At MJV & Co Solicitors, we often provide legal advice to workers from other EU nations such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Italy, Spain, Germany and more.
There are many myths among workers, particularly those who work in the food and drink or hospitality sectors about the rights that they have at work and their employers are often not very good at informing them of them.
If you would like a free assessment of your rights and whether your employer is complying with them contact us today.
Also, if you or anyone you know has been dismissed from their job for reasons they believe are unfair please contact us for some free legal advice.
by MJV&Co
A report recently published by the Middlesex University business school claims that workers are losing £1.3bn a year in holiday pay.
Many self employed workers or those on contracts of very few, or perhaps zero, guaranteed hours are not aware of their rights. It is workers, and not employees, who are entitled to legal protections including holiday pay.
The recent Uber judgment, which is subject to an appeal to be heard later in 2017, confirmed a legal distinction between self employed workers and the genuine self employed person. A worker would be a hair dresser treated as self employed and responsible for their own tax affairs, but who rents a chair from a salon and relies on that salon and its clients for work. A self employed hair dresser would offer their services to the wider public including advertising and so forth so as they were not primarily reliant on the salon or any other sole source of work to continue to earn.
The self employed worker would be entitled to be paid holiday pay whereas the genuine self employed person would not.
There are numerous industries that often use contracts of ‘self employment’ to avoid various legal obligations including holiday pay. Others include the call centre industry and the construction industry.
If you are considered self employed, but receive your primary income from one business either now or at any time within the last year, we may be able to assist you on a no win no fee basis to recover the holiday pay you were entitled to and deprived of.
Call MJV & Co Solicitors today on 01253 858 231 or e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk
by MJV&Co
In October 2015, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force. Many readers will be familiar with the Sale of Goods Act and the Supply of Goods and Services Act, but the new legislation enhanced and improved upon the rights these provided.
Most companies providing goods and services have not changed their guarantees to match the new rights and so, as always, knowledge is power.
The New Rights
If you purchase goods in the UK and they are proven faulty within 30 days of purchase, you are entitled to a refund. The retailer must refund your monies within 14 days of you rejecting the goods.
Outside of the initial 30 days, you must allow the retailer one opportunity to repair the goods and they must do so within a reasonable period of time. If the goods are still faulty, you are entitled to request a refund up to six months from the date of purchase. The period where the retailer has the gods in for repair is not included as this stops the six month clock.
After six months you are still entitled to ask for a repair or replacement, but the retailer is permitted to make a reasonable deduction from the refunded price to make an allowance for the time you have had the use of the product.
Digital Purchases
If you buy goods online, you already have enhanced protections for purchasing goods under the EU’s Distance Selling Regulations and these offer more protection than even the new Consumer Rights Act. However, for the first time, digital downloads, e-books and the like are covered by the legislation.
Second Hand Goods
If you purchase second hand goods from a company, but not a private individual, you are covered by the act. This would also cover a sole trader who sold cars or similar. This ensures that if you make a significant second hand purchase you have the same protections as someone buying a similar item from new.
Services
The Act requires that providers of all services must be provided with reasonable care after consultation with the customer. If you believe that this is not so, you are entitled to ask the provider to put it right or give you a refund.
What if they refuse me my rights?
We are currently acting for clients in this very position. Retailers are often ignorant of the law at store level and blindly follow the refunds and exchanges policies that are set by their head offices and, in many cases, these breach customers rights under the new legislation.
If you believe your rights as a consumer have been breached since October 2015, call us today for a free, no obligation discussion of your problem on 01253 858 231 or e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk
