help

[daf]

candis applied for a permanent position [made available when one of her colleagues left] where she works when she was told her conract will not be ending in june [she's been on a temporary contract through a job agency].

she has been told by her employer that the reason they're not offering her the permanent position at the firm she works for is because she is "not good enough with 8 years experience under her belt". they gave the job to someone with no previous experience as a credit controller.

she has been working there for quite a while [about a year, i think] and they've not seen reason to stop extending her contract up until now.

it should be pointed out that her boss & her bosses twin sister [team leader] do not like her, she was told by someone in HR that it was not worth applying for the position as she wouldn't get it [because of her boss's dislike for her]

do any of you internet types know if what they're doing is illegal?

Comments

[bluekieran.livejournal.com]

Not unless the reason for dislike is racial or somesuch.

[crazymeandave.livejournal.com]

sorry kieran, your quick answer missed my ammendment to the question.

they said she needed 8 years experience, and then gave the position to someone with no experience.

[bluekieran.livejournal.com]

Which is bullshit, but not illegal.

"Doesn't get on well with $boss" is a perfectly legal reason not to hire someone. As is "someone with less experience was cheaper".

[chromenewt.livejournal.com]

Luckily I've just done a Discrimination in the Workplace course. Want me to whizz over the materials to you? I can safely say she has a very strong case just by what you've said. Does that company have a discrimination policy? If so, ask for a copy and if not then {sharp intake of air} why not because it's illegal to not have one.

EDIT: just read my copy and it's essentially for government services so if it's not one like the NHS I'm not entirely sure how the law covers it. I would *suspect* it's at least similar though.

[mark13.livejournal.com]

Highly unprofessional but not illegal.

Best way to save herself a lot of grief is to find a job somewhere else or in a different department at least. And yeah, that's going to prick the pride a bit, but there are some battles that aren't worth it.

[lucifiction.livejournal.com]

Generally speaking, an employee is much more likely to have a case if the company hasn't followed either its own policies, or basic statutory requirements. She should ask to see the company's recruitment / training policy to see whether they have contravened it.

[lucifiction.livejournal.com]

Not necessarily. See my comment below!

[johnnydarke.livejournal.com]

Regardless of actual illegalities, the unfortunate reality is that if you've been with a company for less than 2 years, in practice you have very few rights...i.e, unless it's something blatantly illegal - racism, sexism, etc - you'll have a bitch of a time even getting it to a tribunal.

At least that was the case about 4 years ago when I looked into the matter for similar reasons.