Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
Again I must challege your views, this whole forum is to support a change in current legislation that is wrong:
Workers have legal protection under the Public interest Disclosure Act 1998 against dismissal or other penalty as a result of disclosing information relating to malpractice such as crimes, breaches of a legal obligation, miscarriages of justice, dangers to health and safety or the environment and to the concealing of evidence relating to any of these. (Commonly known as "whistle blowing"). It does not matter that the information may be confidential.
I appreciate that a bank worker may want some anonymity but what will you gain from sommeone who can not be identified if needed, there views are worthless, you should promote open conversation from them in their personal status, it would be immoral of a board like this to ask for anything remotely confidential but questions asked to this vital group could be worded in such a way as to only confirm a practice is happening or deny it, that way they themselves would not be in breach of their own contracts which would be quite ironic considering this whole notion.
Does anybody know if when you start work with banks you have to sign any kind of special confidentiality agreement which might give rise to a bank accusing an employee of gross misconduct should they speak of internal proceedings? This is what I am trying to help people to avoid.
Gross misconduct is generally a reason why an employer can terminate an employment without notice, but the problem that employee is - and what the banks might be only too willing to stress - it can take a LONG time to take someone to industrial tribuneral under the act you mention, and then they have to prove that the reason they were dismissed WAS whistleblowing, and even then there is no guarantee they will win and be reinstated.
I am sure you will agree that is a very intimidating prospect.
Having said that to a point I do agree with what you say, in that we do need to be careful about people who might claim anonymity; this is all new territory, it's never been done before and mistakes might be made. What I'm trying to illustrate here is that if someone genuinely comes forward with evidence, we won't simply hand these details straight to their employer. Such details, if they exist, need to be in the public domain.
There has been a thread recently on www.moneysavingexpert.com on the debt free board where a bank worker only just managd to save her job through going for a debt management plan and not bankruptcy. There was some discussion on a disiplianry hearing though, not sure what happened over it but the thread is still going.
In case anyone want to read the thread this it, it relates to Royal Bank of Scotland, seems banks don't treat their workers any better than their customers.
Yes, staff are forced to sign the data protection and secrecy act. Therefore when writing to claim back charges if you KNOW any internal information DONT disclose it or use it as a threat.
The problem is Richardc, that someone does `have to do it', although there are alternatives. I'm self employed, and some of my customers live abroad. My finances are borderline; in the past I've used both Moneygram and Western Union when I've needed very quick cleared payment for work I've done. They charge a lot, but I don't mind this; I at least get what I pay for. The basic problem with UK banks is that in many cases, customers don't get what they pay for.......... Jim.
i work for Halifax (i know you proberbly guessed), and had to go through a credit check, and sign for security of customers, and company confidentiality.
i signed a much stronger version when i worked at a chemical plant, something akin to the official secrets act
However the forum rules clearly state that if you work for a bank you must declare it to the admins of this site - not to do so is a breach of the Computer Misuse Act (1990).
Also, to clarify - this site has taken no legal action against anyone - let alone a bank.
Actions of people in the forum are their own.
The "Rules of Engagement" in this site also encourage people to be polite to banking staff.
Many people are not being treated fairly by their banks - a fact clearly emphasised by the fact that with no advertising, just word of mouth and other websites, in just 11 weeks we have over 9k users - banks are faceless organisations - if you work for a bank you have to accept that some of this anger - rightly or wrongly - will be aimed at you when you make yourself visible in a forum such as this.
Take traffic wardens - they know that it comes with the territory, even though their work is needed (in some part ;-) ).
If they were in a forum about the injustice of parking fines, I don't expect they would be upset if people directed their anger at them - even though they had no say in making the laws - just enforcing them; just like bank staff.
Sadly, banking employees are gaining the same notoriety as traffic wardens thanks to the overbearing acts of greed and disregard for existing customers imposed on their income stream (customers) by unsymathetic and unmoving policy makers.
Advice & opinions of Dave and The Bank Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability.
and seeing as actions from this forum have made a difference where i work, i thought it good to see what the fuss is about
I don't personally have an issue with right to reply, but I do agree that the basic rules should be followed. However, I am MUCH more interested in the quote from you...care to shed a little light on just what those differences are. I'm not talking extra workload, shi*tier calls and the like...the real differences, such as guidance and advice for dealing with these queries...
Alecto, Magaera et Tisiphone: Nemesis on Earth is come.
All advice and opinions given by Spiceskull are personal, and are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
I think its a good idea to have an opinion from the other side and what a great bloke Howard appears to be...any chance of lending me a tenner mate, i need to put it in a letter im about to send.
thanking you in advance
ps
if not then please follow what you believe to be the common feeling..hee
.....
ps
if not then please follow what you believe to be the common feeling..hee
Views expressed are not necessarily the views of all of us.
I am certainly interested in what you have to say. And £6 an hour? You mention hassle because of not supplying new notes (honestly, what planet are some people on?) so I assume you're on the tills, the frontline of the bank. In my day, they required at least 5 good 'O' levels (THAT dates me), including Maths and English, to consider anyone for a job.
In the USA there is an official level of poverty wages: anythin below 10 USD. I know that buys as much there as 10 quid buys here. I don't know whether there is an official level in this country.
6 quid an hour? You could get more as self-employed gardener or even house cleaner. It's a disgrace.
All bank tellers i have had contact with have always been nice and very polite.
Thats Abbey,Rbos and especially Nationwide. they are brilliant at my branch they are so nice to my 3year old daughter who puts £20-40 in coppers and silver into her savings account every month.
I cannot fault them only praise them.on the other hand the call centres in India are an aboslute disgrace they dont give a damn about customers or complaints.
How do staff in this country feel about them?
and how do staff feel about our cause?
do they sympathise with us or do they think we are a pain?
I had to sign a "declaration of secrecy" before I started in the RBS branch network like everyone else.
Like another poster I also considered the whistleblowing idea re charges but after researching it it's just not worth risking my income over. I'm secure in my job and have never put so much as a foot out of line before so why risk it?
(Yes I work for a bank but am here to help! Please be nice to me! )
Tips for handling this sticky situation
Disclosure Act 1998 against dismissal
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Originally Posted by howardbrown
Re: Tips for handling this sticky situation
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