Page 254 - She's One Crazy Lady!

It was tou“
Throughout December I felt niggled and angry. I was so restless, unsettled and really not in a good place. Somehow I had to find a way to find closure on this part of my life.
Having spoken, over and over again with close friends and colleagues about my problems and having listened to their suggestions and advice (and appreciated their patience), I sought legal advice from a local solicitor who dealt with employment issues and, armed with a folder full of paperwork, together with letters and my diaries, used the free half-hour consultation available to openly talk with him and to provide him with a brief synopsis as to why I was there – the half hour being extended, but with justification, for ‘K’, as I will call him, felt I had a sufficient, if not a good case, to present a grievance and was within a time span to do this following my official retirement. I felt so relieved to be able to pour out my concerns to someone like ‘K’ and warmed to him immediately when, having listened to me said he would act on my behalf on a no win, no fee basis despite there being some costs involved. A huge weight had been taken off my shoulders. For the first time in months, I really felt my concerns were being listened to and what I was saying was taken seriously – that I mattered. My friend, Dave, agreed to accompany me to this meeting as he had had managerial experience in his workplace of staff grievances, although not at this level. His help and support were invaluable in helping me to put together a timeline and piece together all that had taken place since I was first offered and advised to take ill-health retirement back in 2001, and in the pursuing months to put together my evidence and my case. I was truly grateful for his support, and that of other friends, but because they were all so close to the problem, I felt comforted that I had plucked up the courage to speak to a professional, independent person.
‘K’ and I were to have many more meetings and telephone calls over the next few weeks with paperwork being shared so that we could put together a comprehensive case – a case that was to be presented to a barrister as it was felt there was a 60% chance of winning. That was good enough for me.
A few weeks on I met with ‘K’ and the appointed barrister for a preliminary tribunal where I was questioned at length to ensure that my grievance against the LEA was justified and accurate and to ensure I was mentally sound and prepared for it to go to a tribunal. It was tough and demanding going over the sequence of events, but I remained positive and very confident. A few weeks passed and finally a date was set for a six-day hearing. I then had to submit my final witness statement as did the LEA, who submitted several. The barrister, through ‘K’, quickly made us aware that, having read the multiple statements submitted by individuals from the LEA, some of whom had left or retired, the odds were now most certainly stacked against me because it was me who signed on the dotted line and agreed to take ill-health retirement, thus it would be almost impossible to put forward a case stating that I had been unfairly or constructively dismissed.
gh and demanding going over the sequence of events, but I remained positive and very
confide”
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