Reminds me of the first time I heard a Policeman lie on oath in court - way back in the 1980s - it wasn't major and he had no reason to do it (but no surprise from that era now).

I trusted everybody before that, never trusted anybody under oath again.

In my experience in some industries the Board/directors are so arrogant that they believe they can say anything and get away with it. The sort of HR bod who gets us all a bad name will fall in with their demands rather than stand up and do the right thing.

This OP has never lost her nerve and has stood up to everything that has been thrown at her, including insults by the legal rep of her employer. In these cases now there is a fee to pay to get the case heard, it always begs the question, what employee would pay the fees and keep going if they had no real case?

Oh I did lose my nerve, repeatedly! But not when it mattered thankfully. I'm shocked too it went this far but it's a combination of utter lies told to the barrister (as I corrected him he started to shake!) and yes the belief that I basically deserved the treatment I got as I was 'uncooperative' (ie, couldn't attend meetings whilst off on mat leave nursing my baby). My former boss stated she was frustrated with me and admitted some of the 'evidence' given as to why I couldn't return on my previous customer was 'best guess' ie, fabricated.

The barrister for my employer even said that if the judge finds in my favour my employer will have to 'seriously rethink their maternity package'. I think it's so unfair to place that on my shoulders, the policy is great but it's too open to exploitation by callous managers.

I have no doubt that in the unlikely event I win (I still think it's unlikely due to the fabricated evidence, all undated and uncommunicated of course but still) and the lies on oath, plus the character assassination (basically making me out to be a scatty, stressed out new mother) that my company will appeal. It's a scary thought. I am not sure if I can make the name public after its all over. They were recently fined in court and that was all over the press. I'm sure most of you know who I mean. I'd rather not say directly for now, I'm still pretty scared of backlash.

There is no right to appeal a decision in Employment Tribunal. The only appeal allowed is where a fault of the law has been made by the decision maker

I was told that they can appeal if they felt the law had not been adhered to and/or new evidence came to light? With the way they're fighting this I wouldn't be surprised if a smoking gun suddenly appeared AND they claimed the law hadn't been followed. I'm not expecting a win but I wouldn't celebrate too much if I did, I do think the road is longer than that.

Hence me believing all HR should be provided by external consultants. I love nothing better than telling a nasty CEO who contracted me that they'd be ripped to pieces at any tribunal. They're far more open to listening to an external expert they're paying big bucks compared to an HR Manager on their payroll.

You may well have had a wobble or two throughout this process but have my admiration. Whether in civil or criminal cases the combative nature of the barristers and attempts to discredit the other side are nothing short of disgraceful. If you win they can appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal but there has to be some pretty strong evidence. Hold your nerve, you are not alone here!

I quite agree and that's what makes the life of the consultant such a good one. The added bonus is that if I don't like the cut of a potential client's jib I can advise I don't have the capacity to take the contract on, pick up my briefcase and leave.

I often think that the main downside of being a contractor on a day rate is that it's mentally so difficult to take a day off work. As an employee I know that leave is just part of contract - but for a contractor you have to forgo anything up to a grand for every day you decide to not come in the office.

Fancy taking a day off and playing golf next week?

Me: Sure

My contractor mate Dave: No chance - that's £500 lost!

Quite the reverse for me, and it's a case of work/life balance and managing clients and income. I have 6 weeks holiday a year, in single weeks, and 2 weeks off at Christmas.

Fancy bringing your horse out for a ride on the beach on Wednesday?

Me: hell yes
Employee chum: no I only have 20 days so have to save them for summer holidays.

No easy way is there .....

Yeah, I was being a bit tongue in cheek. Obviously if have the right mentality and aren't too greedy it works well. But a lot of my contractor friends really struggle with the concept that they will be losing actual cash every day they don't work.

I heard a story of a contractor in my mates team at work who on the day that his wife gave birth to their first son put in that he was working from home and only went to the hospital during his lunch break

Fully agree and unless you want to make a mint (I'm happy to pay my bills, have spending money so I can do things without worrying about the cost and pay for 2-3 holidays a year) the work/life balance is so much better. And there's hardly ever any stress.

Most of the time I work from home, I have a few very low maintenance retainer clients who guarantee enough monthly income to cover the bills plus some extra and then companies approach me for ad-hoc work... often to a level where I have to refer them as I have too much to do. They bring in the big money but it's my choice to say I have now earned enough and will take some time off. Or I can tell them I'm busy for the next two days but their issue doesn't appear to be urgent so we can meet early next week

I take the dogs for a walk or two to get away from the laptop in between working so really couldn't ask for more

If you don't mind me asking, what qualifications do you have? What sort of issues would your ad-hoc work involve? This is something that interests me but I wouldn't know where to start.

That's men for you

I am very similar in approach to you, and have an office just minutes from where I keep my horse which means my commute is through countryside. If I have no client meetings I can come to work in my jods and ride when I like. This morning I was riding in the sun at 8am before settling down to work so life is pretty good.

It's nice to hear people enjoy their jobs. I did until all this happened. I am on a decent wage, two or three holidays abroad a year, good bonus, work from home 2-3 days a week. My husband is the same. That's why I felt so upset at the thought of being bullied into giving up. I'm glad I didn't but I'm struggling with morale right now, I don't trust the management at all and given that it's easy to fly up under the radar generally, I'm so demotivated. I hope whatever the result of the tribunal the backlash isn't too bad but the knowledge that Im being asked to pick up more work as I'm the only one with a specific qualification is hard to swallow given I've been called a vulnerable new mother with a tendency to misunderstand, and that my skills are less than those of the two colleagues I helped recruit and train. I just feel like saying, do it yourself!

Any news, yet, RealityRocks? Curious to see how things have gone, and hoping for the best.

I've been thinking about you too, any news, how's it all going?

Well, you would say that, wouldn't you?


The OP mentioned that this was for a big company, so the CEO may not be aware. Which is a problem with big companies, ie senior management would only know what they've been told by their country/regional managers and may not be aware of any intricacies.. Which I've found all too common in big companies, and can easily translate into bigger problems if their managers are being a bit flexible with the truth.

Hence why I set up my own business and in any situation like this (thankfully rare) called on external HR/counsel to mediate. It costs a bit, but can be cheaper than losing staff or a tribunal. Having a neutral party helped get a better picture from both sides.


Yup, but thankfully that's why we get paid..

I wasn't just wondering about this thread too. I hope you have managed to reach a conclusion before xmas.

I've been wondering about the outcome as it's now over 5 weeks. I so hope that RealityRocks got the outcome she deserved and now she can move on with her life.

Me too, these things are beyond stressful.