Ironically they seem to have breached the DPA again by telling you the 'boy' as you call him has been dismissed. £200 seems reasonable to me. Maybe push them for more if money is your motivation, put it behind you an move on.

Many thanks indeed for this. This is exactly what I'm looking for. I think you've hit the nail on the head. He certainly isn't short of money as he has paid cash for the business so I think you are right about the increase profit margins and reluctance of paying redundancy. The first week he was there he tried to persuade her to work cash in hand. Even now he is only part paying her wages as well as making her work a week in hand. I think we will put this in a letter to him (he's very difficult to hold a conversation with). Thanks again for your excellent advice, it's very much appreciated.

Hi CAGers, I'm hoping you can help with a problem my other half is having at work. Background For the last five and a half years, my other half has worked full time (35 hrs per week) in a small privately owned village shop. Credit crunch being what it is, just over a month ago, the owner sold the shop. In that time, she has never had a written contract of employment & never received a wage slip (but did receive yearly P60s). The new owner signed a contract for the sale of the shop - and my other half was referred to stating her wage & hours of work (she has got a copy of this). Problems with the new owner As soon as the new owner took over, he immediatly increased her working week from 35 hours to 40 hours. This was done with no consultation & no increase in wages. The job market being what it is, she didn't really have any choice but to go along with this. Over the last month, the owner has been increasingly unreasonable - sudden changes to the time she has to start work (often with less than 8 or 12 hours notice & putting pressure on her to work late or weekends). On top of this, he is constantly undermining her work, making constant unfounded criticisms etc. It seemed pretty obvious that he doesn't wish to carry on employing her & it looks like he expects her to resign (I've got to admire my other half - I would've walked out ages ago). Latest Bombshell Shortly before finishing her shift yesterday he spoke to her and said that the turnover of the shop isn't what he was expecting and with immediate effect he will reduce her working hours to 20 hours per week. He hasn't given her any new shift pattern or any idea of when he will be expecting her to work (making it impossible to find any other part time work to make up for the reduction in hours. She's pretty much resigned herself to the fact despite previously loving her job she cannot carry on like this & if she can't find alternative work soon she will have to throw the towel in. We've had a good chat about it & have agreed that enough is enough. I need advice as to where she stands from a legal point of view & maybe some suggestions on the best way forward. Any comments/advice/or perhaps if you've been in a similar situation maybe what happened to you. Anything would be appreciated & if you need more information let me know. I've tried to be as concise as possible but I'm bound to have left something out!