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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this is massively out of order and should be illegal...

47 replies

picklypopcorn · 18/04/2016 10:10

So DP lost his job last week and only found out THE NIGHT BEFORE HIS LAST SHIFT.

He works in a restaurant and the owners decided to sell it, but didn't tell any of the staff until the day the contracts switched hands.

The new owners promptly decided to close the restaurant the day after the contracts switched for a refurb for 2 weeks and although DP's and his colleagues contracts were transferred with the change in ownership, the new owners are under no obligation to (and have said they wont) give them shifts. They are all on hourly rate, so even the 2 weeks is financially crippling but now they've said he wont be getting shifts in the future either, which leaves us in a right pickle.

In total, DP went less than 24 hours between finding out he was losing his job, and losing his job

Because they are 0 hours contracts and because the contracts were transferred, it seems no one is under any obligation to pay them any kind of redundancy, DP has just been paid his owed wages up until the change in contracts (1 weeks worth) and that's that with no warning what so ever.

I've put a brave face on for DP and made out it will all be absolutely fine financially but it's going to be one hell of a stretch until DP finds another job. Problem is he's been at that place for 7 years as a waiter (straight out of uni), so his CV isn't great to be honest.

I'm not sure what I'm after here, anyone got any advice or been in a similar situation? Could CAB help us?

OP posts:

SovietKitsch · 18/04/2016 14:01

TUPE call ACAS

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 18/04/2016 14:06

JSA does take a few weeks to process although it will be backdated, and I'm not sure your dp will get it if you are working full time. It may be worth enquiring.
I agree the 0 hour contracts are criminal. My dh works on building sites mainly which will only employ through an agency. My dh is then forced to be 'self employed' but working for companies. It's a legal loop hole that in my opinion shouldn't be exploited. It means he has no guaranteed hours, no holiday, no sick pay and can be dropped at a moment's notice. Companies employing people in this way also avoid having to pay the minimum wage as their employers are technically self employed. It makes me so angry.
I hope your partner manages to find work soon

Maryz · 18/04/2016 14:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Maryz · 18/04/2016 14:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gallicgirl · 18/04/2016 14:11

It happens in big companies too. Basically, if a company goes into liquidation, they don't have to pay debts and government pays the redundancy. All too often a new company s just waiting in the wings to buy all the stock at a stupidly cheap price, transfer the assets and off you go.

CocktailQueen · 18/04/2016 14:12

I have no advice to offer, but here are some for you both - sounds very shitty and unfair.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 18/04/2016 14:15

Grr I hate employment agencies! My dh has been dropped from jobs just hours before he is due in Maryz.
Unfortunately, agencies are becoming an increasingly more popular way for employers to take on staff very cheaply and hire/dispose of them as and when they choose.

Bogeyface · 18/04/2016 14:25

We had a similar issue. H turned up for work and was told that his unit was closing, his wages, holiday and redundancy were not being paid and that was that.

ACAS were fantastic, as were the Insolvency Service (who paid his wages and redundancy because the company claimed to be bankrupt. That they started up again the day after with a slightly different name and £18 million in new investment was perfectly legal but fucking shouldnt have been). This was Phoenix Sports who owned Rileys btw and they did the same again 3 years later......

Get on to ACAS and follow their advice to the letter, they will help you and will assist in any legal proceedings should it get that far. Good luck

Bogeyface · 18/04/2016 14:27

Also whereabouts in the Moorlands are you? The warehouses in Burton on Trent are going to be starting to take on again soon, from the end of June onwards. I can let you know the name of a couple of the best agencies to register with.

wonkylampshade · 18/04/2016 14:33

Haven't RTFT but I think TUPE legislation will apply here, and they can't kiss ditch him (or his colleagues if they've been there over two years).

wonkylampshade · 18/04/2016 14:34

*just, not kiss!

Original poster

picklypopcorn · 18/04/2016 14:40

Thanks bogey, I've just had a phone call from DP, the word has spread about his situation and he's been offered a part time job in a butchers to tide him over until he finds something else by the father of a friend of ours :) Very very kind! It's cash in hand but it will make sure we can eat!

DP's old manager (who's in a much worse situation than us!) has been snapped up by another local bar who also heard about what's happened and a couple of the part time staff have gone there too :)

It's days like today where I absolutely love living in a small town and I'm so so grateful that communities still look after each other like that!

That's a huge weight off, now to contact ACAS and see what can be done!

OP posts:

FuckSanta · 18/04/2016 15:02

Bogey - it's called "phoenixing"

IceBeing · 18/04/2016 15:04

glad to see a resolution to the immediate problem - hoping there will be one for the legal situation too!

unlucky83 · 18/04/2016 15:13

Speak to ACAS. They are fantastic. It does sound like he should be due something but probably not much. Sounds like they sold the business as a going concern so basically the new company have taken over his contract. Which is a better position to be in than needing money from previous owner.
Hopefully you have your copy of the contract? And there is something that I can't recall its proper name but basically if he has been working a certain amount of hours every week counts even with a zero hour contract. And because of employers needing to report in real time, HMRC should know how much he has been paid.

We bought a restaurant - not as a going concern - it took months and lots of faffing (the owner was a bit slippery and dodgy - eg later found out they were banned from being a company director).
We finally signed the contracts, got the keys and turned up to find the chef -who was the owner's brother -working in the kitchen, had just finished cooking his sauces for the week, he knew nothing about it. Neither did the rest of the staff when they were told ...it was the weirdest thing - we had to double check with our solicitor that it had gone through.
We had to cancel bookings - it was close to Christmas and they had party bookings. We couldn't do them - we were refurbishing, changing the type of restaurant, not planning on reopening for a couple of months.
Don't think the owner showed his face there again - he had left all his paperwork in the office and we were constantly harassed for months from suppliers etc for money - even the energy bills hadn't been paid for years - we got sent bills that amounted to thousands that we had to prove weren't ours...including unpaid parking tickets...we actually changed the phone number cos we were getting so many calls harassing us for money. If any of the staff had been liable any kind of pay from him they wouldn't have got it...
(And the same guy was involved in opening at least two more restaurants afterwards that I know about that lasted for 6 months -1 yr before closing down... I know for one it got to the point where they couldn't take cards and another he lost his drinks licence...)

OliviaStabler · 18/04/2016 15:27

If they sold the business then TUPE applies. ACAS can help.

MyKingdomForBrie · 18/04/2016 15:32

That's definitely great short term news, long term I would use that great degree he must have worked hard for and find something in a more worker-friendly industry (much easier said than done as you say!)

MammaTJ · 18/04/2016 15:46

It's days like today where I absolutely love living in a small town and I'm so so grateful that communities still look after each other like that!

I live in a small town too. A couple bought a business locally, TUPE applied but they treated the staff badly.

Not a year later they went bankrupt in what had always been a very profitable business.

They did not account for the fact the staff they fucked over had lots of friends and family locally and they were incomers!

People would rather give their hard earned to anyone but them!

It sounds like you will be ok, but with regaurds to the new business owners, yes fight for what is owed, then watch and wait!

MidniteScribbler · 19/04/2016 22:09

I'm glad he found part time work to get you through, but surely it's time he started looking for more reliable work? A capable adult working an average of 26 hours on minimum wage per week when things are tight isn't really a sustainable long term option.

Bogeyface · 19/04/2016 22:19

FuckSanta I didnt know that but the irony of the company name has not escaped me. All the same directors, owners etc and they have done it 4 times now to my knowledge. Bunch of cunts.

Gide · 19/04/2016 22:31

A degree with a 2:1 means he can apply to Schools Direct (on the job training, places are filling up fast, do it NOW!). Some placements are paid, others aren't. Most schools then give the trainee a job at the end of the academic year. Just a thought, maybe won't work if you need him to earn.

Gide · 19/04/2016 22:32

^^ Just saying cos a pal who is a session musician decided he'd had enough of the uncertainty and qualified a few years back.

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