I work for my partner. 3 times now when we have argued he has told me he will sack me

[KomodoDodo]

He’s been drunk each of the three times and apologises afterwards, but I’m sick of it. Obviously I need to leave this relationship, but its in a field that is quite niche and the commute makes it tenable for me to work full time and single parent. I would massively struggle otherwise and moving is not an option for various reasons.

What legal rights do I have here? Ive looked online and am drawing a blank. CAN he fire me if I end the relationship?

Sorry, forgot to say its a job that can’t be done online either.

Have you been on the payroll for at least 2 years?

As an aside- sounds like a crap relationship- get out whilst you can

Well no, because that would be illegal sexual harassment- making keeping your job conditional on having sex with him.

But why would you even work for your partner? It sounds like a bad idea to begin with.

“And I will take you to a tribunal.”

If he sacks you? Or?

What came first, the job or the relationship?
have you been working for him for more or less than 2 years?
do you live with him - "partner" implies you do?

Are you an employee of a limited company? Do you have a contract? (You should have!)

Do you have an employment contract?

I would speak to ACAS. Employment threads are always difficult - you'll get a mixed bag of responses based on what people perceive to be correct, it often isn't! Get some advice and then plan a route out of the relationship.

I'd find another job even with a longer commute.

With the best will in the world, your legal rights are only one part of thy equation. Do you genuinely think that if you end the relationship you will be able to work with him anyway? When relationships end, even in amicable circumstances, it can be very challenging to continue a working relationship. And in no way does this sound like it would end amicably. So I really do think you have to rework your thinking here, because the chances of your situation working out are very slim.

Purely on the issue of rights, that depends on how long you have worked for him, whether you are classed as an employee or a worker, and the circumstances in which your job would be terminated. If you are asking whether it might be possible to dismiss you legally, the answer would always be yes. More to the point, even if it wasn't legally terminated, there remains a question as to whether any legal action would be of value. I'm assuming it's a one man band or very small employer, and winning a claim might be a pyrrhic victory if there's no money.

Legally or not, you can't force someone to employ you because it's convenient for you. Sorry, but I don't see this ending well.

Thanks all for your replies
Worked for him for over 4 years, relationship for nearly 3 of those.
We do not live together
0 hours, no contract. But noone who works there does.
not sure re ltd company, but I can find out.
yes, small employer.
Quveas. I know you make very good points. I’m not trying to make someone employ me because its convenient, just pointing out that leaving is going to be very, very difficult.

Do you actually get a wage slip? I’d be making sure he’s actually paying money for everyone and not just saying he is. I’ve seen that in the past.

after 2 years you have a much stronger legal stance.

even if he hasn’t offered a contract you have basic terms and standards that all employers must abide by regarding notice, holidays etc.

ring ACAS and see what I do you need to
gather.

don’t let him know you are making plans on the interim.

can you do this freelance. Could you go self employed and teach aspects of this to other folks remotely? Could you consult for other companies in a similar field. Look at your experience and see how you can tweak it.

I have all my payslips and p60’s. I know my colleagues do too.
looked up Acas and will call them tomorrow.
At a very big stretch I could go freelance, or set up on my own, but the former would involve a lot of travel and I have no family or friends who could help with my kids and their school runs, and I dont have sufficient capital for the latter. Its expensive to set up solo. I also probably dont have enough experience to do so. Maybe in 10 years when the kids have left home.

If its genuinely a zero hours contract then you are a worker, not an employee, in which case he doesn't need to dismiss you - he simply offers you no work (and no pay, obviously). Technically there should be a contract in place, but as a small employer some leeway can be granted by a tribunal. Regardless of that I would still ask, what would you expect to happen? Small business... if he's clever he'll work out of any tribunal award, and if he isn't and gets it wrong you might well bankrupt the business and still get nothing.

I do appreciate that leaving or finding other work may be very difficult. But I honestly do think you've got to find a way. The relationship sounds toxic and controlling / abusive. But I can't say that continuing to work for him will work out, because I don't believe it will. Best case, he'll make you redundant and you'll get a pittance. Worst case it will end in an acrimonious legal case and the chances are that it will get very nasty, drag on for months, and he may wiggle out of paying anything even if you won.

Sorry. I realise that's depressing, but it's probably realistic.

Quveas. Tbh I have no contract, but have worked full time hours for the last 3 out of the 4 years I’ve been there…so I’m wondering if he suddenly stopped giving me any hours whether that would give me a case.
I’d rather NOT stay, my motivation for the business would nosedive without the ‘working on something together’ vibe I think.
what I’d really love to do is set up on my own. But its just too expensive.
I need to really up my search for what else is out there.

Time to make a life plan that doesn’t include this man, agree with PPs that trying to force a working relationship is a hiding to nowhere.
It’s shit and unfair but unless you can afford costly legal representation I think your time, energy and money would be better spent keeping the peace (if the arguments allow for that, if you feel in danger obviously that is not an option) and planning your independence from him.
You can’t live with that power imbalance if he uses it to control you. Plan B will no doubt be hard and result in compromises, but not as hard as being forced into a Plan B at his whim.

OK. In puerly legal terms, all things being true and based solely on what you have said here, I don't think you really are a worker. I think you are an employee. So yes, if he suddenly stopped employing you, you might have a case. I will repeat though, having a case and getting anything out of it are very different things. Especially in the case of small employers, many awards are NEVER paid, and enforcement costs you money and you will still almost certainly never see a penny. I'm sorry but I have seen that scenario play out far too often to give you any confidence. And it would still be a year / two years before that lands in all probability - tribunal cases are seriously backlogged. He can play for time, and winning may very likely net you nothing or next to nothing.

The point isn't whether you have a case. This point is whether you actually get anything out of having a case!

If you ahve anything in your head about big awards and headline payouts, forget it. They are very rare - the amount of time and effort you would have to put into winning a case would probabaly equate to around the minimum wage! Averages for unfair dismissal are only around £5 - 7k I believe.

And I know that some people would differ on this bit - but I hope you have learned that mixing business and "pleasure" is a really bad idea. Sometimes relationships at work will work out. They most often don't though, and all that happens is that life gets messy. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But try to avoid doing it twice!

Quveas. Not remotely bothered about a payout, just want to know that the idea of me bringing action against him might actually prevent him from trying to get rid of me. I just want the time to plan my exit the right way.

And yes, lesson learned. The sad thing is that we actually work really, really brilliantly together. He’s just very emotionally immature. Unfortunately its taken me a while to realise.

I seriously doubt he will care in the slightest. If you want to plan your exit in the right way, keep your mouth shut and don't retaliate. The fastest way to bring it on will be to tell him you'd go to law - for that type that would be an open invitation. I may not know much about him, but the little you've said tells me that.

I'd just work on getting out of there asap

Thanks all. I’m working on just that. Really appreciate that you all took the time to reply.

Grt a new job and remove that power from him. Then ditch him too.

Firstly you do have a contract. If you don’t have it on a piece of paper, then you are lacking evidence of your contract, but you still have a contract.

That said, I agree with previous poster that this simply isn’t tenable. It sounds like both the personal and work relationship need to end. Your partner cannot be the only “employer” that you can practically work for, there is something else out there for you.