Work issue

[kittie01]

I run a after school club for one hour a day and have recently decided to leave where I work. Lots of different reasons, treated badly by staff and parents paying late constantly turning up late etc. I employ a lady who is lovely. A few years ago I started asking for a deposit to hold places and a parent called into the principal giving out and the principal told me I can’t do that. For years the principal said the club is nothing to do with her and never got involved until recently. I went to work yesterday and was told by a girl that works there that she was told a parent is taking over my job, bear in mind this is my business that I set up there years ago. I saw the principal several times that day but she said nothing to me. I was going to ask her after work was it true someone was taking over etc. She stopped me in the corridor and said parent is taking over and the lady I employ may not have a job. She wants me to pass over all details to the lady that’s taking over. Am I being unreasonable to be annoyed that she expects me to just hand everything over and annoyed that the lady I employ is losing her job? I’ve built up a great reputation over the years and now several parents are taking their children out of the service. The service is full for the next couple of years so I feel someone is going to gain on my hard work and my reputation and as I’ve done all the ground work like taking calls answering emails and texts. I feel I should be paid not a huge sum but something to reflect all the ground work I’ve done.

Surely if it’s your business (names, set up and completely run by you with all income and outgoings your own responsibility), when you leave it just effectively closes and the new person just starts their own thing? Not an expert in business law but I would imagine you have no obligation to give them anything?

Iit really is my business, and I am a registered business in my own. I pay the lady myself out of money that i bank from the business that I run. I won’t profit from it when I go no. It’s a business so has a value as do all profitable businesses so I wanted to sell. After I sell I want nothing to do with it no financial gain nothing. It will take my time to send over all details of parents etc as there are literally about 200 children on the list to enrol for the coming years. Sorry if I’m not being fully clear

They either buy the business including customer information or you merely close down and the new person sets up from scratch...

If it's your business then surely the head teacher had no place telling you that you couldn't take deposits from parents?

Do you run it on school premises?

Talk to your accountant. The value of your business will include the net present value of future expected cash flows. You've said you're full for the next couple of years, so that is already existing business that a new owner will get the benefit of. It may be discounted a little, but is still of value as is your customer list.

What Randommess said!

Take advice from a local solicitor or accountant OP. It’ll be money well spent. You need a qualified opinion from someone in possession of all the facts. It would be a shame to hand over the business when you may be able to sell it.

I think many of the replies here are assuming you're in the UK.

If you're in the EU much of it may still apply. You need to check local regulations regarding handing over data and the employment of the current employee etc. If they take on the business then they need to take on the employee and its up to them to get rid of them (would redundancy be payable). Ideally you should be able to 'sell' on the business however if you rely on the school for facilities there's not a lot you can do. If you want to be difficult then you could close the business down and tell all the parents (present & future) to contact the school regarding future arrangements. If its a properly registered company then there may be implications both legal and tax wise in either shutting down or transferring ownership.

You really need proper advice from a local professional (accountant and or lawyer)

Your wording is muddled.

You either shut down your business, your employee loses her job, everything is at an end, there is no after school club and someone new can start from the ground up.

Or

You sell your business as a going concern to the new people. They have your staff, your waiting list, the whole shebang and what they do with it next is up to them.

You need to make your employee properly redundant but I'm sure you know that.

Like hell would they get any of my info - it's confidential and personal info is protected by GDPR.

Keep it very clean cut. You are closing a business. Another very similar one is opening. The two are not linked in any way.

If it were me I'd ask this new person for a meeting and give her a proposal that she can buy your business for £X which includes everything, including enrollment list, waiting lists, employee, mentoring handover from you for a month etc. No formal contracted agreement, no information sharing, tips or whatever. At. All.

Thank you all for your advice. I’ll contact my accountant to see what he says. I don’t expect to make millions from selling or handing over but I would like and need to be paid for sending over all documents. I honestly don’t want to be difficult at all and I probably am letting how I was treated cloud me a bit so wanted to get outsiders honest opinions on it. Thank you

My suggestion would be the following.

1. You need to let the person who is working with you currently in the after school club know that you're leaving it and that you will be winding it down. You are aware that the Principal has someone else lined up to run a new after school club and that you will suggest that they talk directly with the Principal about a job in that club.
2. Advise the current parents that you're leaving the after school club and that a new club will be set up and they are to contact the new owner/manager of that club to ensure that there is a smooth transition from your club to that one.
3. Wind up your After School Club. Finish it out and close.

Any data is being handed directly from the parents to the new club not through you. Anyone working for you approaches the new club for employment.
That's what I would do (or some version of that). I wouldn't hand over peoples information just because a school Principal asked for it. That wouldn't happen.

You have said you'Re not in the UK, but beyond that, we don't know where you are. Without knowing what the local laws are, no one can really advise. Employment laws and how businesses operate can vary a lot between countries.

In some countries, your employee might be guaranteed continued employment for a period of time after the business changes hands. In some, she'did be entitled to redundancy payments. In others, they would be free to boot her out with very little notice and no compensation, regardless of how many years of exemplary service she might have served.

Equally, you might be covered by GDPR or other data protection laws, but we don't know exactly what will be able to be in place.

Without knowing what laws apply, no one can say.

Thus is all a bit odd. You say it's your business but I am presuming it takes place in the school as you talk about bumping into the Head. I'm guessing the Head doesnt see it as your business as it takes place in her property. You use her facilities, water, electricity etc? She also asked you to run it. Did you take a salary or profit out of it? I think you need legal advice. You say not UK, but you need to look into whether your employee should go over to the new business as you could be held liable if she is nit treated right. If it is your business as you say, you should have access to legal advice from somewhere. You also say you were going to leave. What was going to happen to the service? Or the kids?

You need to get legal advice relevant to the country you are in. In the UK this lady would either be entitled to redundancy (if employed for 2 or more years), or her role should be protected by TUPE.

Anything that runs on school property in the UK needs permission from the head. If the head says you can't run it in school any more, then you can't. What you can do is take all the assets of the business and open up in a new venue.

I'm confused about the details of parents. If it's in a school, doesn't the school already have parents' details and know which children attend? This doesn't sound to me like a GDPR issue at all. The new "contractee" will send their own forms out to parents to get permission to administer first aid & a parent's mobile number or whatever, job done.

Does the business own equipment or supplies?

Agree the issue here is the op thinks it’s her business. The head thinks it’s simply an after school club she runs and is at the schools decision whether to permit or have it or not.

Op if it’s your business you have the relevant paperwork to show it’s a business and properly registered to you as the owner. You then show the head these registration documents and explain it’s your business.

If it’s not a registered company and you have just been running the after school club at their request and not paying rent etc, you just view it as your business then you don’t really have a leg to stand on.

The school will be short of funds, they will simply say fine, shut it down, we will start a new one, and email all the parents asking if they wish to use it, there really is no need for them to pay for your. “Customer list”

Can I second (third?) the advice to go to a lawyer? I can see two possible structures here: either the school is effectively renting you their premises to run an after-school club or the school is contracting with you for you to provide an after-school club. Without paperwork it won't be that easy to decide which but (eg) do the parents contract with you for the services or with the school? The legal position will depend on where you are but in most countries the school would need to give some form of notice at least and in some situations your employee would need to at least be given the opportunity to transfer to the new operator. A contract doesn't have to be in writing (you could prove through emails for example) but without anything in any written form it because 'he said she said'.

You really, really need professional legal advice.

You don't really have the autonomy that a business owner would normally enjoy because you need the head teacher's permission to operate.
But it is your business and it's very odd that the HT has essentially replaced you as though you were a member of her staff .
I'm hoping that legal advice will make it clear that you can sell and negotiate a deal for your employee .
Don't hand over any information, that information is your business and will have a monetary value.

Our afterschool club is run by a mid sized organisation which was recently bought by a big organisation. All our details were passed over to the new owners and we were informed of who now had our data and how to access it or have it deleted. This is legal under gdpr and what they’d have to do.

I set up the business at the request of the school. I rented the room off them and had my own insurance for it. So typically it’s my business albeit it’s on her site. I’m there years and would expect even a little bit of compassion and not just be tossed out like I’m nothing. The girl that works for me just found out that her job is definitely gone because it was sent out in an email to all parents and as she’s a parent in the school she got it too. Nice way to find out your job is definitely gone. Anyway I’m not going to do anything but have over details and walk away. Lesson learned, no matter what you do you’re just a number at the end of the day. Thanks for all your advice. It was good to get so many different responses and that’s why I love Mumsnet

Get a lawyer. It's an employment case.

Don’t hand over customer data without checking the legal position OP. I understand that you just want to wash your hands of this unpleasant experience, but you could be breaking data laws depending on where you are in the world.