I have signed it.

I can't often contribute to the employment threads but read them with great interest. However this is a subject I feel I can comment on, your family friend if she is so disposed should report this incident to the police making it clear that she views it as a "hate crime" based on her sexuality. It is no more acceptable to call her a dyke or make reference to her sexuality in a derogatory fashion than it would be to abuse a client based on their race or religion. Hate crime is an issue the police take seriously and rightly so. With that said, the judgement in going to a venue owned and managed by the people she is taking to ET has to be questioned, she would perhaps be better chosing other pubs/clubs to go to as it is unlikely they will welcome her with open arms

Apologies for the delay in updating, situation as it stands is as follows. BiL sent forms back (I never got to see them in the end) with an admission of guilt but explaining the mitigating circumstances as I outlined earlier and also highlighting the inaccuracies in the statement of the police officer involved, being the discrepency of the date (officer had put for example Friday 9th October, when in fact 9th October was a Wednesday). The court date is 4th August so I will update on the outcome in case the information is useful to anyone else. Thanks for the time people took to respond to my op.

Hi All Wonder if someone has experience of or can advise on claiming carers allowance when self employed? Our circumstances are such that my partner who is self employed is increasingly unable to take on jobs due to the care we provide a terminally ill relative. I am in salaried employment with a reasonabley good salary, it is more cost effective for my partner to provide the care required as the self employed earnings are less than mine. We have 1 child in nursery full time, (cost approx £300 per 4 week period) Relative is in receipt of attendance allowance as their condition is incurable and lives close by. We have not tried to claim carers allowance yet as I was informed (perhaps wrongly?) that until my partners accounts for the financial year 09-10 had been calculated by the accountant we would not be able to tell if the self employed earnings were above or below the threshold. This seemed somewhat strange but we reliedupon the information provided. I am quite certain that the self-employed earnings if taken over the year will be less than £95pw, expecially if I have understood the idea that elements of the earnings can be offset against child care costs. I would welcome any suggestions/information/feedback as to eligibility and the ease of claiming. I did speak to the helpline via carers.org but the advisor seemed unclear on information when I explained self employment was involved. Thanks

I have just read the entire thread (yes sa aren't I lol) from start to finish my OH has gone off in a huff cos i couldn't stop till I got to the end. I simply cannot believe that Fred lost and wish you all the best for the appeal.

Ah right, I'll make sure I get that info, I thought the description bit was all there was. I haven't seen the form yet myself and have never seen one before, now I'm clear on the bit I'm after I should be able to get the right info. Thanks

BiL+family have been away this weekend, I am speaking to sis this evening and she will be able to tell me the exact wording on the papers from the courts. I'll get there in the end, thanks for the comments rec'd thus far.

Thanks for the responses. Totally agree that BiL was abit dim leaving the bag over the window when driving. I've done some research and the 70% light looks to be correct, rightly however thin the bag was it was unlikely to let in the required light or allow him to see through it. Although given the circumstances I fail to see why the PC couldn't advise him of the problem and get him to remove the bag. I suppose I'm wondering if he should plead guilty with mitigating circumstances or if he should opt for not guilty given the circumstances? To further cimplicate matters the court date is scheduled for a day when he is on holiday (he returns the day after) can he get it rescheduled? None of us have any experience in courts etc so all opinions gratefully received.

Hey thanks for the reply. The charge is "using a motor vehicle in a condition likely to cause danger of injury". A slight alteration to my op though BiL has told me the bag was a v thin white carrier bag so was opaque rather than clear as I stated originally.

Hi I wonder if I can get some advice for my brother in law. In November 2008 his car was broken into and his stereo was stolen. To get into the car the thief smashed the window in the driver’s door. The break in was reported to the local police (he has a crime number). As he is a mechanic he covered the window with a clear bag to get some protection from the elements (it was raining) and set off to work where he could replace the window. Sods law but on the way to work he was stopped by a the police and issued with a penalty notice for driving with the window being covered with the plastic (I'm a bit hazy on this bit, i.e. what the penalty notice was for but can get the details if required). Anyway feeling mightily p*ssed off with his bad luck he contacted the police to discuss the fact that he felt under the circumstances his treatment had been somewhat harsh. He was instructed to write in outlining the circumstances and asking for the decision to be reviewed and that he would be informed of the decision. He duly did so and heard no more about it and assumed the matter had been dealt with. Roll forward to May 2010 when 2 officers turn up at his mom's house with a warrant for his arrest, as he doesn't live there they did not arrest him. He immediately contacted the police and explained the situation. He was ordered to appear in court regarding the warrant which he did. The judge lifted the warrant given the circumstances and said it would be referred back to the police. So he has now got court papers for the original offence, his thinking is to plead guilty to the offence but outline the mitigating circumstances. The paperwork he has received (I haven't seen it yet) allows him approx ½ page (A4) to outline the circumstances, whereas the keen PC who originally stopped him has written a 2 page essay on the issue. Does anyone have any feedback/suggestions on how best to tackle this; my BiL is a genuine guy and really doesn't deserve the agro. Thanks for reading and any suggestions will be gratefully received.

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