r/LegalAdviceUK

Hi all,

Background

I'm employed in England and have worked for my current employer for 2.5 years. I've had no disciplinary or capability issues, and my performance has been positive throughout.

Out-of-work activities

Shortly before starting this job, I commenced a part-time, unpaid/self-funded doctorate programme out of academic interest. I have never used any work time or resources on this, with the exception of authorised leave (no reasons requested or given). The field of research is adjacent to but does not compete with my employer's business.

Last year, I received a prestigious award/grant recognising academic rigour and potential, together with my contribution and commitment to this field of research.

Contractual Terms

I did not disclose either of the above to the company, nor did I choose to display them publicly (e.g. on LinkedIn). My contract says I'm obliged to disclose "any other job or occupation", but does not mention study.

I was never dishonest with the company - the topic had simply never been raised, and I did not volunteer what appeared to be a reasonably private, external endeavour falling outside of the disclosure clause.

Dismissal

The company recently discovered the award (the recipients' names are published). I was called into a meeting with my manager and HR, and was dismissed with notice.

The stated reasons were that not disclosing the doctorate programme and award allegedly breached the implied duty of trust and confidence between employer and employee, and that they doubt my commitment to remaining and continuing my training with the company. They suggested that involvement and success in such a demanding programme must have detracted from or distracted me from my work, and it seems they also inferred I may now leave to focus on full-time research.

My thoughts

I was surprised by this decision because I didn't expect that activities or studies undertaken out of work hours, which are not subject to a contractual duty to disclose, could form a fair reason for dismissal. I also note that my performance was commended throughout my service.

Questions

1. On these facts, is this likely to be a fair dismissal (e.g. under SOSR), or could it be an unfair?

2. I would particularly appreciate if people know of any notable judgments concerning circumstances similar to mine.

Thank you very much!

Last weekend I travelled 5+ hours to a gig in Cardiff. The hotel wouldn't check anyone in even a minute early, so reception was packed with 30+ people. I was second in line.

When said my name at reception her colleague jumped in to loudly exclaim: "No. Don't let her check in, this is the lady we were warned about."

He did not address me directly or offer an explanation. When I laughed awkwardly, thinking it was a joke, he said, "We won't be checking you into this hotel today. Your booking has been cancelled. You will have to find somewhere else to stay tonight. Please take your belongings and leave this hotel."

I was completely blindsided. I had paid for my room, not been contacted to say there was an issue with my booking and never been here before so didn't understand this reaction. He would not explain at first, and kept repeating that I am was no longer a customer of this hotel, was holding up the line, and asked to leave.

When I got upset, he eventually voiced infront of the many onlookers that I had made the booking fraudulently using someone elses details. I offered to show my photographic ID, proof of address and proof of payment, but he refused to look at them. I was told it would make no difference as my documents were likely fake, and the decision had been made and there was nothing else to do.

He got his shift manager who also refused to look at my ID, repeated that there was nothing they could do as there was now an active case against me.

He was not just firm, but almost excitedly accusatory and unsympathetic. I think this was the highlight of his career and thought he was publically shaming a scammer, rather than someone who might be a victim of one. At no point did he show any curiosity about whether I was the genuine guest.

I was trying to remain calm, but the queue behind me was getting restless and I walked passed the onlookers in tears and had to get ready for the concert in the back seat of my car.

I had turned up very early that day as parking was first come first serve, so now I had also lost my parking in Cardiff for the weekend too. I was a woman alone, in a different country, with nowhere to stay, nearly £200 down. Based on what I had been told, I truly believed my identity had been stolen, that someone had impersonated me and I was very close to calling the the police.

Upon my own investigation, I realised my confirmation email was missing and eventually realised I had entered my email address incorrectly when making the booking. The booking confirmation had been sent to someone else with the same name as me, who had understandably contacted the hotel because they thought a booking had been made using their details.

I called Customer Services who explained mistakes with email addresses are very common and was not grounds to refuse check-in. They advised me to return to reception with my ID and proof of payment, as those should be enough to verify that I was the genuine guest.

When I returned to the front desk, he at first refused to look at or talk to me. After a solid minute of silence where I thought he was going to call the next customer over instead of acknowledge me, he said "Back again?"

I explained what had happened. I assume my red eyes and evident distress was enough proof that he should at least hear me out as he said he would talk to the hotel manager, but it was unlikely I would be getting a room.

I asked whether, in that event, I would be able to get a refund. His response was, "Probably not." And he left.

When he returned, he acknowledged that the caller had only disputed the email address and that the rest of the booking details did not belong to her. This, they had known all along. He finally agreed to check my ID. My address and name matched the booking, he apologised and I was allowed to check in.

I don't understand how my ID immediately resolved the issue when he initially refused to look at it? Especially after repeatedly saying there was nothing he could do AND saying there was an open fraud case against me that he was unable to override.

Also, my telephone number was listed on the booking. I dont get why I wasn't contacted when the allegation was first made?

I understand the hotel must investigate suspected fraudulent bookings, but NO investigating was done?? I was treated like a criminal and was given no opportunity to explain myself.

I was not pulled aside by a receptionist or manager and explained the situation, I instead was ambushed and publicly humiliated when this could have been easily resolved had they allowed me one minute to provide proof.

I've spent 3 days replaying this incident in my mind. I was so embarrassed. I spent the day coming down from the panic of thinking I had my identity stolen, and the humiliation caused by the way I had been treated. I stayed the night, and instead of spending the next day in Cardiff as planned, I drove straight home still in tears.

What are my rights to ask for a refund/compensation for the way I was treated here?

Is there anything else I can do aside from lodge a complaint with head office?

I want someone held accountable.

Hey guys wanna keep this brief. So I’ve visited my mum today and found the house to be a complete wreck. She has 3 other kids (I’ve been moved out for about a year now). When I’ve come to the house today it’s a complete mess, Amazon boxes and parcels everywhere, maggots in the sink and the poor dogs don’t even have a bed anymore (one of them is currently boxed in between a wheelchair and a gate). I don’t know what to do. She’s a loving woman and a good person but after speaking to one of my siblings (the kids been trying to just get the dog a better bedding situation bless him) I’ve been told everytime anything like this is brought up and she gets angry and very deflective/dismissive. Something needs to be done and she won’t do it herself, she’s sick but it gets to a point where I have to think of my siblings and my dogs. It’s not far from the Baker Family home from resident evil and I wish I was kidding. This house is a biohazard

Hey,

As per my title need some advice on fine/ invoice I received from Europcar.

About 2 months ago I hired a car from Europcar and used the short stay carpark at Stanstead Airport. When leaving the exit barriers malfunctioned and a large queue built up. Airport staff eventually came, manually opened the barriers, and waved everyone through not giving us any chance to pay for the parking.

Thought nothing of it at the time until a few weeks later I received an email from Europcar with an invoice for the fine & an admin charge £110. Also them stating that they already paid the fine and if I want to dispute it, I need to with the issuer using a third party authorization letter.

The issue is because Europcar already paid it they have essentially accepted liability and it would not leave me appeal online and the PCN clearly states “You can pay or appeal this charge; you cannot do both.”. When I contacted fine issuer they flat out refused to deal with me regardless of the third party letter.

Europcar attempted to charge my card but I cancelled it and have been emailing back and fourth basically stating that I dispute the invoice because:

- They way I was meant to appeal under Europcars terms is not possible because Europcar paid the fine and now I have no way to challenge the PCN.

- The basis of the fine is completely unfair (Was ushered through by Airport staff)

Europcar are refusing to back down just stating that they acted within the terms of our agreement and even though I explained all of the above they maintain there position is final.

- Am I right in saying that I have a valid reason to refuse to pay for this? Yes the hire agreement says they can pay the fine without transferring liability but now I cant dispute. Surly this is an unfair contract?

- I'm based in Ireland rather than the UK, have Europcar any way of actually enforcing this and if so what's the worst case scenario? Like will they take me to court and I have to pay legal fees etc?

- Am I better off holding my ground or just paying the £110 to make it go away? Like what's the worst case repercussions

I'm probably complete overthinking this but can tend to worry but at the same time feel like it's very unfair that I now have to pay £110 for no reason.

Any advice would be amazing and if anyone needs more info just let me know.

Apologies for the limited info here, I’m only getting bits of a story as my friend is incredibly embarrassed. They’ve been talking to someone online and have been convinced to take a loan out on behalf of this person so they can buy a car. They promised them they’d make the payments and then, obviously, they haven’t. My friend is now stuck paying for this loan, my questions are:

- Is there any legal route for recouping this?
- Has any offence been committed by my friend?
- Is this worth reporting to the police or is it just an expensive lesson to be learnt?

My wife and I are unfortunately heading for a no fault separation / divorce after 8 years of marriage. We have two primary school age children and our future parenting goal would be an even 50-50 split.

My wife is originally from Germany, we met in the UK and our children were born in and have only ever lived in the UK, however they do hold both UK and German passports.

My wife has proposed that for the summer school holidays this year our kids spend the whole of August with her in Germany visiting her family. I need to work for the first two weeks of August in the UK and then I’m invited to come out and spend the last two weeks in Germany with everyone which of course I want to do as I’ll miss my kids terribly.

I know my wife misses living in Germany and I might be massively overthinking this but is there a danger that if I agree to this 4-week arrangement she could use it to create a narrative that either a) our current childcare arrangements aren’t equal (when they are), or b) that she should be allowed to move back to Germany with the kids post separation?

Based in England.

I am working as a doctor in an NHS hospital. I have been working in my current hospital/department for 3 years but with only 1 year in my current role. Because of a high number of out of hours shifts the way my rota works is as follows:

- Someone from hospital admin tells me the number of each type of shift I need to work over a 6 month period. (eg. I get told you need to do x day shifts, y night shifts and z evening shifts.)

- I populate a blank rota with the required number of each kind of shifts, trying to cover gaps where the department is understaffed in the process.

- Hospital HR checks the rota to make sure they're happy and I work those shifts.

I have just been informed that six months ago when I populated the rota the hospital admin team gave me the wrong numbers for each type of shift and I worked fewer shifts than I was contracted for. I have now been told that over the next 6 months I am expected to work over my contracted hours to make up the difference.

This seems unreasonable to me as it was their mistake that led to me working fewer hours and their proposed solution would effectively mean I was working more than what is considered 'full time.'

Is this correct? Are they legally entitled to.claw back those extra hours from me?

Hi friends, forgive me for if I use any incorrect terminologies. I'm posting on behalf of my mother and am not the homeowner and thus am unsure of correct terms. This is a council house for context, in England.

Earlier this morning, we heard a loud "bang" come from the ceiling and the ceiling started flooding in my mother's room, waking her up. The ceiling is soaked, leaking and we've had to turn the water and electrics off. The problem arises because for the past 6-8 months, we've been contacting the council because there's a huge crack in the wall, spanning from the foundation to the roof on the external wall, causing a lot of moisture, mold growth and drafts. My mother has COPD, but the council didn't do anything. The pipes had also been buzzing and rattling for the past 5 months, or so, and again, nothing was done. Now the tank has "overflown", but it sounded like a very loud thud/bang.

The council are sending an engineer, eventually, but communication has been limited. We contacted them about 2 hours ago (7am, it's now 9am). The water has seeped through the ceiling and multiple floors, but we haven't been given any information on proper safety or what to do. We also don't know where it's spread, if it's just the tank, the pipes or also the boiler. We're worried our electricals will become damaged/destroyed, that and no electrics means no fridge/freezer. We've also no water and no guidance as of yet.

We're quite angry, because it is an old house and these things happen, but we've been communicating with them for near 8 months about structural issues with the house and strange noises. Now this. My mother is disabled and they've shown little to no care. Is there anything we can do? For the past 8 months, the council has expected us to pay out of pocket for repairs, but this has just gone too far now. To the council's credit, it's still early morning and thus they've not had much time to respond, but given our 6-8 month history of giving them ample notice of issues... I'd like something to be done about it ASAP in case they fob us off again.

Thank you for any advice in advance. I want to say thank you now because I may not have WiFi to respond due to turning off electrics. However, I'll try my best to respond when the Hotspot does work. I appreciate your kindness, for those who respond.

Edit: Thank you everyone for your replies. Engineer has come and gone, and the damage was caused by a missing overflow pipeline and the water has been damaging the walls for the past 8 months, hence the giant crack in the wall and dampness. None of the electrics were affected (Thankfully), they're going to send someone to fix the tank but not the wall. As suggested, I'm going to send off pics of the wall damage and contact the regulator and possibly MP as well via my mother's accounts as this doesn't solve the damp/mold issue. Hopefully it gets fixed or we get moved into a new house. Thank you everyone for the replies, it was a panic.

I didn't pay the toll on a local bridge near me of £1.

I completely forgot about it - fair. My bad.

Nearly 5 weeks later, I have received the initial fine of £70 AND the actual collections fine that its escalated to at £176.

I can't "appeal" anymore apparently. I never got a fair chance to pay the reduced fee and I can't help but feel like this is not the most legal action to take. The letter wasn't a signed for arrangement, nor have there been a number of warnings. Just, straight to collections.

I also can't believe that they are allowed to inflate the fine 176% of the initial fee.

Am I just boned and have to chalk this up to a bad case of luck? or is there some wiggle room here where if I call, they might actually see things my way?

Facial recognition error -(England)

I need advice on what to do if anyone could help me for reference I’m a 20 year old (female), i was recently shopping in my local Sainsburys (I’ve been a regular here for 4 years) and i was approached by 3 staff members, all my shopping taken out of my hands and I was told to leave

When I asked why I was told “go outside and scan the QR code” the QR code took me to a link regarding facewatch AI, then everything started to piece together I realised they were accusing me of shoplifting. I went back in the store and asked the worker for clarification, as I have never shoplifted in my life, I was visibly distressed and his only response was to scan the QR code

I am naturally quite an anxious person anyway but I’m also a medical student and this all happened 2 days before my final exams, it may not sound like a big deal but it really did affect my performance I was so stressed as I thought they might contact my uni etc and I might be kicked out for something I haven’t even done

The next morning I phoned Sainsburys asking for clarification, I asked for the items I’ve apparently stolen, proof/ CCTV, the timing, the date and I was shut down very quickly and simply told I’m banned from the store

I’m worried this will affect my degree

So a little more context, I let my ex partner off with the Internet bill up until 3 months ago. we split up semi-amicably and I knew she would struggle to pay.

So 3 months ago she agreed to have the debit details put onto her card. I'm still classed as the account holder. I have proof she agreed to this via text messages and I even took screenshots of the conversation.

Since then I've contacted Virgin Media after every missed payment to keep them updated on the situation so they can note down the situation. It's at the point as of today that it says that the service has been suspended at her address. Which once again is my previous address.

Last month I was informed debt collectors would be going to that address if there wasn't a payment made this month. So the question/s being, Could she redirect them to my address? Seeing as I have sufficient evidence (In my opinion) should I just let this play out?

Any advice would be brilliant as this has been an ongoing stress for me for months.

Currently in a company where in role promotions don't seem to happen (perhaps like many companies these days), so the only way up the ladder is by moving roles or changing company.

Applied internally for a role at a higher level on a different team. Got offered the job.

However manager of current role has blocked it, as they need me in their team, needs of the business etc.

Is there any recourse against this? It seems somewhat unfair to on the one hand say you are irreplaceable, but on the other say you are not worth a higher grade!

Good morning,

Looking for clarification on what is actually needed in this situation. I am taking my daughter to New Zealand for 3 weeks. I have permission from my wife to do this. We share the same last name.

I am confused about what I actually need on the meter of permission. The .Gov website just says I need the letter with context details of my wife. but when I do searches a lot of resources talk about needing to get it notarised. issue for me is that all the resources saying it needs to be notarised seems to be services trying to sell notarisation.

Is notarisation actually required or is the letter signed by her enough?

I've been employed by my current employer for 5 years. Last year I was selected for a management training programme that was described as preparation for promotion. I completed the programme over eight months, including additional work outside my normal hours.

I was told that once a vacancy became available, I would be promoted. A vacancy has now opened, but management have instead advertised it externally and offered the role to someone with no experience in the company. I have emails stating that I was accepted onto the programme because it was intended to prepare me for promotion, but nothing explicitly guaranteeing the role. Do I have any legal grounds for breach of contract, detrimental reliance, or anything similar, or is this simply unfair but lawful?

My neighbours have been making our lives miserable for about two years. They’ve also been repeatedly racist towards my family during that time.
It started with them throwing toys and gel into our garden. We asked them to stop and reported it several times. At one point they threw chocolate into our garden, my dog got hold of it, and I had to pry it out of her mouth before taking her to the vet because chocolate is toxic to dogs.
After we told them to stop, things got worse. They knew I played airsoft, so they reported to the police that I had a pistol. I didn’t. What I actually owned were was a AIRSOFT REPLICA of an: M1A1, a bullpup rifle, and an M4-style rifle.
Now their kid, who’s around 8 years old, has claimed that I shot him, and the police have become involved. I completely deny the allegation. I’ve been asked to attend a police interview, and my airsoft guns have been seized.
The police also seem to want to deal with it as quickly as possible by offering a community resolution, but that would mean giving up my airsoft guns. I don’t have a job, so replacing them isn’t something I can afford, and I’m worried I’ll lose them permanently over an allegation I say isn’t true.
Has anyone here been through something similar? Should I agree to a community resolution, or should I insist on the case being properly investigated?

We have a truck-load of evidence against them but can’t use because we aren’t doing a court case or smth, the neighbours lives in community housing.

What should I expect from the interview, and is there a good chance I’ll get my airsoft guns back if nothing is found against me?

All three of the guns has been seized.

We also have video evidence and physical evidence of them harassing us and me not shooting them
And no we dont have ukara

I've worked in a relatively small, family-owned restaurant in England for about 2 years. There are around five other girls who I work alongside that I get along well with, so we often socialise outside of work. We made a group chat where we make plans and occasionally (I know we probably shouldn't) gossip about customers and other staff members.

We had someone new join around three weeks ago. She's very sweet so we added her to the group chat. She wanted to swap shifts so she could have a day off and she asked to do so in this group chat. Not thinking it would be a problem, this was arranged in the chat.

However, when she didn't turn up, she was questioned about this by our manager. When she informed her that she'd swapped, our manager questioned why this wasn't in the main work group chat. Perhaps naively, she said she'd done it in our group chat, which our manager requested she be added to. Again, not sure why she agreed to this, but I imagine she was intimidated as she's only 19.

Our manager called us all in individually and said that she'd reviewed the chats in the group chat and said it amounted to bullying and harassment because of the way members of staff had been targeted. She elaborated that didn't want this kind of culture in the workplace, especially as people could feel excluded. Therefore, she asked us all to leave the chat individually after speaking to us. We all did so, not wanting to be in any further trouble.

However, I've spoken to friends, and they think it's outrageous. They've said that the group chat has nothing to do with my employment and the only link is the fact we work together. We're grown adults socialising outside of work, and we should be allowed to chat and socialise. We'd be happy to only arrange shift swaps on the main channels as I get this is work related, but surely she has no right to demand that group chats are deleted. Am I correct here, or does she have legal standing?

Background:

My mum and step-father are probably going to be getting divorced after almost 20 years together. My step-father left the house after some arguing and my mother forcing him get his depression and worsening aspergers (?) symptoms dealt with by a doctor. He was vehemently against this (denies anything is wrong) and it added fuel to the fire. He came back and mum asked him to stay at my sister’s (same village) for a night rather than coming back straight away as she was still feeling hurt by what he had said to her. He took offense to this and has asked for a divorce.

According to my mum, he is being nasty about it. He wants the house they just finished building, controls all the security cameras and finger-print locks, and wants mum to leave. They have two kids together who are in high school and he has not said if he wants them to leave too. Almost all their accounts are joint and mum downscaled her work because my step-dad has a good job, so she doesn’t have a lot to fall back on, and is not likely to get a mortgage due to not having regular work. They do have some joint assets (some flats they rent out in Scotland) but they will not sell quickly.

Question:

My mother has to leave the house for a few days to help her aging parents in another county with hospital visits. This is unavoidable. I have advised my mum to take anything she couldn’t live without (important documents, some clothes, any valuables and cards, etc.) and put them with a trusted friend while she is away. Is there anything else she should take with her? And is there anything she should be doing to safeguard herself?

I apologize if this is all over the place. I only found out yesterday and I’m not in the country anymore so this is the only way I can help.