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Just had my day in court, totally terrified especially when i walked into the hearing room. The other side never turned up so the judge dismissed the case. I think he was a bit annoyed as he was pressing me to claim for costs. It's all over now, thanks to everyone on here who gave me advice and support. WOO HOO!!!!!!

Thanks Letterman and blueboy987, letterman I've PM'd you regarding the case law details you've mentioned thanks for any info. Blueboy987, unfortunately I didnt work for them long enough to claim CD, I had to be there 12 months and I left after 10. I really would be sticking it to them if I had, I mean I hated working there so much I gave up the right to statutory maternity pay in order to leave. It's no fun on maternity allowance but its better than still working for those jokers. I doubt very much threatening CD would have any effect whatsoever, they really are a stubborn bunch of bar stewards and vindictive to boot. A bit of an update, I spoke to the court yesterday as I've not heard anything for ages and was told that it was now in front of the judge for a pre hearing preliminary so it looks like i'll get my day in court unfortunately (anyone know if I can take the baby with me cos I won't get a baby sitter and she'll be too young for nursery). I've offered through mediation to pay back 3 days dependants leave minus the tax and insurance they wanted as I've been advised that I'm not liable for it and the company should claim this back from hmrc, in fact the tax solicitor i spoke to sounded quite bemused that they want me to pay their NI contributions, apparently this is a big no no and they will get royally screwed by hmrc if they persist. Anyway, if my karma is working ok the judge will laugh and throw it out before it gets to a hearing. On the other hand I do have an uncle and and auntie who work as JP's who could do a bit of leaning lol Night all, i'm having an early night as I've been plagued by false contractions for 3 days and i'm shattered.

Scottybear, I'm going through a similar thing where my ex employer is taking me to court. Unless it is specified in your contract or related documentation i.e. staff handbook and you have been made fully aware of any clauses they cannot claim back any training courses or equipment paid for by themselves which you are the recipient of. Also, it's a little known fact that if the training you attended was work related, benefited your employer and was paid for by your employer it is a tax deductible expense. My argument is that if its a tax deductible expense you can bet your life it's already gone through the books to hmrc and if they try and claim it back from you having already claimed from the taxman then it counts as fraud. Tell them to whistle, if they want to take you to court they have to prove they are able to claim the training costs and that the camera wasn't a gift.

Hi Sabmah, 1st of all I'm at a loss as to why they want a MatB1 form to calculate overpayments, as you say they pay 6 months at 50% pay plus smp and then 3 months smp which is the statutory 9 months, is that how they paid you or did they pay full wages for 6 months? They can work out the dates and amounts they overpaid by going from the date you started maternity leave can't they and counting forward until they get the right dates. I'm presuming they will have the official letter you gave them detailing when you were planning on finishing. The only reason they need a MatB1 is to claim the smp portion back from jobcentre plus, unfortunately they wont be able to accept a birth certificate as it needs to show the week you were due. The only way would be to ask your doctor or at the local midwife drop-in to see if they'll do it, I can't see why not if you explain the situation.

Hi fbnts, what have you received from the former owner of the business? from what i've read on the link provided by elche you should have received all the necessary documentation on transfer of the business including a copy of any contracts, statement of employment etc, if not then you do have a legal obligation to provide at minimum a statement of employment. The direct.gov website has a few useful links as well as the BERR site. I personally can't see any problem with formalising the arrangements that are already in place as long as you keep your staff informed and advised at every stage, after all contracts are there to protect both sides in case of dispute and if you involve your staff in consultation it would make for a very good working relationship, some of my best employers have been people who have talked to the staff and listened rather than riding roughshod over people no matter what. Good luck

If that's the case then take a good look at the contracts and staff handbooks, you might find a little procedure called a staff personal improvement plan. i.e. you advise them formally according to the procedures outlined in the staff documents for disiplinary that their work is not up to standard and is being monitored. You then apply a numbered action plan with actions detailed for their improvement within a set timeframe, obviously it is just to get them up to the standard of the other staff rather than set to impossible tasks. Then if there's no improvement up to the standard of their fellow employees you can follow the set down procedures for disciplinary. That way you will either get the slackers to pull their socks up or you get the chance to formally and correctly get rid of them. In this day and age there's no excuse for not pulling your weight at work and thinking that your job is safe, there are plenty of hard working individuals out there who desperately need a job.

Hi, as far as I'm aware the staff you will be taking on will come under TUPE regs and will keep their existing terms and conditions. This includes the rate of pay they're on. As far as I know (someone please correct me) the only way you can change their t&c's would be to make them redundant and take them back on again on new contracts (paying any entitlement to redundancy in the process) or, as we are increasingly seeing, renegotiating their contracts. If the staff are not happy with the new terms you want to put them on they are within their rights to refuse to sign. Your best option would be to consult Acas before you took any action as the wrong choice could cost you a lot more than a few overpaid staff. You cannot simply force them to accept lower wages as this could count as constructive dismissal. have you not asked the people you are buying the business from why some people are on different salaries? It could be that they won well deserved payrises through devoted and loyal service to the company.

bump? any help from anyone please?

Thanks Womble72 Can anyone help with my allocation questionaire? I have until the 9th April to get it to the court. On filling out the AQ do I submit a more detailed version of the defence or do I let it lie? I'm not sure what to put in section G and as I'm the defendant do I need to do anything about the fee or is that the claimants bit? Can I update my defence before it gets to court now I've found a few more facts or am I stuck with what I've already submitted online? And finally, it doesn't say anything about submitting a copy to the other side but I've read on a few threads here that you have to, do I or don't I give the moneygrabbers a copy?

CRB is a division within the Home Office. The CRB system is actually run by bona fide civl servants not Capita as far as I'm aware and never has been as I used to work for the company that set up the software they run it on. Not sure which is worse actually.

Stuff it, I've had a right pig of a day and have come home to find the dreaded N149 allocation questionaire. I am not going to roll over on this one. I've been doing a bit of research and talking to HMRC and I reckon even if the judge says they overpaid me by accident as the dependants leave sshould have been unpaid then there's no way in hell I should have to pay the gross amount as they are claiming as they can offset it on their tax returns, also they can't make me pay their NI contributions. I should have a fairly good case on the training course as well as according to what i've read, it should be tax deductible as it was paid for by the employer to improve the service they offered. Anyone know anything about tax law? Also on filling out the AQ do I submit a more detailed version of the defence or do I let it lie? I'm not sure what to put in section G and as I'm the defendant do I need to do anything about the fee or is that the claimants bit? Can I update my defence before it gets to court now I've found a few more facts or am I stuck with what I've already submitted online? And finally, it doesn't say anything about submitting a copy to the other side but I've read on a few threads here that you have to, do I or don't I give the moneygrabbers a copy?

Yeah congrats from me as well, send a bit of luck my way if u would.

Ok thanks Beau, I'll just have to argue that as I've already paid the tax and NI i shouldnt have to pay it again even if I am liable for the leave, which I don't think I am seeing as it was dependants leave and they'd already paid it. I'm stumped on whether I'm liable for their share of NI though.

Hi again, can someone please clarify the following points for me? Part of the amount my ex employer is trying to claim back comprises of what they allege is 5 days overpaid leave. Can they claim that amount back as gross i.e. before tax and NI deductions and also claim THEIR NI contributions back from me?