You misunderstand me.. I am not advising they counterclaim in the court system sense. I mean "counter claim" as in argue/debate the full onus of responsibility and that by way of settling the matter they could argue the car was, not illegally parked, but parked in such a manner that it caused an obstruction to pavement users..

If the car had been parked on the pavement and the kids riding the go-kart on there you could have counter claimed that it was potentially causing an obstruction. Hope all goes well with the outcome

Can I just ask where was the persons car parked? Where the kids on the pavement or the road of the cul-de-sac This may have relevance to the case....

Sorry for jumping on the bandwagon here... My partner has just had a text message from these which actually charged her to open the message.. Firstly are they allowed to charge for opening a text message? If so it is scandalous. Secondly, aside from a missed phone call and subsequent voicemail regarding a debt account and no other details a few weeks back, she has had no correspondence regarding any debt that she could possibly owe. How should we proceed? I intend to inform OFT and TS, is there anyone or anything else needed. Should we contact them to find out details of the so called debt? Or should I trust my instincts and not let her contact just yet and wait for mail with details on?

Yep. Checked with ACAS and used the DirectGov template for my written request. According to ACAS I could possibly submit a grievance regarding last summers meeting where my boss agreed I wouldn't work Fri and Sun after 3pm, as many times since then I have been rota'd on for shifts taking me past the 3pm so called cutoff. They also said that it could well be viewed as Discrimination on Sex grounds if they don't have a valid reason(s) for denial of request. All the other staff are female, I'm the only male member of staff. My manager hinted on a phone call that my request could be denied as it would favour me and potentially upset the members of staff who don't have children as they can't pick and choose their days/hours worked... She also asked why I can't work 12hour shifts on the weekend until it was pointed out (twice) that I have my own daughter then and at most I'll do a 6 hour shift.. I'm not so much in need of help with the flexible working request but more the grounds regarding the meeting whilst still off sick. The letter where they tried to say I'd quit made me feel like they were trying to get rid of me and don't want me there. It is only a small firm with around than 20 employees. Part of me really does not want to go back there whilst part of me does. The whole situation is making me very anxious and worried and the stress is beginning to take its toll.

Does anyone else have any info to help? Any and all advice and experiences appreciated.

Hi there thanks for replying. My daughter is 7 years old and my partners daughter is 8 years old. I wanted to go from working 12 hour shifts to working during the day so I can drop off/ pick up kids from schools. I know I don't have an right to demand the hours just for the request to be considered. My contract is for 24hours per week (although I often cover extra shifts when I can) however if my employers aren't able to accept my request then I'll have to give up work really, which I don't want to do. They have allowed other staff to do similar hours and arrangements both in the past as well as currently.

Bit of a long story really. I have been signed off work ill since mid February. I attended A&E and informed work I would be off for a week at least. I posted a sick note personally through the front door as I didn't want to talk to any of the other staff in the building regarding my illness. The following week I received a letter telling me that since I had not contacted work regarding my absence and they could not get hold of me via any phone number or via my appointed contacts for emergencies then I had self-terminated my contract. A frantic phone call to my manager eventually rescinded this action when I explained that I had posted it and I had received no phone calls (caller logs and statements by partner and family members confirm this). This left me feeling like my position there was untenable at this stage. Since then I have still been off and my condition is still undiagnosed and still under investigation. My sick notes (and now my fit for work notes)have been kept upto date and my doctors feel I am still unable to work. Now the tricky part. Last week I submitted a formal written request to chnage my contract under the Section 80F Employment Rights act 1996 to enable me to work 6 hour day shifts instead of 12 hour day shifts. My reason being I have two children to look after. One is mine who I have thursday to Sunday and the other is my partners who we both have full time. My partner works from 8am til 7pm or possibly longer Tuesday to Fri plus when needed. Work obviously aren't happy about it and want a meeting next week to discuss things. I am still signed off work and am not happy about my current situation there. I fear they will deny my request and have already stated that they don't feel they can comply as I apparently changed my contracts within a 12 month period when I stated I could't work a full shift on fridays and sundays due to my daughter needing picking up from school and taking back to her mothers. This was never a written request and my counter argument would be backed up by the fact that often the rota often had me working full shifts on these days since the so called "official" change. Any thoughts or ideas to help me? Ideally I don't feel I should be attending meetings whilst signed off work.

Still no update on the contract change and we are still waiting for anything in writing. My Partner has stated that they cannot just change our contracts but that they have to consult with us first. He has also said that if I do not agree to the change then they can change it anyway but that effectively means they have to make me redundant (hopefully with payment to that effect) and offer me the job back on the new contract. If this is still unacceptable to me then I can follow the Appeals and Tribunal process.. Is this correct?

Hello all. On Friday we were told verbally that the staff in our shop, which is part of a national chain, would soon all have their contract changed to a 'Zero hour contract'. Anyone not agreeing to this change would be placed on a "Leavers Contract" (I assume this means to be sacked asap). This only affects the store where we work and is not being rolled out at any other store within the company. We have not had anything in writing yet but the implication is that this will happen no matter what we say. I have a 29 hour contract at the moment (which has been conveniently lost by HR when they moved them from paper to electronic). I may have a copy of my old contract somewhere but I have moved house since then so am unsure on this. I have been with this company 6+ years and am a member of the GMB Union. So, basically.. 1. Can they enforce this contract change on just the few employees and without consulting us to it beforehand? 2. Do we have the right to say no without losing our jobs? (my partner says it could be classed as constructive dismissal if they did) 3. What happens with regards Tax Credits and benefits who may need certain hours to qualify for extra premiums etc? Any help, advice or clarification on this matter would be gratefully accepted. Thankyou.

Glad the case went well today and good luck for the future. I sincerely doubt the thread will be deleted as my partner is a forum Moderator and it hasn't broken any laws on defamation or libel/slander as such and is in no way harrassment. (unless the lawyers and peers know better that is ). And since this is a thread by yourself and nothing to do with your Other Half then the company whoever they are have no right to demand anything.

Taken from the handbook re Gross Misconduct.. "Theft or other dishonesty including taking goods for resale without making payment or having written authorisation..." My OH has said that her Appeals may well fail as it appears they made their mind up before the disciplinary and she'll have to go with the outcome and hope the Tribunal rules in her favour to clear her name. Due to her job being a trained profession, she may find it extremely difficult to find work in this field now so in effect not only her working life but also her career is in serious freefall. My OH has got me building a portfolio of evidence to protect me from any future action if it comes down to it.

Thankyou for re-assuring me. My OH agrees with and said pretty much what you have re-iterated and that was when the whole process started last week. We have long had problems with the company and we have long had suspicions that they wish to close our branch down and relocate some staff and lose the others in whatever way/manner. Thanks again I appreciate it. I'll keep you all updated on current and future events.

Everyone is still a bit shocked at the moment over that incident. Apparently according to the staff member who went in with them, as she couldn't prove she hadn't taken it from the store then they had Reasonable Belief that she had taken it and as such was guilty of Gross misconduct. She was initially interviewed on Tuesday with the allegation and suspended with pay and the Disciplinary scheduled for today (Mon). Written evidence was given on Friday (i think) and we all signed self made statements regarding the procedures for buying store items in the pharmacy. I made another statement regarding an incident that was linked to the alleged theft. My own research has shown that they are trying to follow procedure but that my colleague does have grounds for and is going for appeal. We are all worried that they are going to try the same with us. Basically I am thinking that if they try it with me that I want the Police involved straight away. Would this be sensible? Obviously I do have nothing to hide and have said that it can't be stealing if it hasn't left the premises.

The handbook has not been updated but isn't the best one out there. The colleague was only dismissed this morning so has yet to go through the appeals process (they are doing). Apparently there was an announcement mad a short while ago, when they cannot say but neither we nor our manager have received anything (although our manager is not the best one in the world and often conveniently forgets things or changes their mind on things) The company has many people who are in managerial positions who are all in cahoots and back each other over many things and a lot of underhandedness goes on behind the scenes. The current manager is inept and nothing is good enough (not even a the highest ever mark for the whole company on a mystery customer report for myself). The Supervisor has been with the company 6months, hasn't got the experience needed for the job and takes time off, strolls in late etc all the time and nothing gets said as her mother is a high ranking manager. The working atmosphere is so tense as to be stressful for the other workers in the store and we all hate the thought of going in there. Even customers hate the way it has become and have made several complaints about the manager to head office. My OH thought this as well but wasn't 100% sure. I know I haven't done wrong but obviously am nervous as if one of us can be sacked for this then any of us can based on no evidence.