Latest news with #HRpractices
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
I was given a promotion at work but it was rescinded before I started - and that's the second time
Q: Recently, I applied for a role internally that would lead to significant financial and senior progression in my career . The company offered the role and presented the terms and I accepted the offer. A month after I was due to start my new role, they told me that the offer had been cancelled due to a hiring freeze. The approach to HR and internal promotions is appalling. There has been no clarification and the impact on my work and personal life is significant as it's not the first time I had an offer rescinded by my company. Is there anything I can do? READ MORE The rescinding of an offer of a promotion would be rare, but the rescinding of two offers of promotion would be almost unheard of, according to experts in human resources and recruitment. Such an act can lead to a breach of trust but may also constitute a breach of contract, according to Michelle Halloran , independent HR consultant and workplace investigator, of Halloran HR Resolutions. 'You can't just go around offering people a promotion, confirm the promotion and then change your mind,' she says, adding that such a move can cause a lack of confidence among employees in their employer. 'It's very bad for their reputation, because nobody knows where they stand,' she says, describing the actions of the employer as outlined by the reader as 'very poor practice.' 'It's very difficult to see how a relationship of mutual trust can be built or maintained if this kind of U-turn keeps happening because as an employee, you just don't know where you stand,' she says. Halloran, who has never heard of a hiring freeze affecting a promotion offered and agreed, says legal advice could be sought and correspondence could potentially be sent to the employer concerning the rescinding of the promotion, arguing a breach of contract. However, given the 'adversarial' nature of taking such a move, 'it depends on how much the job matters to them', she says. 'They might not be happy if the reader does that, but especially if this is the second time they've done it, if it were me, I would absolutely not accept that. 'If you've been offered a promotion with a new salary and this has been agreed and they've then rescinded it, I think that is a breach of contract and I would object to it in the strongest terms, particularly if it's not the first time it's happened. 'On a personal note, I would be asking myself if this is the organisation I really want to work for,' she says. Although Lisa Holt , group managing director at Cpl Recruitment, has heard of companies postponing promotions due to internal organisational changes or challenges, it would typically happen before any promotion process takes place. 'If it happens afterwards, it is a very challenging situation to manage and to navigate,' she says. Holt advises contacting the HR department and raising concerns about the experience to date concerning promotions being rescinded. 'As this has happened twice I feel this candidate needs an opportunity to sit down opposite HR and find out the background and reasoning to the decision and give them the opportunity to air their disappointment,' she says. Noting that it would be 'very unusual' for an employer to withdraw a promotion offer without just reason and an explanation, Holt notes that companies do not have hiring freezes without good reason. 'Post-Covid-19, we heard of a lot of hiring freezes due to companies wanting to rightsize their business, or sometimes when it is coming up to budget time they will put a freeze in place so they have a chance to look at their organisation structure, stand back and consider their future hiring plans,' she says. Still, the reader's experience as described, in which they have had promotions rescinded twice is almost unheard of. 'It is not something we would come across at all, to be honest, and it is very strange that it happened twice,' Holt says. Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Bookmaker sharply criticised over 'deplorable' treatment of sacked worker
A leading bookmaker firm has been sharply criticised by an employment tribunal over its approach to an unfair dismissal case and its 'deplorable' treatment of a sacked worker. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) said it was rare to encounter a case where there was 'such a complete repertoire of gross breaches of fair procedure and of a worker's rights.' Advertisement The WRC ruled that Bar One Racing had unfairly dismissed a service desk engineer, Liam Kyle, last January. Bar One Racing – which was founded in 1995 by businessman, Barney O'Hare – operates over 50 betting shops in Ireland and employs over 300 staff. WRC adjudication officer, Pat Brady, said the hearing of the case was 'somewhat extraordinary', largely due to the attitude of the company which he said demonstrated the 'most casual indifference' to the case. Mr Brady pointed out that Bar One Racing had made no written submission on the unfair dismissal claim. Advertisement He said two HR executives had attended the WRC hearing on behalf of the company but no witnesses relevant to the issue of Mr Kyle's dismissal. 'It was stated that one person might be available, hardly an acceptable approach to a tribunal,' said Mr Brady Bar One Racing accepted it had terminated Mr Kyle's employment but claimed issues had arisen about his attendance and punctuality. The company said it had recorded about 16 days of absence in total which it raised with Mr Kyle at a meeting in September 2024 which it denied was being held as a disciplinary hearing. Advertisement A second meeting was held in October 2024 and his employment was terminated at a final meeting in January 2025. Mr Kyle told the WRC that there were no issues with his work which he described as 'good.' However, he said he noticed a few months after he became a full-time worker in October 2023 that his manager was reassigning work from other colleagues to him. Mr Kyle accepted he had taken some sick leave and was slightly late on a few occasions but denied that it was frequent. Advertisement He recalled having a few information meetings about such issues but said no warnings had ever been issued to him. Mr Kyle said he had not regarded the first meeting as a disciplinary hearing until he was handed a document to sign which was a record of his absences due to sick leave. He gave evidence that he signed the document under duress as he was told that his employment could be terminated if he refused. He was also not permitted to retain a copy of it. In his ruling, Mr Brady said there was 'complete confusion' about the three meetings which Bar One Racing relied on for its defence of the case. Advertisement The WRC official noted the company had not made available any record of the first meeting or its outcome. He observed that Bar One Racing claimed Mr Kyle had been given a warning at the meeting in October 2024 but that the complainant was confused as he only remembered being handed a document about his sick leave absences. Mr Brady said Mr Kyle was not permitted to check the document and forced under duress to sign it In what he described as 'a bizarre twist', Mr Brady said the company claimed Mr Kyle was shown the letter of warning on which reliance was subsequently placed three months later when it terminated his employment. Mr Brady said it was unclear whether it was the same document but he said the failure of Bar Racing One to give Mr Kyle a copy was 'fatal.' The WRC said he drew obvious conclusions from the company apparently not considering it necessary to submit any other relevant documentation. Mr Brady said it explained Mr Kyle's belief that he had never been given a warning because he had never been given a copy of the warning. 'It seems probable that no such warning was given on the date claimed,' said Mr Brady. Ireland Government signs new sonar contract to enhance mar... Read More He added: 'Whatever way you may look at it, this meeting represented a gross violation of fair procedure requirements and of the complainant's rights to a transparent process.' The WRC said Mr Kyle had not been given any adequate notice of the disciplinary meeting, the nature of it, the right to be accompanied to it or the possible outcomes Mr Brady said the meeting in January was 'another masterclass in how not to convene a disciplinary meeting' as well as relying on a letter of warning allegedly issued the previous October. The WRC ordered Bar One Racing to pay Mr Kyle compensation of €2,700 – the equivalent of five week's pay – after hearing evidence that he had obtained alternative employment in that period.
