Come in to The Archers thread - we've redecorated! Take a seat in that distinctive yellow chair and discuss events in Ambridge.

[PseudoBadger]

New thread for tonight's episode.

Do you like the decor then? My 'personal' assistant did it.

Would Project managing + job share + complete takeover add up to a year? Because that's sure to be what he'd argue for if so.

When did he walk out of the proper job? It can't have been a year ago.

The solicitors should be piecing together some of the picture by now. I think Helen will venture the R word quite soon. Only a little bit of info is needed for the digging to start.

I still think he's not rntitled to much SP. £85 p/w at most but probably less as he was P/T. Temporarily stepping up or taking over someone's job doesn't make you that employee so he should revert back down to p/t now the shop is shut.

Even as Project manager he is still only entitled to 88.45 per week. Any other pay when sick is at management discretion and as he doesn't have a weitten contract to say what his sick pay arrangements would be they should revert to SSP.

But mainly SACK HIM. Before he tries to come back. Because the shop is shut, he has no job and they cannot afford to keep him.

Rob will probably turn up with keys in hand to re-open the shop. And the first Pat, Tony and Tom will know of it is when Fallon mentions how much livelier the cafe now is.

Really, if Pat and Tony were as gormless as they are being portrayed at the moment they could never have built up any sort of business.

Or - he'll phone up demanding the accounts for his perusal and reminding them of their duty to run a profitable business for the benefit of his son.

According to Lowfield, he left the megadairy on 17th August 2015.
1st September: Rob takes control of the plans for the new shop.
12th October: unimpressed by Fallon's plans for the cafe.
16th November: Tony stands up to Rob [that must have been over the tables he bought].
23rd November: Rob makes a decision about a job. [That must have been when he told Helen he couldn't take on a job while she was pregnant because she couldn't cope on her own.]
16th December: shop opened.
29th December: Rob and Helen will jobshare.

He surely has no employment rights at all based on that timeline. Minimum SSP, give him his P45. For God's sake wake up, you dozy Bridge Farm Archers!

Phew!

On a similar note - here's a brief article on the question of Jazzer and unfair dismissal.

(It's been tweeted by the Archers site so ...)

Blimey GaspOde. That's impressive. Yep, shop is shut, they need a full-time replacement. He's redundant and can be dismissed as no employment rights. Week's notice and back SSP. They should have dealt with this straight away, they've employed people for a very long time.

Interesting article, but it's very clear that Jazzer won't pursue any of that. He almost certainly isn't in a union so would have to pay all costs himself and he won't have the funds to do it, nor (probably) the brass neck in the circumstances.

Now Rob, on the other hand, does have the funds and also has unlimited brass neck. He hasn't been employed for more than two years, though, so presumably his claim falls at the first hurdle. Would emotional abuse of your spouse, who is also your jobshare partner and closely related to all the directors/principal shareholders/partners in the business, qualify as misconduct sufficient to warrant summary dismissal? I hope so.

Jazzer's dismissal broke so many employment laws but nobody said anything.

So far as Rob they have every right to terminate his employment giving statutory minimum notice period- but no doubt they won't. Despite being in regular communication with a solicitor I bet they take no employment advice.

Lowfield is a great resource. I could waste years of my life over there. Plot summaries going back to 1995.

Indeed. I lost a weekend to it and must never go back ...

Surely Tom at least will demand that Knob be given his notice, even if Pat is too dozy to do so?

That article isn't correct in saying Jazzer had tied accommodation, is it? I thought it was just temporary due to the flood damage.

Yes, that's stretching the definition of tied accommodation rather a lot!

Yes, it was just a favour. I was actually surprised the BBC didn't point that out before they passed it on.

(But I imagine at least a million people who'd never listened to TA have now written articles about recent events ...)

I just assumed Jazzer was a casual employee.

He's worked at Bridge Farm for years and years, so regardless of whether he's got a written contract I would think he's got some rights. He was definitely an employee, I would say, not a contractor. He only worked as a pigman for Tom and Tom provided all necessary equipment, directed all his duties and wouldn't have accepted it if Jazzer had sent someone else along in his stead. A million years ago when I had to know about this stuff professionally those were the key tests of self-employment, IIRC.

if Pat and Tony were as gormless as they are being portrayed at the moment they could never have built up any sort of business

This.

TA has one set of characters who are never allowed to change or mature over time Kate, Elizabeth, most Grundies for instance, and another set whose characterisation is wildly inconsistent and seems entirely plot-driven: Pat & Tony and Ruuuuth being prime examples.

He Henwee actor is new then theyve replaced him with an even younger actor.

I'm looking forward to Knob claiming sickness and disability benefits. He'll be incandescent with rage when the HCP finds him capable of work/without functional debility.

I've just looked up SSP on the gov website. Pat can insist that Rob puts his request in writing. She should also be asking for fit notes. The £80 plus is a fixed amount for anyone earning more than £112 per week.

IF the Henry actor is new then they've replaced him with a new actor.

The SSP website is pretty rubbish though - it says nothing about the situation when you're just filling in for your wife while insisting she stays at home and you work in the family business and your sickness came about after wife stabbed you.

Annie how remiss

Gosh can you imagine just how long you would be on the phone to a government helpline to sort out Rob's employment rights? Although hopefully it would be a quick - he's not been there long enough. It really isn't long since he left Berrow.