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    • Not sure what to make of that or what it means for me, I was just about to head to my kip and it's a bit too late for legalise. When is the "expenditure occured"?  When they start spending money to write to me?  Or is this a bad thing (as "harsh" would imply)? When all is said and done, I do not have two beans to rub together, we rent our home and EVERYTHING of value has been purchased by and is in my wife's name and we are not financially linked in any way.  So at least if I can't escape my fate I can at least know that they will get sweet FA from me anyway   edit:  ah.. Sophia Harrison: Time bar decision tough on claimants WWW.SCOTTISHLEGAL.COM Time bar is a very complex area of law in Scotland relating to the period in which a claim for breach of duty can be pursued. The Scottish government...   This explains it like I am 5.  So, a good thing then because creditors clearly know they have suffered a loss the minute I stop paying them, this is why it is "harsh" (for them, not me)? Am I understanding this correctly?  
    • urm......exactly what you filed .....read it carefully... it puts them to strict proof to prove the debt is enforceable, so thus 'holds' their claim till they coughup or not and discontinue. you need to get readingthose threads i posted so you understand. then you'll know whats maybe next how to react or not and whats after that. 5-10 threads a day INHO. dont ever do anything without checking here 1st.
    • I've done a new version including LFI's suggestions.  I've also change the order to put your strongest arguments first.  Where possible the changes are in red.  The numbering is obviously knackered.  Methinks stuff about the consideration period could be added but I'm too tired now.  See what you think. Background  1.1  The Defendant received the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) on the 06th of November 2020 following the vehicle being parked at Arla Old Dairy, South Ruislip on the 05th of December 2019.  Unfair PCN  4.1  On XXXXX the Defendant sent the Claimant's solicitors a CPR request.  As shown in Exhibit 1 (pages 7-13) sent by the solicitors the signage displayed in their evidence clearly shows a £60.00 parking charge notice (which will  be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days of issue). 4.2  Yet the PCN sent by the Claimant is for a £100.00 parking charge notice (reduced to £60 if paid within 30 days of issue).  4.3        The Claimant relies on signage to create a contract.  It is unlawful for the Claimant to write that the charge is £60 on their signs and then send demands for £100.   4.4        The unlawful £100 charge is also the basis for the Claimant's Particulars of Claim. No Locus Standi 2.1  I do not believe a contract exists with the landowner that gives MET Parking Services a right to bring claims in their own name. Definition of “Relevant contract” from the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4,  2 [1] means a contract Including a contract arising only when the vehicle was parked on the relevant land between the driver and a person who is-  (a) the owner or occupier of the land; or  (b) Authorised, under or by virtue of arrangements made by the owner or occupier of the land, to enter into a contract with the driver requiring the payment of parking charges in respect of the parking of the vehicle on the land. According to https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/44  For a contract to be valid, it requires a director from each company to sign and then two independent witnesses must confirm those signatures.  2.2  The Defendant requested to see such a contract in the CPR request.  The fact that no contract has been produced with the witness signatures present means the contract has not been validly executed. Therefore, there can be no contract established between MET Parking Services and the motorist. Even if “Parking in Electric Bay” could form a contract (which it cannot), it is immaterial. There is no valid contract. Illegal Conduct – No Contract Formed  3.1 At the time of writing, the Claimant has failed to provide the following, in response to the CPR request from myself.  3.2        The legal contract between the Claimant and the landowner (which in this case is Standard Life Investments UK) to provide evidence that there is an agreement in place with landowner with the necessary authority to issue parking charge notices and to pursue payment by means of litigation.  3.3 Proof of planning permission granted for signage etc under the Town and country Planning Act 1990. Lack of planning permission is a criminal offence under this Act and no contract can be formed where criminality is involved.  3.4        I also do not believe the claimant possesses these documents.  No Keeper Liability  5.1        The defendant was not the driver at the time and date mentioned in the PCN and the claimant has not established keeper liability under schedule 4 of the PoFA 2012. In this matter, the defendant puts it to the claimant to produce strict proof as to who was driving at the time.  5.2 The claimant in their Notice To Keeper also failed to comply with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 section 9[2][f] while mentioning “the right to recover from the keeper so much of that parking charge as remains unpaid” where they did not include statement “(if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met)”.    5.3        The claimant did not mention the parking period instead only mentioned time 20:25 which is not sufficient to qualify as a parking period.   Protection of Freedoms Act 2012  The notice must -  (a) specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates; 22. In the persuasive judgement K4GF167G - Premier Park Ltd v Mr Mathur - Horsham County Court – 5 January 2024 it was on this very point that the judge dismissed this claim. 5.4  A the PCN does not comply with the Act the Defendant as keeper is not liable. No Breach of Contract  6.1      No breach of contract occurred because the PCN and contract provided as part of the defendant’s CPR request shows a different post code, the PCN shows HA4 0EY while the contract shows HA4 0FY.  6.2        The wording “Electric Bay Abuse” is not listed on their signs nor there is any mention on the contract of any electric charging points at all let alone who can park there or use them.  Interest 6.2  It is unreasonable for the Claimant to delay litigation for Double Recovery  7.1  The claim is littered with made-up charges. 7.2  As noted above, the Claimant's signs state a £60 charge yet their PCN is for £100. 7.3  As well as the £100 parking charge, the Claimant seeks recovery of an additional £70.  This is simply a poor attempt to circumvent the legal costs cap at small claims. 29. Since 2019, many County Courts have considered claims in excess of £100 to be an abuse of process leading to them being struck out ab initio. An example, in the Caernarfon Court in VCS v Davies, case No. FTQZ4W28 on 4th September 2019, District Judge Jones-Evans stated “Upon it being recorded that District Judge Jones- Evans has over a very significant period of time warned advocates (...) in many cases of this nature before this court that their claim for £60 is unenforceable in law and is an abuse of process and is nothing more than a poor attempt to go behind the decision of the Supreme Court v Beavis which inter alia decided that a figure of £160 as a global sum claimed in this case would be a penalty and not a genuine pre-estimate of loss and therefore unenforceable in law and if the practise continued, he would treat all cases as a claim for £160 and therefore a penalty and unenforceable in law it is hereby declared (…) the claim is struck out and declared to be wholly without merit and an abuse of process.” 30. In Claim Nos. F0DP806M and F0DP201T, District Judge Taylor echoed earlier General Judgment or Orders of District Judge Grand, stating ''It is ordered that the claim is struck out as an abuse of process. The claim contains a substantial charge additional to the parking charge which it is alleged the Defendant contracted to pay. This additional charge is not recoverable under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 nor with reference to the judgment in Parking Eye v Beavis. It is an abuse of process from the Claimant to issue a knowingly inflated claim for an additional sum which it is not entitled to recover. This order has been made by the court of its own initiative without a hearing pursuant to CPR Rule 3.3(4)) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998...'' 31. In the persuasive case of G4QZ465V - Excel Parking Services Ltd v Wilkinson – Bradford County Court -2 July 2020 (Exhibit 4) the judge had decided that Excel had won. However, due to Excel adding on the £60 the Judge dismissed the case. 7.7        The addition of costs not previously specified on signage are also in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2, specifically paras 6, 10 and 14.  7.8        It is the Defendant’s position that the Claimant in this case has knowingly submitted inflated costs and thus the entire claim should be similarly struck out in accordance with Civil Procedure Rule 3.3(4).  In Conclusion  8.1        I invite the court to dismiss the claim. Statement of Truth I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth. 
    • Scottish time bar: Scottish appeal court re-affirms the “harsh” rule (cms-lawnow.com)  
    • I suppose I felt my defence would be that it was an honest mistake and even the initial £60 charges seemed unjust, let alone the now two £170's he is now demanding. There is no Justpark code for 'Sea View' on the signs in the car park and the first/nearest car park that comes up when you're in the Sea View car park is the 'Polzeath beach car park'. If I have to accept that I need to pay £340 to avoid the stress of him maybe taking me to court, then so be it. If people here advise me I don't have a case then I will just have to pay.
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Maternity Leave & Returning to work, with a twist!


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Hello All,

Some much needed advise please on behalf of my wife who is currently on Maternity leave and taking 39 weeks entitlement due to return to work in June.

She has engaged with her employer (small but well established business) about returning to work and has requested a part time role. The owner of the business has advised her that this isn't for necessarily a problem for him; however has announced he is going to sell his business. No-one has actually bought the business yet but it is expected to go on sale shortly and sell in maybe 4 months or sooner.

My questions/concerns are that what legal rights does my wife have and what legal obligations would any new owner have with regards to:

1) Continuation of employment post maternity leave based on the existing full time contract

2) Continuation of employment post maternity leave based on a new part time contract

With regards to point 2 - would this be different if the current employer agreed a new part time contract in advance of the any new buying the business (although they probably wouldn’t )?

Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated

Many thanks

Mr Penguin

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This link may help with 1.

 

Responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business | Business Link

 

With 2 it's worth trying to get the current employer to agree, in writing to the flexible working but it can equally be applied for with the new employer. See link below.

 

Flexible working - the law and best practice | Business Link

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Many thanks mariefab - this pretty much covers it I think. The current owner has pretty much already verbally said they would change her hours (probably thinking that they would sound more sympathetic and not realising that they will need to deal with request and not the any new owners).

According to the procedure for requesting flexible working, the current employer will need to consider any officially submitted request and meet within 28 days. What recourse is available if they decline the official request although they verbally agreed more or less that they would accommodate it? :-|

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  • 2 months later...

Update:

Although my wife didn't submit a request for a change to working hours using the official form, she did request it via email and has been in communication with her employer. The employer had constantly advised her that the decision is 'not up to them' but is the decision of any new owner of the business. This seems completely against what we’ve been told here. My wife did have a face to face meeting with her employer and did reiterate her request for a part time contract to which the employer then advised he could either negotiate a part time contract with her now or wait until the any new owner takes charge and then help her to negotiate one with them. My wife made it clear she would want a part time contract negotiated now. The owner of the business had since delayed negotiating a new contract despite several further requests to address it.

 

Since this time the business has been sold.

The new owner has not yet been introduced to the business or a date given when they will take up the reigns but I need to understand what my wife's options are. It seems she has been treated unfairly and the negotiation of a new contract delayed so that the exiting owner would not need to deal with this issue. I have a fear that the new owner may reject a new contract meaning that my wife will not be able to continue working in her current job - does this mean she would have to resign and what recourse is there for her against the former owner?

Please help! :confused:

Edited by mrpenguin
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If we go back to your original post and have a look at the facts.

 

Your wife has taken 39 weeks and now continues with unpaid ML :

 

The rules are that you are allowed to return to work after 26 weeks paid ML to the position that she was in before the ML.

 

Post 26 weeks the rules change slightly up to the maximum of 52 weeks where the employer must continue to hold open a post that is of equal standing (if it is not possible to hold the exact original position).

 

I think the old owner is burying his head in the sand a little - he can and should of - worked with your wife to come to an amicable agreement on working hours.

 

I say this because the new owner under TUPE must take on the employees with the contract at the time of the sale of the business.

 

Therefore as there has not been any negotiated settlement on working hours I suggest your wife's position and standing with her employment is that of the 26 - 52 week scenario as above and continues her rights as such.

 

In short she should start her request for part time hours again, with her new employer - she has a contract and the new employer must honour it and also as such, must accept any request for flexible working time post pregnancy.

 

Beau

Edited by BeauBrummie

Please note: I am not a lawyer and as such any advice I give is purely from a laymans point of view;-)

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If we go back to your original post and have a look at the facts.

 

Your wife has taken 39 weeks and now continues with unpaid ML :

 

 

Hi thanks for your response - My wife is only taking the 39 weeks ML which is due to end in June and is intending on returning to work then.

 

Is there no recourse for the existing owner for not negotiating or at least addressing the issue?

 

Thanks

Edited by mrpenguin
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If we go back to your original post and have a look at the facts.

 

Your wife has taken 39 weeks and now continues with unpaid ML :

 

The rules are that you are allowed to return to work after 26 weeks paid ML to the position that she was in before the ML.

 

Post 26 weeks the rules change slightly up to the maximum of 52 weeks where the employer must continue to hold open a post that is of equal standing (if it is not possible to hold the exact original position).

 

I think the old owner is burying his head in the sand a little - he can and should of - worked with your wife to come to an amicable agreement on working hours.

 

I say this because the new owner under TUPE must take on the employees with the contract at the time of the sale of the business.

 

Therefore as there has not been any negotiated settlement on working hours I suggest your wife's position and standing with her employment is that of the 26 - 52 week scenario as above and continues her rights as such.

 

In short she should start her request for part time hours again, with her new employer - she has a contract and the new employer must honour it and also as such, must accept any request for flexible working time post pregnancy.

 

Beau

 

Sorry Beau, one further question: are you saying that even though she is may be doing less hours, the employer has to hold open a role of equal standing/pay?

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Hi thanks for your response - My wife is only taking the 39 weeks ML which is due to end in June and is intending on returning to work then.

 

Is there no recourse for the existing owner for not negotiating or at least addressing the issue?

 

Thanks

 

The new employer should look at and explore in full the prospect of accepting your wife's reasonable request for flexible working. I cannot see why the new employer would not look at the request favourably?

 

If the employer flatly refuses to accomodate your wife's request then a more serious option for her would be resignation and take the employer to an ET for a constructive dismissal. Your wife would be seen as the injured party and a possible discrimination claim due to her recent pregnancy.

 

Beau

Please note: I am not a lawyer and as such any advice I give is purely from a laymans point of view;-)

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Sorry Beau, one further question: are you saying that even though she is may be doing less hours, the employer has to hold open a role of equal standing/pay?

 

Yes, if your wife wanted to go back to the job she was originally doing but could not because the employer was unable for operational reasons then the T&Cs must say the same.

 

This link is quite informative,

 

 

Maternity leave: returning to work : Directgov - Parents

 

Beau

Please note: I am not a lawyer and as such any advice I give is purely from a laymans point of view;-)

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ok, understood. Thanks again for your advice. We'll see how things pan out. There is no reason the request should not be seen favourably, my wife has perfect employment record and is well liked by all those in the business.

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  • 1 month later...

UPDATE:

Since the last post my wife submitted a formal request for flexible working hours. About a week later her employer has responded in writing advising that they will agree to a compromise and has proposed a trial period to assess if there will any determent to the business by my wife being part time. The trial does not mean that she will automatically be moved to part time hours at the end but is then subject to a discussion as to whether your application will be accepted.

From reading up on the direct.gov website this seems a fair proposal and solution however, I would want to query 2 things:

1) What is a fair & reasonable 'trial' period - current suggestion in 3 months!?

2) Should she request some formal targets or metrics to ensure success is measured as opposed to just leaving it as a 'finger in the air' job as to the end decision - as I have a feeling there may be a sting in the tail as the newer owner of the business will be in post then and so the decision has just been deferred!?

Any thoughts or advice welcome

Thanks

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UPDATE:

Since the last post my wife submitted a formal request for flexible working hours. About a week later her employer has responded in writing advising that they will agree to a compromise and has proposed a trial period to assess if there will any determent to the business by my wife being part time. The trial does not mean that she will automatically be moved to part time hours at the end but is then subject to a discussion as to whether your application will be accepted.

From reading up on the direct.gov website this seems a fair proposal and solution however, I would want to query 2 things:

 

1) What is a fair & reasonable 'trial' period - current suggestion is 3 months!?

2) Should she request some formal targets or metrics to ensure success is measured as opposed to just leaving it as a 'finger in the air' job as to the end decision (mindful that she hasn't had any real targets set previosuly) - as I have a feeling there may be a sting in the tail as the newer owner of the business will be in post then and so the decision has just been deferred!?

 

Any advice or comments welcomed

 

Thanks

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  • 4 months later...

Update:

 

My wife has returned to work and accepted the 3 month trial. During this time the new owner has taken over the business (after being back for about 2 weeks). The new owner has seemed happy with everything and has not made any comments about the reduced hours nor brought up any issues as a result of them. My wife says if anything the same amount of work is now being done over less days!

 

The end of the 3 month period is nearly here and there has been no mention of addressing the situation either to continue the role on reduced hours and offer a permanent part time contract or otherwise. We've taken this as a positive as surely if there were a problem the new owner would be looking to address it asap, or at least out of courtesy set a review date as a heads-up.

 

Some questions:

Should we wait until the 3 months are passed, or longer, before requesting the situation to be reviewed (if it were left long enough would the position automatically be deemed permanent, say after 6 months)?

Where do we stand/what is our position if the new owner advises they do not want to continue the role on reduced hours (we would expect them to quote reasons but no issues have never been mentioned)?

 

Any thoughts welcomed

 

Many thanks

 

Mr Penguin

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What did your wife get in writing from the new employer regarding the trial? Did it mention how any measurement of the success or failure of the trial might be communicated? Was there any mention of a meeting at the end of the trial to discuss? Possibly most importantly, is your wife happy with the new working arrangements and can she see any issues arising from the change from a business perspective?

 

If it is obvious that there have been no problems and no impact on the business, then I see no harm in making an exquiry with the employer as to whether he considers the trial has been successful and request a formal change to the contract. Ultimately though, this is not absolutely necessary and your wife should continue to work under the new arrangements - over time (and there is no fixed period involved) it may be deemed that the employer has accepted the new working hours and the change to the contract has been implied by custom and practice. In a sense, a contract may deemed to be binding if both parties work under it's terms and no objection is raised.

 

It just depends on whether your wife feels that the eployer is likely to be difficult!

Any advice given is done so on the assumption that recipients will also take professional advice where appropriate.

 

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Hi Sidewinder,

 

There were no specified targets are measurements stated in the letter she received confirming the trial period. The letter was written by the former business owner and I suspect he liaised with the new owner before confirming it.

 

My wife is happy with the reduced hours and has not seen any impact to the business as all work is carried out as required. As mentioned, it could be said that she is being more effiecient! lol

 

I also did encourage my wife to make a log of any problems that arose and what was done to overcome them during the trial to support her case if it is argued the problems were as a result of her reduced hours. So far the log is empty!

 

As my wife has only known the new owner for a few months she is not sure as their disposition and whether they will object, although so far the signs are good.

 

I guess we're just playing a cautious game and don’t want to do something that would jeopardise her position when it could be more advantageous to let things continue as they are for now?

 

Mr Penguin

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I would leave it for now.

 

The new business owner would have to accept all employees under the T&Cs which were in place under the previous owner. If he has not seen fit to question them nor discuss when the new hours might be deemed permanent, then I would leave it be on the basis that if there was an issue it would either have been raised by now or will be at the end of the three month period. If you remind him that the deadline is approaching then he may start to study things a little more closely. If it is working as it is, then why rock the boat!

Any advice given is done so on the assumption that recipients will also take professional advice where appropriate.

 

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING

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