[QLP]

Firstly let me state that we are in the UK, and apologise that this is a bit complicated.

My husband manages a retail store. He was set on 3 years ago. The company he works for franchises branches out. To be honest they are an unscrupulous bunch who sell franchises. Then when the people buying them don't make enough money they take the store back, apparently this is all written into the contracts, then after a short while they can sell it to someone else for a huge sum. When my husband started he didn't know this, he was just told his job was to manage a store which was unprofitable and make it profitable again. He did this and they franchised it out again based on what he had done. He ended up working for the franchisee as a salesman. He wasn't sacked or made redundant or given any official notification he was just told that was his new job. As jobs were hard to find and he is a good salesman he accepted this situation.

Within a year the franchisee went bust. The parent company persuaded him to buy another franchise at a reduced price at a different store. My husband was transferred there. A few months later and the franchisee went bust again. The franchisee was left penniless having sunk £120k into this. I know several ex-franchises are pursuing this issue in the courts as they believe the contracts were illegal as they were based on misleading information. My husband was transferred back to his original branch as manager again and told to get it back into profit.

Each time the company moved my husband they issued him with a P45, which is what you normally get when you leave a company, but he was never given any notice he was just told to move job. I fear that they do this to try and prevent the employees building up continuity of service since in the UK most employment rights only apply to those with at least 12 months service. However, on an official UK government site I found that service is not broken 'if you move from one employer to another 'associated' employer, meaning one of the companies is part of or related to the other company (either directly or indirectly)'.

The reason I am worried is that my husband got a new area manager. He hasn't met him yet but he is getting loads of hassle from this guy. Also, they set my husbands targets which means he should be able to claim a bonus as he met them. When he put his wage claim in he didn't get his bonus. On querying this he was told that to get a bonus he now has to get 25% above target. He had not been notified of this. The following month he managed to do this. He didn't get his bonus paid again. This time he was told that he had to make the target up of certain percentages from different departments within the store. Again he had not been told this. We are just waiting to see where the goal posts will be moved next pay day.

On top of this, he found out today that this area manager has advertised his job (and there's no doubt it is his as there is only one branch in the area specified and only 1 manager's position) along with the job of every other manager and salesperson on his area. We can see all this on an agency website. He is meeting his targets and then some, has not been disciplined for any reason, and his new boss hasn't even met him, so I don't know what ground they have for getting rid of him.

Obviously we are very concerned and my husband is looking out for jobs but the sector he works in has lost loads of companies and branches lately. Several have gone bankrupt within the last month.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks for reading.

[cdad]

Document, Document, Document. If they are making promises and then backing out of them there may be room for a lawsuit. A verbal contract would have been made and they breeched it. He also needs to keep whatever evidence he is legally entitled to keep. When they say something that doesn't make sense or goes against what he has been told he needs to request it in writing. That way there is a document trail.

Good Luck.

[tickle]

Hi and I know you are worried, but you posted and went all out to explain the circumstances, QLP, but can you condense it a little so we all understand and can help it some way.

Tick

[tickle]

Document, Document, Document. If they are making promises and then backing out of them there may be room for a lawsuit. A verbal contract would have been made and they breeched it. He also needs to keep whatever evidence he is legally entitled to keep. When they say something that doesnt make sense or goes against what he has been told he needs to request it in writing. That way there is a document trail.

Good Luck.

Well, yes I agree to document document document but cal, QLP posted giving us TOO MUCH INFORMATION, so you got a lot more out of it then I did. So I have asked that QLP condense a little so we can probably get a better handle on the situation. In all due respect cal, of course.

Tick

[QLP]

Tickle: In short my husband works for an unscrupulous company. His working contract is so loosely worded as to be worthless. They keep finding reasons not to pay him what he has earned. He should be protected by employment law but they have engineered his continuity of service to avoid this, though I think what they have done will not legally do so. After a long catalogue of dodgy treatment they have advertised his job, along with that of all his colleageaues, in a job agency. None of these people have been given any indication that they are to lose their jobs but why would their jobs be advertised?

We worry that they are going to look for reasons to sack everyone and replace them with people who might take lower pay (not that it is at all high) and who will have no contractual rights at all.

Cal, we have made a copy of the job adverts so that if they try and sack him later he can prove they were planning it and it isn't because of anything they might say he does wrong in the future.

They don't put anything in writing. I mean nothing other than an initial contract which is practically meaningless. My husband has tried e-mailing queries to get something in writing but just gets the response, 'I will ring you.' or 'You will be informed at the next Management meeting.' Nothing is ever done in front of witnesses either.

Also the job adverts claim the positions are 'due to growth in an expanding company' which is a total lie. I'm not sure if the company or the job agency is considered responsible but the adverts aren't true which I think probably breaks some law.