i have worked for this company for 16 years,this is the 1st written contract ive had,i do want to leave,i am pressured to sign a contract with these following clauses : Hours of work you normally work 40 hours each week.The company reserves the right to alter working hours as necessary.as at date of issue the company is operating on a "short time" basis.you have been made aware of this and acknowledge notification and agreement. sickness Absence the company may require you to undergo a medical examination by a medical practitioner nominated by us at any stage of your employment,and to authorise such a medical practitioner to prepare a medical report detailing the results of the examination,which you agree may be disclosed to the company.the company will bear the cost of such a medical examination.such and examination will only be requested by the company where it is reasonable to do so. changes to terms and conditions of employment the company may amend,vary or terminate the terms and conditions in this document and such change will be notified to you personally in writing or ,when generally applied ,by notice. severability The various provisions of this agreement are severable,and if any provision or identifiable part thereof is held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction then such a invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions or identifiable parts. governing law and jurisdiction. in my eyes this is a zero hours contract which i have never agreed to,the medical clause seems draconian ,the changes to terms and conditions is this a unfair term ? and the severability clause is there because they know the contract is poor, thanks for you replies

My mother took out an equity release scheme with Aviva 13 years for 81k.... with an interest rate of 8.5% compound, and an early repayment clause linked to gilts. She has realised that if she maintains this, in another 10 years, she will effectively be destitute as the interest will take ALL of the equity in her home, her only asset. She therefore wishes to repay it early and Aviva are now seeking, in addition to the exorbitant interest accrued over the years a 62k early repayment/payment clause... therefore to settle this debt, she must now repay 294k or thereabouts. She did not have any IFA advice at the time, and we have approached/complained to Aviva already but to no joy. Can anyone now assist us as to how we should proceed.. ... this penalty clause is exorbitant... it is said to compensate Aviva for what they stand to lose, as they look at the scheme lasting 28 years. This however is not true because even after 28 years they seek a repayment fee of 50% of the original loan (if the gilts maintain the same degree of fall as they have today), in my mother's case 40k... . after charging interest that will have accrued to over 700k! Any help/advice will be gratefully received. thanks

Anybody ever challenged the Insurance Companies for the costs of cancelling Car Insurance mid term. I recently changed cars 3 month into my cover and looking at the renewal on my new car I thought it rather steep, so I started searching and came out with quotes saving me hundreds. On contacting BISL who collect on behalf of the Post Office Insurance I was staggered at the amount of money they will charge me for exiting the policy, all in their T&C's they say, it works out that any savings I was making has been claimed by them. I have asked them for a breakdown of their charges, anyone taken these [edit]s further?

Ive been working part time for a photography company for some time now as a freelance photographer on a commission basis under contract so I could access their equipment and venues. One of the clauses in the contract states I may not work for a competitor or be affiliated with one within 360 days of leaving the company. Now the main reason im leaving is due to a change in management, the guy who took over has given all the work to his friends or people who have been employed longer than me and for at least two months ive had no work, or been offered work that does not even pay for fuel costs to get to the venue. Sounds petty I know, and its not like I can prove this to be the case but that's whats happened so all I can do is leave to look for work elsewhere. What I need to know is, is that clause enforceable under these conditions?