I'm very surprised your lawyer took that point of view with regards to this but they are the expert I guess.

Buyer beware with a private sale.

The free cavity & loft insulation is a government backed scheme where every householder is entitled to a grant.

Those over 70 and those claiming certain benefits get a 100% grant and even those who work get around a 60% grant or so.

You don't have to be with British Gas either. The government has to meet CO2 targets by 2010 so they have legislated that energy suppliers must provide these insulations out of their vast profits.

So it is actually the government who wants to look green and by doing this it doesn't cost them a bean.

What a load of fluff.

Ok perhaps I was being a bit pedantic. My point was purely that it is not good to get employee's in a mindset that they can take a solicitor to a disciplinary hearing as this is simply not true.

 

By virtue of s10(2)(a) ERA, the worker must be free to choose whom they want and not the employer. The companion must be either:

 

1. An employed member of a trade union or,

2. alay-official of a trade union, certified as being sufficiently trained and

competent to accompany a worker or,

3. another of the employer’s workers.

 

An employed member of a trade union could actually be an employed lawyer of that trade union. Most unions have a legal department.

And I have previously mentioned in my first post 'it depends on the charge.'

A disciplinary for lateness would probably justify alay-official attending.

A disciplinary for a serious fraud by an employee who works in accounts would be better served by...a fully qualified legal rep from the union's lawyers.

For your info I myself was represented at a disciplinary hearing by a CWU lawyer as Royal Mail had stitched me up and our region were contemplating strike action over it.

Humble Pie anyone?

Try this- Garden Law - Boundaries - walls and fences

Wrong

 

There is no legal right to a solicitor in any disciplinary proceedings at work. If the police are involved then it is not a work bassed disciplinary process, it is a criminal investigation (of a work based allegation!).

Incorrect.

One can be 'suspended (from work) pending a police investigation,' such as an allegation of theft whilst at work. Just like with my employers and thousands more.

Suspension from work is a work based disciplinary procedure yet the individual in this circumstance has every right to legal representation as they will be subject to police questioning from allegations made by the employer.

This scenario is not seperated as the process will obviously involve the employee and the employer and any good employer would abide by the police findings, though they are not bound by it.

Hence, the employee would have been allowed legal representation for a work based disciplinary and allegation.

In any case, an employee is free to consult a solicitor outside of work for any matter alleged against them before the actual disciplinary meeting and to take the notes to that meeting the solicitor may give them.

This is a 'representation of views' of that solicitor, though not in person, and is fully valid.

Just like the employer may have sought legal advice before the disciplinary of the employee, which is not unusual.

It has to be a level playing field.

3) No legal right to a sol (TU rep or work colleague). If they allow a sol (which they prob won't) then take one

Not strictly true. Depends on the charge at work and whether or not the police are involved.

Anybody would be allowed legal representation in a situation such as this even at work.

However, in this particular situation maybe the OP could tell us what the specific transgression is?

ie Could this be construed as a breach of the Official Secrets Act for example? If the OP works for a Governmental Dept then it would almost certainly be and a criminal offence, alleged of course.

But it would mean the OP could have legal representation.

We need to know how sensitive the employment is. It appears it could be.

A professional in the truest sense is anybody within law, the clergy or medicine as they all have an ethical code to abide by.

Any of them will do.

wowser.. i am £200 in credit on my gas since i switched it off 3 months back but kept on paying ... ( building up credit for th ewinter spell ) wonder if I should ask for a partial refund as I'm strapped now?

Well, depends who you are with and what tariff you are on.

If, like the OP, you are with NPower then kiss that £200 goodbye and find some more money too as you will not be in credit for long, unless, of course, you increase your dd's by more than 40%.

E.D.F.

 

Today i received from E.D.F. the written notification of the latest

tariffs for gas & electricity.

 

These had been widely reported & were of no great surprise.

 

However, having spent the front page reminding me of the £50 per year discount i receive for dual fuel & the fact that they were offering me 4 of these fuel saving light bulbs, (big deal)

 

hidden away on the back of the letter was the information,

that as your house is not part of the national gas network

it would now have to charge me for transportation costs previously met by E.D.F.

 

This adds some £ 42 a year to my gas bill for NO extra gas!!

 

On top of the 23% price rise in gas it means that

my gas bill has effectively gone up by some 35 to 40 % in a day!

What is your annual gas bill, roughly?

Oh dear, this is a very common ploy in the energy industry and NPower are way out in front with this type of thing, which is quite simply a [problem].

To the point-why on earth would your gas supplier refund you a credit on your gas, during the summer! (and actually at the end of summer), instead of keeping you in credit with the colder months around the corner and, of course, more gas usage with central heating?

And they would obviously have known that gas prices would be rising by a huge amount too.

Why? So you will now build up a debit and NPower will be able to block any transfer to another supplier you may request unless you pay off your balance.

You have been mugged as if you were walking down a dark lane late at night.

Delivery firms are notorious slave drivers.

What you need to do in the first instance is keep your own record of hours worked.

A National Minimum Wage compliance officer and/or an Employment Tribunal will consider your own records absolutely valid if it comes to that, which I feel it could do.

Work out your regular routes, times of each delivery and your collections, which I imagine are at the end of the day. This is important as you will be able to prove a 7:30 start and a probable finish of, say, 5pm, for your last collection and then the time taken to drive back to your depot and unload.

What breaks do you have? You are entitled to rest breaks as you drive 7.5 tonne.

Also, apart from delivery sheets you should also be completing seperate time records too.

What does your contract say about hours of work?

Try and stick it out until you have a years service, keep your records and then hit them with a grievance in Jan 2009.

You still have some rights if you can't hack it until then but you would be in a much stronger position.

I just wanted to say i have found this post very helpful, i nearly signed up to bg fixed prices until 2011!!! How foolish. Thanks guys. MM

Good for you!

Simple advice? Just switch to your cheapest supplier in your region and track the market every quarter or so and switch again if need be to whoever is cheapest then. They are only 28 day rolling contracts anyway.

Actually, I disagree regarding the price fixing on some levels. Obviously as the OP is with BritishGas, who IMO are the worst company out there and normally the most expensive as well, I would advise finding a cheaper supplier THEN think about price fixing.

 

At this point in time, I'm thanking my lucky STARS that I signed up for price fixing a couple months ago!! I'm with Eon and in May 2008, I was offered price protection until October 2009. It cost me roughly £1 a month more than what I was paying. I was told that I was not bound to stay in it, so no cancellation fees, and if energy prices drop below what I'm paying, then my bill drops too. Can't grumble about that!

But the problem here is that since May 2008 you have decided to pay an Eon tariff at x amount and you will be doing so until October 2009.

Now, in May 2008, the cheapest supplier of the big 6 were/are generally 25 to 30% cheaper on gas than Eon and about 20% cheaper than Eon on electricity.

Why is it a good idea to voluntarily pay this amount more and for a fixed period?

Even with an impending price rise the cheapest supplier will be cheaper than the amount you are fixed with even when that happens.

And the cheapest supplier will raise last which will probably be another 3 months saving at the cheapest tariff.

And then we will enter 2009, and who knows what that will bring? Although a good sign is petrol prices are lowering.

So no, I have to disagree with you. The person who will save most on energy will be the one who tracks the cheapest supplier in their region and switches to them whoever the cheapest supplier is at any given time.

You are just buying 'no price rises,' which is very different to saving on energy costs.

ps A fixed price that drops? And no cancellation fees???

Read your contract again!!

A Stat Demand - to the best of my knowledge - requires a minimum debt of £750, otherwise I would agree. This claim was for £500, even adding interest for a couple of months and the court fees is unlikely to come to £750.

Not only that but the OP has a default judgment which can easily be set aside.

A Stat Demand should never be used where a debt can be disputed.

It is up to whoever was executive of the estate to ensure that is was shared legally .If that is a solicitor then get intouch with him , in writing .Stating that the estate has not been administered equally by law etc .

Great advice Janet M.

However, I gather in a property situation like this it is very complicated.

Bathspray has only mentioned the property has been valued more than the other.

Which means little really. The sold price is the factor here, is it not?

This is a new one for me!

Is it actually a regular postie position you are applying for? You see, a postie can be employed in several different sectors but they will still be called a postie.

Is it just a 'walk' position, delivering to residential?

A CRB check has been standard for years but it has been relaxed for certain types of offences. However, a record/conviction for theft, fraud, dishonesty is a no no.

But a credit check? Not heard of this but most companies won't take on bankrupts/recently disharged bankrupts for fear of the possibility of being easily bribed. I left RM some time ago.

Posties deliver confidential and highly sensitive material.

I agree entirely with JonCris' sound advice.

The dirty beggar must be brought to book for the sake of others as well as yourself.

case for going the capped route quick me thinks!

Why?

Ive seen a lot on tv lately, especially Martin Lewis recommending that you price fix your gas and electric.

British Gas are writing to customers asking them to fill in the form to fix price till 2011.

 

If the price is going to continue to go up, why are they prompting you to fix the price now, whats in it for them?

Surely if you dont go for the fixed price and gas continues to rise they get less from you. Or, is it possible that there will be some kind of outcry or limit put on the charges because of the vast profits these companies make and so prices may be forced down? If you are fixed you may well then be paying over the odds.

 

So, price fix or not?

It is quite alarming how many gullible people there are.

Let me tell you, BG would want everybody who are with them to cap and why ???!!

Because you will be capping at BG tariffs!! Which, shock, are the most expensive in the UK! You are not capping at the other suppliers rates which are....cheaper!

So,....all you are doing is voluntarily agreeing to pay the most expensive energy tariff AND at a premium! For 2,3 or even 4 years!

It's a shocker. Why do you think BG are actually writing to you to do this? For them to save you money?

Has it not occurred to you to switch to the lowest tariff you can find, with any company, and just change when you want to in the future to always get the better price?

If it was possible, would you cap, and be contracted, for car fuel at one garage for 140p just to avoid possible price rises, or would you just fill up at the cheapest you come across?

No? Then why do it with home energy?

And will home energy be as expensive in 2010 as it is now?

It is utter madness. So no, do not cap with BG unless you want to lose out.

Why not just find an alternative cheaper supplier?

Victimisation in the legal sense is not what you have suffered, as you have not made a complaint of discrim covered by SDA, RRA or EPA.

How do you know the OP hasn't complained about what you point out?

However, victimisation is a possible accusation against the employer by the OP in this circumstance because they are being singled out for a transgression that others are not.

That is being treated less favourably than others, possibly bullying, and the OP objects to it and they are excercising their legal rights at work not to be treated like this which is victimisation.

thanks I'm glad you agree I mean what could be done if it happens again?

Answer my previous questions and I can tell you.

mrpotatohead:

 

The only defence you could offer to the charges reasonably would be custom and practice - you would need to demonstrate that the policy has not been enforced previously and so has effectively been annuled. There are no other mitigations or defences you could offer.

 

Are you in a union?

 

Seftonview

Not quite the case I'm afraid.

It is a rule within the OP's employment to not do what they have done and it applies to everybody within that employment.

The OP clearly seems to have been singled out. That is victimisation and an unlawful employment practice.

 

Maybe your manager doesn't know how demoralising their behaviour is...

I agree and it is an unlawful practice to do this.

The 'manager' should know this in any case.

Hey their i work for a busy call centre and a few of us got into trouble because we logged onto our phones late, i logged on 27 seconds late, and my manager emailed the whole contact centre about it some even logged on 10 seconds late which we think is pathetic i was just wondering is that allowed, it just seem rediculas

 

 

Thanks in Advance

It is absolutely ridiculous to be reprimanded for this. Your employers are quite obviously cabbages.

How long have you worked at this hell hole?

And how old are you?