But they didn't say that. They said that the lifespan is "ten years post cessation of production". So when was the cooker last produced? Is it still being produced, and can you get spares? Otherwise, I agree that your landlord seems to be being reasonable. But there's no harm in negotiating - start at your lowest point, and see where you meet.

Ikea, bargain corner. Excellent service from first seeing it to delivery.

I can't add anything to SarEl's excellent advice. But I do wonder how you can accidentally lose a car?

Have you entered an INR (item not received) claim with ebay/paypal? There's a time limit for doing this, so please check it out soon, otherwise you may be too late - they will investigate and, depending on the outcome, will return your money. The seller will need to have proof that the item has been received (such as a real track & trace reference)

Not an oddity at all. Thompsons are well known for being "union" solicitors.

You say room - rather than flat. Can you confirm a couple of things please? Is your landlord resident in the same property as you? Are there any rooms (except your bedroom) that you have exclusive possession of, or do you share the rest of the property (ie living room, bathroom, kitchen).

I've been in a similar position in the past. I have bipolar disorder and ME and have averaged 45 days off sick over the past four years (currently only get 10 paid sick days). This year I "bit the bullet" and chose to go part time, having worked full time since leaving school - and it's been the best thing I ever did. Over the first six months of doing part time, I had three sick days (one migraine, one stomach bug, one cold bug). And my home life is better, I am managing to have a (small) social life. Yes, I've had to get used to the lower wages, but for me it's been definitely worth it. You say that you're still "attending work", but having 80 sick days a year means that you're not there for about a quarter of the time you should be (average of 260 work days a year). Surely it's better to reduce your hours slightly and be able to manage your health/work/life balance better?

It's Andy Pipkin, who is a Little Britain character. The other Nationwide ads involve Little Britain characters too (Vicki Pollard and "the ladies"). It's not (IMHO) getting at disabled people. It's just comedy. (And before you ask, I'm a part-time wheelchair user who sometimes says "I'm going to do an Andy Pipkin now" before getting up and walking/getting something from a high shelf/running round going "I'm healed" when handed a leaflet saying if I find God then all will be better)...

If you travelled from Temple Meads, how did you get TO the train? There's ticket activated barriers you have to pass through to get from the concourse/ticket office/car park/bus stop area to the platforms...

Thank you all for that. I get that the firm are acting "reasonably" by not having followed the capability procedures or not firing me for having so much time off sick. However, that doesn't change the fact that they want to demote me, for reasons I believe are linked to my disability. I guess what I want to know now is what procedure they have to follow to do this - can they just say "you're demoted, now get on with it" or do they have to follow a procedure similar to the disciplinary one? I had a read of our "diversity" procedure today and the following points jumped out at me (my bolding) - could any of this help me? We are committed to: making reasonable adjustments to prevent employees, members, directors or clients who are disabled from being at a disadvantage in comparison with those who are not disabled. Equal opportunities in employment We will avoid unlawful discrimination in all aspects of employment including recruitment, promotion, transfers, opportunities for training, pay and benefits, grievance and disciplinary processes, demotions, selection for redundancy, dress code, references, bonus schemes, work allocation and any other employment related benefits. Person and job specifications will be limited to those requirements that are necessary for the effective performance of the job. Candidates for employment or promotion will be assessed objectively against the requirements for the job, taking account of any reasonable adjustments that may be required for candidates with a disability. Disability and personal or home commitments will not form the basis of employment decisions except where necessary. We will make reasonable adjustments to our standard working practices to overcome barriers caused by disability.

First, a bit of background. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about eight years ago. I am relatively stable on medication, with a couple of "minor" episodes a year. I have not been hospitalised. I average about 30 sick days a year, and have for the past five or six years. Nothing has changed recently. I joined my employer as a supervisor in December 2007. I was open with them about the bipolar from the start, and was seen by the firm's Occupational Health Doctor before my offer of employment was confirmed. This was my first supervisory position and I found it pretty tough going. I was in a department I'd never worked in, supervising a team of 15 people. This was the biggest team in the firm. As well as being a supervisor, I also performed the same role as the people I supervised. My employment was confirmed at the end of my three month probation period and in my first appraisal I was given a 3 (good performance across all areas). I knew that there were areas where I could improve, and regularly met with my Line Manager to see how we could improve on these. I asked for training on areas where I felt I needed improvement, and worked hard to do my job. I had "issues" with one of the people I worked for, but was not the first and will not be the last to struggle to work for him! A year ago, I changed department to one where I had previous experience, still as a Supervisor. I felt that I was doing very well in this department, I enjoyed the job and had learned from some of the errors I'd made in my first role. I have a very good relationship with the people I work for. Health wise, my bipolar was the same as always, but I was also diagnosed with ME at around Easter time, following an autumn/winter where I was pretty much constantly on antibiotics, culminating in pneumonia at Christmas. This hit me pretty hard, I found things very hard going physically. I was very tired, not sleeping properly etc. I was still having regular catch ups with my Line Manager, and these seemed to be going well. In my appraisal this year, I was again given a 3. There were areas to improve, and I was given LOTS of objectives, which I started to work towards. In August/September this year, everything got to me a bit. I was in the process of appealing a DLA decision, moving house, trying to sort my finances out etc. My Line Manager/HR suggested that I take a temporary step back, and give up the Supervisor role for a three month period, so that I could focus on doing the base job properly, get my confidence back and start having some positive feedback. At first I didn't want to do this but then agreed. The three month period was due to end in mid-December. My Line Manager and I agreed that the tasks would be phased back to me at this point, rather than all dumped on me in one go. I had a blip with my bipolar during this period – I was off work for a week and a half, signed off by my GP. During my return to work interview I said that I didn't want the supervisor job back. This was at the beginning of November. A couple of days later I caught up with my Line Manager again and said that I had changed my mind, and that I did want to do the Supervisory job again. However, I said that I'd rather wait until mid-January as I am undergoing a major medication change over Christmas and should be back on form by mid-January. I had discovered that two of my medications were clashing with each other, making my bipolar symptoms (mood swings) appear worse than they are. With the full support of my GP I am coming off all medication because we have doubts over my diagnosis! I have told work that there are going to be changes, but not the reason why. I have chosen Christmas to make the changes as then if there are any side effects, I am at home for a couple of weeks and don't need to have any time off sick. I have cut my medication in half in preparation for this and am feeling fabulous, much more in control and less muggy headed. I then received a meeting appointment from the HR Manager to discuss my previous conversation with my Line Manager. I went into this meeting ready to discuss how the hand back of my role will happen, the fact that I'm feeling much better, and that I'm ready to face the world. The first thing I was asked was how I was feeling about taking on the Supervisor role again. I said I was really looking forward to it and ready for the challenge. I was then told, in no uncertain terms, that I will not be getting the Supervisor role back, that Occupational Health (who I had a two minute call with a couple of days previously when I said I was feeling well) could not support it and therefore the firm would be keeping me at the lower level. Obviously, I got upset but carried on with the meeting. I tried to explain the changes that had already happened and that I expected good things. However, I was told that the decision had been made but "don't worry, we won't be reducing your salary". I was then told that my Supervisory job had already been offered to someone else, but that if I proved myself over the next six to twelve months then if a similar position becomes available (there are four in the office) then I could apply – but that they couldn't guarantee I would be given it. I have asked the HR Manager for the firm's reasons in writing and she says I'll have these at the end of the week. I'm sorry for the essay but once I started writing this, it all seemed to flow. What I'd like to know is (a) whether they can actually take my job away from me and promote someone into my position, (b) what I can do about this, bearing in mind I'd like to remain with the firm – not least because there aren't any other jobs out there- without rocking the boat too much or © what my next steps should be.

I'm confused (I know, it's quite easy). How many hours did you work? Did you get paid for all the hours you worked? If so, why should they pay you more? Just because you're working notice doesn't mean you get paid double - if that was the case I'd be changing jobs every six weeks ! You are just letting them know you're leaving and fulfilling any contractual requirements.

Did you protect their deposit? If not, your S21 is invalid...

Your temporary number is made up of TN, your date of birth, and a letter at the end denoting your gender. So - if you were male and born on 15 June 1970 it would be TN 15 06 70 M and if you were female and born on 1 April 1966 it would be TN 01 04 66 F This should be all your wages department needs until your "proper" number comes through.

I make it 110 mins (1 hr 50 mins) too. £5.58 = 558 pence Less 7p connection charge = 551 pence Divided by 5 (per minute charge) = 110 (and a smidge)

You need to check your staff handbook/policy/contract - where I work now (and my previous four employers) have said that breach of the firm's IT policy is classed as gross misconduct...

First of all, welcome to the bipolar club Are you a member of the MDF (Bipolar organisation)?- they're a fab charity (I think) that help those of us with BP. The website is at MDF > Home . Membership is about £20 a year (less if you're unwaged) and gives you access to a really good employment law helpline. The forum on the website is really helpful too. And yes, you are considered as disabled under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act and therefore your employer needs to tread very carefully in terms of what they do and how they treat you...The Disability Rights Commission is another good place to look for assistance. Hope that everything goes OK for you. I've been diagnosed now for five years (?) and have been in full time employment since. I'm now in a supervisory role with a very supportive employer - so it can be done!

Have voted for a re-merge. Anything that saves me a couple of clicks is worth it. My finger's getting work out

You can do online banking with a NatWest Step account - and it's really good too. Very up to date info (unlike Co-op) and easy to use.

The main problem you're going to have is that you didn't see a doctor. The insurers acting for the travel company will say that as you didn't need to see a doctor then you weren't injured, and therefore you possibly won't get any kind of compensation. (On a personal note, if anything had hurt my *ahem* lady garden, I'd be straight off to the medics...it's a bit of an important area!)

How old is your son? Could it have been his choice to have the same name as his mother?

oook!

Landlord has filed a defence in this matter. It says (please note all spelling/grammar mistakes are his not mine! ) "I deny all of the claimants allegations & I am very happy to defend this claim for the cost of damages incurred. a) I shall submitt inventory, plus pre-tenancy vidio & vidio taken at end of tenancy showing damages & condition of property. b) I shall also submitt all bills, receipts & fully itemised account of all costs which are more than the deposit amounts. c) I shall now be submitting additional claim for the unpaid balance of clean-up costs incurred together with the costs of defending this action. The claimant did not carry out contractual obligations. She violatedd the tenancy by introducing a paying lodger. She did not maintain the gardens which are the tenands responsibilitys under the tenancy documents. The premises were left damaged & dirty at the end of the tenancy with considerable evidence of drug taking. All aspects of damage will be submitted as vidio evidence. Please refere to the itemised spread sheet account attached for actual amount owed for clean up bill e.g. £865.88p. This being £268.95p more than the tenants deposit". OK - so taking his points in turn... The pre-tenancy video he refers to in para (a) was taken in April 2001. We moved in in August 2004. We have no clue when he took the post-tenancy video. We asked him to submit quotes for the work but he didn't, he just provided us with receipts (most of which were handwritten and didn't really say what they were for). He says he will be asking for an additional amount but in the "counterclaim" section of the form he has just put a line through the boxes that ask how much he's claiming. Does this mean that he now can't make a counterclaim:? ? As for the "paying lodger" (me!) - he knew when the tenancy was taken on (by Becka) that I would be moving down in a couple of months, once I'd sorted out a job etc. He saw me at the premises on numerous occasions and didn't appear to have a problem then. On occasions, the rent was paid from my bank account (and in the case of the final rent when I managed to pay him twice, he paid ME back in the form of a cheque, not Becka). OK, we admit that we're not the best gardeners in the world but a lot of what needed doing was to next door's trees and the brambles from the parking area behind our back fence. Yes, the front lawn needed mowing (it hadn't been done for about three weeks) but that was because it didn't stop raining! As for the "considerable evidence of drug taking" - at many points when we lived there we both smoked rollups because of the cost. So - AQ has to be filed by June 6 (Landlord didn't file AoS, went straight to a Defence and didn't bother to file one on us, and it's taken us AGES to get one from the Court). Shall we file a "Reply to Defence" stating why we refute his comments or just an AQ? And if so, what should we put in it? MR SHED, JOA (and others) HELP!!!!

The tenancy ended on 18 September (this was a Monday) but, to give ourselves time to do cleaning/empty boxes etc we did the physical move out on Friday 15th. We ended up paying two lots of rent for a weekend but find it much easier this way (having moved MANY times before!)

We finally got round to serving proceedings last week (cash issues etc!). We've had an email from him today asking: Would you please supply the name of the Court Case & its reference number on which you are relying in your undated letter to me, after the end of your tenancy at ADDRESS, in which you refere to courts allowing only 7.50p/hour for LANDLORD to carry out remedial works, to return premises to original condition after tenants damages. I would appreciate this information by return of post, to include in my counter claim to your impending court action. So - Mr Shed (or anyone out there) can you help? Do we respond to him - and if so, how?????