Basic rights at work & Redundancy

A question about : Basic rights at work & Redundancy

This thread is for people wanting to start getting help with their rights at work and when facing redundancy. Some of your rights are based on laws passed by Parliament, and other rights you have will depend on the contract you've got with your employer.

Our advisers from Malvern Hills CAB are here to help you with your individual questions. Post your queries to this thread and a CAB representative will aim to answer your question within 2 working days.

If you're already receiving support and advice from your local CAB, then please continue your discussion with them rather than post on this board.

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Best answers:

• Hello,
  I have just been informed at work i will no longer be able to claim expenses to and from work, i do a 90 mile round trip, My contract says My base is the local office which has been closed for several years now. i am now expected to travel to head office and pay for this myself which will mean my income will decrease by about Ј200 a month, I work 3 days a week so this would be a quarter of my total income, which i can not afford.
  They have asked me to sign a contrct that states i am head office based.
  I need to know if i should sign this new contract and where i stand with not getting the expenses anymore, i had nothing in writing but have 8 years of expense payments in writing to confirm I have been getting this.
  What is the best course of action for me please?
• Hi
  I work for a (very) small company which I think is quite possible may cease trading in the the next few months due to lack of funds. I have worked there for more than 18 years the last 13 of which I have worked 30 hours a week (before that I was full time). If the company ceases trading there will not be enough money to pay me redundancy. My husband is (just) a higher rate taxpayer. What are my rights if any with regards to redundancy payments, and what would I need to do to claim these? Also, would I be entitled to any benefits if I was not immediately able to get another job?
  Many thanks for any advice you can give me.
• I have been working in Customer Services for the past 8 months; recently new staff were brought in and through chatting with them it has come to light that they are being paid more than I am for doing exactly the same job - even during their training & probation periods. I spoke to my Team Leader and he has said that we will all be on equal pay when I receive a pay rise in July. I dont think this is fair as they will still have worked for 3 or more months earning may than me. Is this legal? What if anything can I do about this?
• Hello.
  I have worked for a small company, in an accounts role since January 2010. I have recently been signed off work by my Dr with work-related stress and have since resigned from my post (my last day of employment will be in mid-July). Today was the first payday since the start of my sickness, and I believe that I haven't been paid what I am entitled to.
  My sickness days unfortunately coincided with pre-booked holiday and the Jubilee Bank Holiday. The timeline is as follows:
  28May12 - at work
  29May12 - self-certified sick day; cold virus
  30May12 to 05Jun12 - holiday (3 days) + Bank Holiday weekend (4 days).
  NB. I notified the office that if I had not had pre-booked holiday I would have been well enough to return to work on 31May12, hence the period of sickness below is a separate case.
  06Jun12 to 10Jun12 - self-certified sickness; stress
  11Jun12 to present - certified sickness via GP note; stress.
  My contract states that I am entitled to:
  1) statutory sick pay
  2) company sick pay, which is (in the first 12 weeks of sickness) my normal salary less any SSP & benefits entitlement (I am not entitled to any benefits).
  I believe that I have only been paid the SSP element since the first day of my certified sickness, and not my normal salary entitlement on top as stated in my contract.
  My contract also states in relation to company sick pay that it is payable "at the company's absolute discretion", and I believe at this stage that it may have been witheld in this case on a technicality, since I received a letter during my sickness stating that I had not abided by the contract clause to telephone in to report my sickness each day - I had texted instead as my sickness is due to a grievance I have against my managers, with whom I would have had to speak if telephoning to report sickness (I have not made the grievance official as I felt it would only add to my stress). The letter did not state that any action would be taken in relation to this (i.e. witholding company sick pay or otherwise). I have texted the office to report sickness in the past (a day here or there for the usual colds etc.) and I have always received company sick pay with no complaint having ever been raised with me, even informally. Also I texted to report my sickness with a cold on 29May and appear to have been paid company sick pay for those days (full salary, no SSP payable as it was just 2 days). I am unsure if they can take this action (witholding company sick pay since 11Jun) now when they have made a precedent of inaction in the past?
• My husband has a boss that hates him. eversince he was in a car crash on unpaid leave his boss phoned him up and said hewanted something doing in half an hour. At the time my husband was having a ctscan and whole body xray his boss phoned him up demanding work be done, he saidhe would do it when he got back but couldnt do it now as he was at hospital inpain and being treated , he was on unpaid sick leave at the time. From that dayon his new boss has taken a serious dislike to him. He has effectivly demotedhim but not reduced his money. Hubby says he was recruiting for the job he isdoing or supposed to be doing at the moment. He was informed of his newposition whilst on sick , by email to the whole company, no personal email. Heaslo has no job description , hes worrying he will get the boot in the next 72hours.... What a night anyone offer any advise .
• Hello,
  My employer has left me in a bit of a mess. The business I was working for closed down, giving me less than a week's notice and I was effectively made redundant. I have a mobile number only and have so far been unable to get written confirmation of my redundancy and I haven't received payslips, tax rebates or a P45 since I think they stopped using accountants several months ago.
  Am I able to get a P45 issued directly from HMRC, and will I be able to claim JSA and housing benefit without any written proof of redundancy? It was a part time job (less than 16 hours per week) and I was a full time student.
• Hi, I hope it's ok me asking questions here... So where to begin.
  I took a new job a month ago, at interview i was told after training i could work monday to friday 9-5. They said that althouvh the contract states 8-8 I won't have to work outside of 9-5.
  Now my emoyer is saying everyone must work between 8-8 mon to sun. My problem is i dont have childcare outside of9-5 which i made the interviewer and my line manager aware of. We dont have family/friends who can help either. My children are 2 and 1.
  I submitted a flexi working request to do 9-5 mon to friday but it was declined. I am going to appeal on the 17th but I dont know if it will help.
  What are my rights here? I gave up a 9-5 part time job on the understanding i would be ok hours wise. If they dont accept the request theyre making me jobless. I would never have left my other employer if i knew this would happen.
  Would we have a leg to stand on at a tribunal if it went that far?
  Thank you x
• what actions can I take if my employer consistently gets the wages wrong, from missing o/t to whole weeks missing to missing expenses and incorrect holiday pay and a whole lot more, they have a history of getting it wrong but in past 6 months it has got worse and I have had enough of having to explain to them what they have gotten wrong and request what they call a TT payment for the sortfall and another month they paid a week to much then took the full amount all at once out the next paypacket
  There have also been mistakes made in the paye tax
  These errors are happening to a lot of the staff there.
  I work for a agency and since Oct am directly employed by the agency with the Swedish Derigative wossit being used.
• Not sure if you can answer this but here goes....
  A colleague of mine is currently suspended pending an investigation from work due to an error he made. He has admitted the error. Another colleague was equally responsible for the incident, however, has not been suspended and is being allowed to carry on as normal.....is this right?
  The reason management are citing for the suspension is to unhinder the investigation, but my colleague has admitted his part. They are both in the same postion responsibility wise so how can management deem one person can hinder the investigation but the other one cannot?
  I also believe the investigating manager may be biased in the process as less than 2 weeks before the incident, she promoted the unsuspended colleague.
  Can I do anything about this?