years (up to a maximum of 12 weeks)

You are required to give the Employer a minimum of _____ weeks’ written notice of your intention to terminate your employment.
Nothing in this contract prevents the Employer from terminating your employment summarily or otherwise in the event of any serious breach by the Employee of the terms of your employment or in the event of any act of gross misconduct or gross negligence by you.
The Employer reserves the right in their absolute discretion to pay your basic salary in lieu of notice instead of requesting that you work your notice. In the event your employer chooses to pay in lieu of notice your employment will be terminated on the date you receive the notice and payment will be made on the next periodical payroll date.
In the event that you refuse to work your period of notice it is expected and therefore agreed that the employer will suffer additional losses arising from the appointment of an agency at a cost greater than your rate of pay. That so it is agreed that in the event of your refusal to work all or part of your notice period the Employer reserves the right to deduct from your final salary a sum equal in value to the salary payable for the shortfall in the period of notice.

Confidentiality and Security
1. The Employee must respect the privacy of the Employer and their family. The Employee must maintain a professional approach at all times, keep information gained in the course of their employment confidential and specifically should not discuss the Employer’s household, domestic or health situation with others.
2. Breach of condition 8.1 will be treated as gross misconduct for the purposes of disciplinary action and may result in termination of your employment contract.
Driving licence

It is a condition of your employment contract that you hold a driving licence valid to use in the United Kingdom appropriate to the classes of vehicle that you may need to drive in performing your duty. If you receive any endorsements, are disqualified from driving or otherwise lose your licence, if you believe you have a medical condition that may affect your ability to drive, you must inform your Employer immediately. If you lose your licence or develop a medical condition that the Employer believes affects your ability to drive safely your employment may be terminated.
Lay off and short time

10.1 In the event that the Employer is admitted to hospital, residential care or respite on a temporary basis and is no longer in need of your services during this period of time, they reserve the right to impose a period of layoff and withhold payment of your usual salary. Where preferable to the Employer you may be placed on short time working and your salary will be paid only for hours worked.
10.2 Any annual leave which has been accrued may be taken during a period of lay off and a Guarantee Payment will apply in accordance with statutory provisions.
Disciplinary and Grievance
1. These procedures are not contractual. Disciplinaries will be held in accordance with any procedures and policies which may be provided from time to time or in the alternative in accordance with ACAS codes of practice.
2. Grievances should be presented to the Employer in writing who will endeavour to respond within a reasonable time frame. Grievances will be head in accordance with policies and procedures which may be issued from time to time or in the alternative in accordance with ACAS codes of conduct.
Trade Unions

You have the right to join a trade union. There are no collective agreements relevant to your employment.
Pensions

When required the Employer will comply with the employer responsibility to operate a qualifying contributory pension scheme to which you will be auto-enrolled into, subject to the conditions of the scheme.

A qualifying scheme is a pension scheme which is a qualifying scheme for the purposes of section 16 of the Pensions Act 2008.

The Employee shall pay such contributions to the Scheme as may be required by the rules of the Scheme as amended from time to time. The contributions shall be made by way of deductions from the Employee's salary.

I have read the above statement of conditions of employment and understand the conditions and agree to abide by them.

Signature of Employee ___________________________________ Date _______________________

Signature of Employer ___________________________________ Date _______________________

Signed on behalf of _________________________________________________________________

If you are signing on behalf please answer the questions below.

Relationship to Employer (appointee or power of attorney) ______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Name _____________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone number ___________________________________

Dimising a PA (Information urgently needed)

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