Dk100uk, I posted asking for advice I did not ask for rudeness. You obviously dont have a clue what it's like to be in our situation or what it feels like to not be able to support your family or put food on table due to no fault of your own. Every night we cant sleep, i lie in bed crying not knowing how we are going to cope the next day and the next day. Feeling like a failure. Do you know what that feels like. Like I said above we have filed claims what we have been awarded is hardly any thing and not enough to live on, ask the millions of people who have had to claim universal credit they will all tell you how little universal credits are, you cant live on universal credits. We are not sticking are head in the sand we are trying to do some thing about it and I find your reply insulting and rude. Regarding your comment about most Bill's not needing to be paid you obviously dont have a clue to make such a stupid comment. Spoken to housing associations that we rent house from have explained situation to them but they dont care and are still demanding rent payments and have even put rent price up. We are falling behind in rent, they are now threatening eviction in June. So yes have to pay rent. Phoned electricity/gas company (eon) explained situation again they dont care we are now falling behind in that bill they have now got there debt recover department harassing us and threatening disconnection of electricity and gas. Phone and internet bill. Could not pay so bt restricted and blocked it all so had no phone or internet to keep in touch with family and hospitals( youngest son has to go to hospital alot due to medical reasons and need to keep in touch with medical specialists he is under. I had to sell stuff to make money to pay this bill so phone and internet services could be reactived. Similar story with all other Bill's. So yes all Bill's do need to be paid. These big companies dont care they just want there money. We are trying to sell as much of our belongings as possible to try and get money to pay the Bill's. My post was not a plea for help all I asked was can a employer with hold your wages due to covid and where do we stand legally. that's all I wanted to know. No one has answered this question.you all just keep telling me to claim benifits. What happens if this drags on and on and they dont pay. I Thought you only had 3 months to file a claim from the day you were due to be paid. If we keep waiting this time will pass and wont be able to file a claim. Am I right or not. I know what my husband is owed wont last long but if it can pay Bill's for a few weeks it can give us time to breath and take away the worry for a little bit. Right now I cant think about the future we are having to live each day as it comes. Thank you to those who have replied with helpful advice.

We are screwed they are legally entitled to employ people, make them work and then not pay them and there is nothing illegal about that and nothing we can do. these days we are expected to work for free it's a joke. My husband worked those hours and should be paid. Benifits has nothing to do with this. We have tried to claim universal credits but its barely any thing certainly not enough to pay all Bill's or put food on table. Oh and his old employer can afford to pay him she just does not want to, is greedy and taking advantage of the current situation with covid. If she can drive around in a brand new porch and sit in her garden of her million pound home drinking champagne ( posting pictures of her self on facebook). I think she can afford to pay her staff. I cant even afford to put food on table to feed my children but she is sitting there drinking champagne and living a life of luxury how is that fair.

Unfortunately the extension to the furlough scheme is very misleading. You needed to be on the pay roll and employer needs to have notified to HMRC through an RTI submission by 19th march to qualify. In reality most employers dont submit RTI until end of each month. So extension means nothing and does not help new starters. my husband did not start until 16th March they had not submitted rti before the 19th. Therefore he does not qualify for furlough.

I wonder if any one can give me some advice. This is a bit complicated but is the same situation with 2 different employers I will try and explain. My husband was working for a company that he had been working for for over 12 years, they started treating him badly, he became more and more un happy. In the end he felt he had no choice but to find another job and leave. He found a new job worked his notice period which according to his contract was 2 weeks then left. His last day at old Job was 15th March he started new job on 16th March. He worked 5 days at new job then they had to close due to covid 19 and my husband was sent home. He has not been able to work since. New employer cant furlough him as he was not on the payroll before cut off. we currently have no money coming in and have 4 children to care for. His old employer has not paid him his last pay. He was due his last pay for the last weeks he worked over 3 weeks ago. But has received nothing, he has not even recieve his P45. Old employer say they can not pay him what they owe as cant afford it. His new employer has also not paid my husband for the hours he did work. He has recieved no pay since started new job. They say the same thing that they cant afford to pay him what they owe. My question is, is an employer allowed to withhold wages they owe for hours that have already been worked due to covid 19. Is there any way we can get this money that my husband is owed. I dont know if it makes any different but will mention just in-case at the old job my husband was paid by the hour every 4 weeks. new job was a yearly salary meant to be paid monthly on last day of each month. Is small claims court are only option. If so how long do we have to file a claim and would it be expensive. Would rather not take the court route but we are desperate and need that money to put food on table and pay some Bill's. My husband does not work for free and currently feels like he has been used by both employers. Do we have to accept losing that money Any advice much appreciated Thanks in advance

I wonder if any one can help me I work as a head Chef for a small family run pub and hotel. I have worked there for 10 years, 6 years as sous chef then was promoted to head chef. I have always worked hard never let them down. I've not been happy for a while. The person who runs the business is very elderly and losing their mind, they can barely walk and are very controlling, they wont let any one do their job. Over the last year is has got worse and worse. They do not follow the law and think they are above the law. They have never given staff health and safety training in the whole time I've worked there. All chefs in kitchen dont have food hygiene and safety certificates and have never done any training. I have had to pay out of my own pocket to do my training and get a certificate every 3 years my self. I cant afford to pay for the other staff out of my own money. They don't buy basic supplies like sanitizer and hand wash. Only when healthy and safety people come they buy it but stops when they have gone. They says it's too expensive. They employ people who can't even cook. I'm meant to be head chef, that mean it's meant to be my job to run kitchen, I should be doing ordering and should have a say in who works in kitchen. But she wont let me order, she has to do it and she always orders what we dont need. Last Easter she put me on holiday and whist I was away she employed a useless chef, did not even do a working interview or consult me. Gave alot of my hours to him and cut my hours. He got to do breakfast and lunch, did all the food prep and had every evening off, I was made to work just late afternoon and evenings having to serve this other chefs rubbish food. I felt embarrassed to serve his food. It has made me so miserable. I became a chef as I love to cook it's my passion. I spent years training in my profession. And now I dont even cook barely. I've tried to look for another Job but there has not been many around so have been holding out but They are getting worse and I cant stand it any more. They are rude scream and shout and puts down staff. I had been on holiday all this week and last week, they made me take the holiday it wasnt my choice and came back today. They come in kitchen just as I arrive, and ask me to do all these specials. I go to fridges and store rooms and find nothing, no one has ordered any thing. There is no food I can serve or prep. They then start screaming and yelling at me and blaming in on me. How is it my fault if I have not been there. She kept yelling, I tried to explain that I had not been there but They would not listen, I lost my temper and yelled at them to stop yelling at me and speaking to me in such a rude way. They did not like it and told me not to speak to them like that. I was close to walking out. I've had enough I cant bare to work their any more, They are making life unbearable. I need to get out. 2 other members of staff have handed their notice in this week as have had enough. I've got a interview next week so am keeping my fingers crossed. My questions are if I manage to get Job next week, do I have to give notice or can I just quit on the spot as I feel I have no choice but to leave. Secondly once I have another Job would I have grounds to sue for constructive dismissal. As feel forced in to having to leave due to the way she is treating me. Any advice much appreciated Thanks in advance

Thanks every one for your replies. First ship my husband has emailed French Consulate General in Edinburgh but have not had a reply yet. ericsbrother I under stand that they need to see him to make sure the person applying for passport is that person. We have no problem with that but we have been told that honorary consulates are no longer are aloud to do passports. My husband phoned both the Liverpool and Newcastle ones and was told the only place you can get a french passport is in London now. I think it's totally unacceptable to expect you to travel hundreds of miles to other end of country. And it is discriminating against people who cant travel for medical reasons. that's why I was wondering if there was any one who has been in a similar situation and has managed to get a French passport with out going to London but going somewhere closer. we have no problem going to some where closer just cant get to London.

No he does not have a national identity card as we thought they were scrapped years ago, also we did not see the point as he already had a passport. Did not realise we would have these problems renewing passport when expired. Also again to get a national identity card you have to travel to London apparently.

I hope I'm posting this in right place and some one can give me some advice. My husband is french I'm British. He has lived and worked in the uk paying tax and national 8ndurance for 20 years. For the last year we have been trying to apply for settled status. But in order to Apply for settled status he needs a new French passport as his old one has expired. We have been trying to get a new french passport but have been told that he will have to travel to London as London is the only place left in uk where you can get a Frenvh passport. The problem is we live up in the north on the border almost in to Scotland. It's over 6 hours each way to get to london. On top of this My husband cant drive due to a medical condition, he has random attacks that can happen any time. He also cant travel alone. So if he went to London I would have to go with him, which would be hard as we have 4 children with special needs and medical condition and would have to bring them with us too as have no one who could look after them. We would have to travel by train and it would cost alot of money we could not travel both ways in on day so would have to stay in a hotel. Over all it would cost us anything up to £600 or even more just to get there and back plies passport fees and we csnt afford this. When my husband got his last passport we went to Newcastle. Which was much closer for us. We are happy to go to Edinburgh, Newcastle, liverpool or Manchester which are all closer but have been told we cant. He has to go to London. It seems ridiculous does any one know if there is any way to get a french passport without going to London. Can they not make special arrangements due to medical reason or something. It seems very discriminating against disabled and sick people who cant travel to London. If my husband cant get a new French passport the reality is he cant apply for settled status and next year he will be kicked out. This is causing us great worry. Any advice would be much appreciated thanks in advance

I wonder if any one can help. My husband works as a Chef, he has been working as a chef for over 20 years. he has a medical Condition Called Menierse disease. He has had it about 5 years. It causes him to have attacks where he colapses, becomes extremely, dizzy, vomits and he can’t stand up. He has to take medication when he has a attack and ends up in bed for 3-7days. After an attack he is left feeling very tired. He does not have attacks that often, but they are normally triggered by stress, being over worked and tired among other things. His employer knows about his medical condition but does not seem to care. They force my husband to work 6-7days a week 10 hours a day whilst every one else gets 2 days and 1/2 days off each week. They were working him so much that by end of November he had a attack, luckily he had just started his holiday so did not need to take any time off work sick. He ended up in bed for 4 days. When he went back to work he told them he had had another attack and that he could not continue to work 6-7 days a week and that he needed 2 day off a week. But they don’t seem to care as they are still making his work 6-7 days a week whilst every one else gets 2 1/2 days off. He is starting to look unwell and I’m concerned he is going to have another attack soon. Would a doctor be able to write some kind of sick note stating that they need to accommodate his medical condition and that he needs 2 days off a week, or slightly reduced hours for a while. before any one asks he has looked for another Job, he has been looking for a while but have not been able to find any thing. Quitting is not a option as we need his salary as well as mine to pay bills, we have 4 children to support. We would never cope on just one salary. On top on this their extraction system, in kitchen is not good, it’s useless and does nothing and when in kitchen all the chefs are breathing in very greasy air. It’s taking its toll on my husbands health and other staff. My husband now continually coughs and throat clears, worse when he has just finished work other staff are too, we are worried as to what effect it will have on his health long term. Is there any thing we can do to get employer to emprove condition in kitchen so they are breathing in clean air. any advice much appreciated thanks in advance

Hi, I don't want to sound stupid but what exactly do you mean by who is the rail operator of the station that refused replacement rail card. The only train that comes to this station is A Northern train. So I'm assuming Northern would be operator of that station. Is this right. If it helps I bought rail card from Windermere Railway station in the lake district Cumbria. And this is the station I went back to to try and get replacement. Lady in ticket office said there was no point talking to Northern as rail cards are national (as in can be used any where in country). She said Northern are only responsible for tickets bought to go on Northern trains. Is she correct or not. Is it worth contacting Northern. Thanks again for you advice

When I spoke to rail card they said rail cards brought at train station are not put on there systems and that train stations don't have access to rail cards system. So there is apparently no way they can look it up on there system. National rail just refuse point blank to help and tell me to speak to rail card. Lady at ticket office at train station said they could apparently only look up if have rail card number. They can not look up rail card by name. It all seems very stupid to me in this day and age.

I have tried asking for a partial refund and they won't do that either. Train station ticket office said they apparently can not look it up on their system without rail card no. When I contacted rail card and national rail they both told me rail cards are non refundable. And would not help I'm at a loss as to what to do. I don't see why I should have to pay out for another rail card for some thing that is not my fault and that is a issue they are well aware of.

I hope I'm posting this in right place. I hope some one can help. I purchased a 1 year family and friends railcard back on 14th May 2018. So have had it nearly 6 months. I bought it at my nearest railway station. It has been well looked after and I always kept it in plastic wallet that train station gave me when bought railcard. It has never got wet, as have always kept it safe where it could not get wet from rain. I went to get it to use yesterday and was horrified to find all the information on railcard had faded and was barely readable. I went on the rail card website and it says there is a known issue with railcards bought at railway stations and that is that they are printed on thick paper/card and the ink used reacts with the plastic of wallet and fades. It says on rail card website if you take railcard to a station they can put it though their ticket machine to check validity of railcard and get information and can issue replacement railcard for free. I went to my nearest railway station today but they refused to put it though machine they said they couldn't. they asked me for receipt but unfortunately I could not find receipt I did how ever have bank statment showing payment for railcard, I also had card I paid with with me, and I had ID to prove I was the person named on railcard they would not accept any of this and would not give me a replacement railcard. I came home and contacted railcard but despite knowing about this issue of ink fading they would not help me they said they only deal with railcards bought online or buy phone. And that railcards bought at stations are station and national rails responsibility. I have tried contacting national rail and they won't help me either they say I need to speak to railcard, so feel like Im going round in circles. Can any one advice what I should do now. Is there any way to get a replacement railcard or refund. It seems very unfair especially as it was not my fault that rail card faded. They know about the issue but have done nothing about it to stop it happening. I thought a bank statement is acceptable as proof of purchase. Any advice much appreciated Thanks in advance

I wonder if any one can help me My youngest son was meant to have a peadiatrician appointment today. We live quiet along way away from hospital and don’t have a car so have to rely on public transport. Appointment was a early morning appointment 10.30am had to leave very early to get there. Paid out £12 in taxi fares and £28 in bus fares to get there. When arrived man on reception said appointment had been cancelled as Peadiatrician had to rush back to India. He said he phoned me at 9.30 am to tell me (1 hour) before appointment at home which was too late as had already left. He did not try ringing my mobile and they do have my mobile no. I feel really angry, that I travelled all that way for nothing wasting £40. We are not well off so £40 is a lot of money to us and can not afford to waste this kind of money. Is there any way that I can get rehinbursed the £40 I’m out of pocket due to there fault. Any advice would be much appreciated Thanks in advance

Bank Fodder again thank you you reply. You keep going on about recording phone calls and how I can use it as evidence against them. Do you know the laws around recording phone calls. Because as I understand it you can legally record calls but if you don't get permission from the company or person you speak to to record call you can only use it as evidence when contacting company. You would not be able to use it as evidence if for example you complained to a third party like ombudsman and certainly would not be able to use in court as evidence if you did not get permissions. I'm pretty sure if I told them I'm recording call they would just hang up. Meaning getting permission would be hard to impossible. Correct me if I'm wrong. Secondly 2 of the many phone calls took place when they turned up at my door( yes they did have ID) and they made me use there mobile to speak to EON how am I meant to record from some one else's phone and with out there permission. The reason I would rather just pay it off is that there seems like no other option. Also like I said my youngest son has been and still is poorly. He is currently in hospital and I need to be with him. I have 3 other children with medical conditions I need to be there for my children especially my youngest, I don't have time to waste spending hours on phone just to get no where and be spoken rudely. I'm not scared of standing up for my rights and fighting but can't see why I can't sort thing out in writing. I can't turn back the time and record all the phone calls from the past. I understand that once Its paid off they will probably still over charge me. I will just have to accept this and pay the over charges and let them take what they want each month. Like you say there is no magic fix and no way I can stop them with out going through a whole lot of nightmare. Which I can't be dealing with right now as need to concentrate on my son. Especially if it means wasting my time and money on stupid phone calls and recording them I'm sorry if you don't understand this.