three words: North Sea Oil I didn't realise that CAG allowed for anti-scottish remarks to be made on general boards, scottish people pay tax as well in case you didn't notice.

No I know for sure that he's not paying tax or NI as he does not have an NI number. He is from the irish republic and, in his words, can't be bothered to go to the interviews the job centre require before issuing him with this number. Also the 0% council tax only applies to full time students who have formal study for more then 19 hours per week, he has no formal study time. Also he did not matriculate this year as he is not actually a student, just sitting the exams. It just galls me that he contributes nothing to the UK, sponges off the scottish government for free tuition, free NHS and brags that he will continue to get away with this for as long as he wants meanwhile there are students who can only work part time due to study commitments and still pay income tax and NI.

oh I spy some smugglers. MAFIA MAFIA

I hate mine, I get charged so often for stupid things that it would be great to not have to bank at all, only problem is that SAAS pay by BACS or cheque, most jobs (my new one included I think) pay you with BACS and almost everything is a direct debit or a giro slip that the banks charge you to handle unless you bank with them.

sorry I meant it was rolled back to the earliest it would go and is gathering dust in a folder in the start menu somewhere. I never use it because it's so inaccessible also firefox has great wee add in programmes for people who are studing.

I have a question, how can you not have a bank account? I mean how do you get paid? Also is it easy to become "bank account free"? Do you not miss things like direct debits and using a card?

And where would you get such an exotic drink from? Isn't there a recession on?

So I know a person (we'll call the person Mr A) who lives in a flat with 3 others. Mr A was a full time student last year but is, in his words "taking a gap year" this year due to failing all his exams. He is not paying tuition to the university and he is not under any obligation to attend classes, the university only ask that he resit the exams. Because he doesn't need to be at uni Mr A works full time cash in hand and does not pay tax or national insurance. He was caught not paying council tax last year and ordered to pay his council tax or face a fine. Mr A then had a lecturer sign a form to say that he was a student at the university and submitted this to the tax office so that they are no longer pursuing him for council tax. Lecturers do not normally sign these forms as they do not have access to the computer with the students status. As Mr A falsley delcared that he is a full time student is this council tax fraud? Also should I report Mr A for not declaring his wages and so not paying tax or NI? I don't think Mr A is in reciept of benefits as his council tax declaration bars him from claiming anything.

i'm getting it to, running firefox, IE is uninstalled, I have and use spybot, ccleaner and F-secure (SAAS expect me to use it). My computer is usually clean and spybot can't find anything wrong with it :S

we're Scottish you see, that means that we live on alcohol. You see normal people are 90% water but scots like myself and dearest Rab are 90% alcohol and because of this water is actually prohibited in Scotland and vodka comes from the tap. True story, anyone fancy smuggling some water up here for me?

hmmm, that gizmo is a bit green around the gills..............mafia methinks *drinks her prohibited J-D*

thanks wino. I have another question, when i put my details into entitledto the figures don't look right, it says I'll get £400 a month!! surely that's not right? I mean that's more than I earn

I think this might be one for sidewinder but I can't see anything unlawful about the above. Also constructive dismissal is more about being bullied out not about being given a different job as an alternate to being laid off....i think. i'm not very good at this game

This sounds more like redundancy, if the department is to close then you could be made redundant and that's not constructive dismissal. If others choose not to move then that's their choice, the company only have to act reasonably. I think

be afraid, be very afraid

sounds to me like he should negotiate work space on the ground floor doing his current job. I can't think why a general office worker would be required to work upstairs if there is no specialist machinery (like factory stuff) on the bottom floor. IMHO he should request this in writing from the employer giving a set response date and see where it goes from there. Remember to keep copier of all correspondance

if your company still own the ground floor and they have an area that he could do his work from there then it is reasonable to allow him to remain on the ground floor. It is not reasonable to give him a lower level job without pay just because the higher up people have high up offices, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect the company to accommodate him on the bottom floor if they no longer own this floor or if there is not a suitable area for him to work from there.

MTM has something to hide!!!

i'm due to start a new job and want to claim WTC for the first time, how do I go about doing this and does my status as a student automatically discount me from WTC?

Indeed, the liberal democrats are now putting pressure on to get the support raised from £4400 to £7000 per year, I'll be graduated by then but this is very promising.

As of 28/02/08 Scottish students are no longer expected to pay the graduate endownment fee. This will apply to all students who graduated last year as well as students who are still studying :grin:

Sorry to hi-jack but can someone explain this please? Hi GlasweJen, The attachments that you added in the following post have been un-approved ----- *contents of post in here* ----- This is an automated message, please do not reply. Regards, The Forum Management I definately didn't attach anything to the message I sent, if there was an attachment can someone tell me what it was so that I can make sure I've not got a virus.

I seem to have disappeared from the list????

DLA involves jumping through all sorts of hoops. Unfortunately you were wrongly advised, most welfare rights people would tell you to describe her worst day - this does not mean over exaggerate things but if it sometimes takes 20 minutes and other times takes 15 minutes then write 20 because that's how long it takes on a bad day, don't write 30 just to see if you'll get the award. Also, depending on your daughters condition, it might help if you get a doctor to write a letter supporting your application to enclose with it backing up the fact that your daughter is disabled. That and keep reinforcing her problems, if there's not space for what you need to say then continue on a separate sheet and enclose that too. It's a terrible shame you're out of time to appeal because most awards are given after an appeal but I think it's perfectly ok to reapply in a month or so. If you can take your form to CAB or Welfare Rights to fill it in as they have people who know how to word these things.

My current tenancy ends in early July and I'm splitting from people I live with and going it alone (one is going back home to France and the other is taking a residency up North) I'm looking into my options and, as I can't afford to buy at the moment, I'll be renting. Average rent for a single bed home costs in excess of £400 a month here so I may have to share again or become a lodger. I have been told by the council that they will pay up to £280 a month in housing allowance for me. So what are the pitfalls of lodging. If you recall my thread on what happened to my brother (he got his rent back btw) when the house owners pal turned up and he got kicked out. Is there anyway to safeguard myself against that? As I am not renting with my flatmates and my friends are all settled into their flats with friends and no space for me renting as a joint tenant doesn't seem to be an option. Also if I were to get a 1 bed flat to myself I would need some adaptions such as a panic alarm and other stuff because I have a disability. Would I have to pay for these or can the council help? Jens