I'm reckon i'll be asked to leave shorty after refusing to work whilst i had health and safety concerns.

If i am, tribunal for holiday pay as a minimum i'd think. seems fairly clear cut.

i always defined self employed as being able to pick my own working hours, and being responsible for earning money. I get a earfull if i take a day off, but yet i don't get any holiday pay. grrrrr.

Did you get your holiday pay back ashmk ??

I get paid by the company i work for, and they give me a weekly wageslip showing my only deduction as 20% CIS, hence PAYE/CIS

can someone point me in the right direction - am i self employed or a contractor - and as such, what rights do i have ?

I pay 20% tax at source ( CIS)

I have regular working hours every day ( can't work whenever i want)

I don't get paid holidays

I don't get sick pay

From what i can gather, im a contactor, as someone who is self employed gets to pick his or hers own working hours. As a contractor, am i not entitled to some kind of holiday pay ???

Any thoughts ?

not sure about the legal side.....but :

Presuming its water based, it'll come off very easily. you just need the right stuff.

any decent car detailer would remove the overspray. quick spray down with tar and glue remover, then a paint renovation using a medium grade clay, with lubrication. bilt hamber clay would work well.

follow up with a decent polish, wax and seal.......no reason why you can't do it yourself, but failing that, £100 should see a local valeting guy do the buisness.

i've seen cars covered from top to bottom in tree sap, tar, paint, road marking goo, glue, melted rubber, acid bird crap....guys try all sorts to remove it....and fail. clay sorts it all out every time, with minimal effort

cool. guess its best to leave it then.

hi guys. nice quick one for you.

last night my neighbours roof blew off their shed.....and damaged the bonnet of my car.

Whats the best course of action ? report the accident to the police ? ask the house owner to contact their own insurer ?? contact MY car insurer.....

i presume that A: they have house insurance.....B: their shed is covered by any such insurance.....and C : i don't have to pay any excess on MY policy, as clearly, i'm not at fault in any way.

thanks in advance guys.

W James

its a legal requirement of having an O-Licence !

being o licence exempt means they don't HAVE to have a defect book. but they should still have a maintenance schedule etc.

thanks for your advice - i'll take it all on board.

I took the photo to send to a freind of mine, who IS a hgv mechanic - unfortunatly, little did i know he was away on a last minute holiday, an as such never got to look at the photo to give me an opinion.

@ postggj - there IS no defect book......this is a small company, who clearly lack in some areas.

every other lorry i've ever driven has had a defect book in it !

its the drivers responsibility to inform of any defects. If the owner, or manager, or o-license holder tells the driver to " drive on" etc, that person is then responsible for its roadworthyness. a driver can only report the symptoms of a defect, its up to the owner or o-license holder to have a mechanic investigae the CAUSE of the problem, and the rectify it.

wow. lots to look at here.

I'm 90% certain its not illegal to record a conversation which you are involved in, in person. indeed, in a previous court hearing, i had a TRANSCRIPT of a recording accepted. i may well be wrong ( it has happened before)

For now, lets just say these recordings are for my own use, in order to remind me of exactly what was said, when and where, in case i need those details for a court case. Happy ?

Anyway, after speaking to a freind of friend, who works with vosa - he told me that if i informed my employer of the fault, and they told me to " drive on" then the issues stands with them. Breaking the law is not the matter here. defective brakes carry a £60 fine, and 3 points ( for the driver) at the discression of the police, who will generally not get involved. defective brakes for the operator carry huge penalties, and if im not mistaken, are often decided by the PF.

@ postggj

they are o-licence exempt ( recovery)

there is NO defect book for ANY of the lorrys. hence why me telling them about the defective brakes was verbal. and the windscreen.

my understanding is that its the owners responsability to PROVIDE the driver with a means of reporting defects. If i'm not given a defect book, how else can i report defects other than verbally ?

@ Mash It Up Harry.

Although i was aware of " a brake problem " - i wasn't aware that it would affect me to the extent it did during an emergeny stop. i took a photo of the NSF brake, and sent it to a mechanic friend to ask if it was normal. had i known that the brakes were THAT defective, i would have refused to drive it regardless of the outcome. beleive me, its opened my eyes, and i'll never risk my, or anyone elses life in that way again. all 3 999 serives attended, and all 3 agreed that if i wasn't wearing a seatbelt, it would have been a fatal accident.

as where i understand the points you all have made, please understand mine.

I've found myself working for a company who seem to have a total lack of regard for safety - indeed a complete lack of maintence AND or service on their fleet.

IF i refused to drive the truck, due to any defect, i know i'd be sacked on the spot. with no evidence, what leg do i have to stand on.

I will likely be asked to fix the brakes myself. I'll be refusing to do so, based on the fact that if i replace the brakes, and then they fail, and someone dies, i'll be directly responsable.

while i'm here, i'll thank you all for your input, positive OR negative - and i assure you that it's all taken on board.

i'm just glad it wasn't a young mother who stepped out onto a zebra crossing just infront of me, otherwise i'd be writing this from a jail cell.

I'm due back at work in a few days, and not looking foward to the resulting outcome.

did i neglect to mention, that after i told them the second time, i began recording my conversations.....

and have a clear audio recording of the workshop forman saying that he would get round to doing the brakes when he did the gearbox....hence they KNEW they needed attention.

i also have a photograph of the defective brake disk.....

Right, i'll breifly explain my situation

been with a small ( 10 workers) comapny for 15 months now. i drive a HGV for them. I have yet to sign any kind of contract.

there is no procedure for reporting defects with the HGV's, so every time i have a problem i tell someone in the workshop.

2 weeks ago, i told them my lorry had a problem with its brakes, i told the workshop, and they did nothing. a week ago, i reminded them, and the guy laughed back " aye, i'll get round to it along with the other things wrong with that truck" i had been waiting for a windscreen for a month ( it was very badly cracked)

On friday, i braked hard to avoid a deer, and the truck veered hard to the NS, and struck a soild wall at around 30mph. ambulance attended, hospital, xrays, CT scan - moderate whiplash, and some siatica.

No doubt WHAT SO EVER that the crash was a direct result of the lack of maintainance of the HGV.

they called me today to " see what i wanted to do about the days off" i was asked if i just wanted them as holidays. without thinking, i said " whatever"

Now, in the past, i've been told to " go fix it yourself" when the truck had problems. im not a qualified mechanic.

I plan to go back to work on friday ( 2 days) - but i know in the back of my mind they will expect me to repair the truck. or failing that, i won't be able to do my work, as they don't have a replacement truck.

If, i refuse, and they sack me. OR, if i decide i have no option but to leave based on this matter - do you think i would have grounds for unfair, or constructive dismissal ?

I have made no decicion about whether to make a personal injury claim against their insurer. i know they will not have informed them of the accident.

any advice is welcome, and thanks in advance.