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Petitions
Tuesday 19 November 2013
Presented Petitions
Petitions presented to the House but not read on the Floor
Employment Practices at Lombard Vehicle Management
The Humble petition of Anna Kelly, a former employee of Lombard Vehicle Management,
Sheweth that Lombard Vehicle Management was owned in part by the Royal Bank of Scotland; the practice and culture of management at Lombard Vehicle Management was of a very poor standard; further that this culture included bullying practices by management and that mechanisms in place to support staff through human resources failed.
Further that examples of these failings and culture include the fact that targets set for the Petitioner in her role were met, a target of 98%, verifiable through management records, yet she was criticised for failing to achieve these targets and placed on an action plan; further that her sexuality and character were referred to in meetings in a negative way by management; further that meetings of a grievance meeting were distorted; further that the Petitioner’s salary was suspended without just cause or reason three days into a period of sick leave which was in breach of her contract; further that the Petitioner’s Head of Department received advice that the Petitioner should not have had her pay suspended and refused to discuss this with the Petitioner or respond to requests to have the pay suspension lifted, despite being an employee of nine years with good attendance and only 10 days of absence due to sickness that calendar year.
Further that it is of concern that the union involved in this dispute was unwilling to take the aforementioned companies to tribunal because of the disparity between the union’s resources and the aforementioned companies despite the union having advised the Petitioner; further that the Petitioner was badly treated; further that the Human Resources department noted on the Petitioner’s file that she wished to withdraw her grievance, which was not the case.
Further that it is of particular concern that the aforementioned companies saw fit to hold two grievance meetings, one in a local public house and another at a
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hotel bar at Birmingham Airport, both public places; further that the Petitioner’s pay was withheld on a second occasion for a week due to her team leader holding on to a medical certificate; further that false statements about the Petitioner’s attendance, attitude to staff and targets met were placed on the Petitioner’s HR file and that Lombard Vehicle Management failed to comply with their own sickness absence policy and dignity at work policy.
Further that this culture and the failings by Lombard Vehicle Management resulted in the Petitioner taking voluntary redundancy in order to escape the workplace environment and bullying nature of her management.
Wherefore your petitioner prays that your honourable House take measures to ensure that the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lombard Vehicle Management are investigated for their lack of concern for workers wellbeing and rights, taking particular notice of the de facto public ownership of both companies and the duty of companies, whether in the public eye or otherwise and further prays that Parliament urges the Government to revisit the issue of employment rights to ensure that disputes between employers and employees are not weighted so heavily in favour of employers and further prays that the House urges the Government to request that the companies look again at the issue of compensation.
And your petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.—[Presented by John Hemming .]
Use of Statistics by the Department for Work and Pensions
The Petition of residents of the UK,
Declares that the Petitioners believe that Mr Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has used incorrect facts and statistics relating to the Disability Living Allowance; and further declares that an online petition demanding that the Work and Pensions Select Committee holds Mr Duncan Smith to account for his use of statistics has gathered more than 105,000 signatures.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Work and Pensions Select Committee to question Mr Duncan Smith at their earliest convenience to hold him to account for his use of statistics and further requests that the House requires Mr Duncan Smith to retract any incorrect statistics that may have been circulated in the public domain by his Department.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Liz Kendall .]