Hi All, Just thought i would ask advice about my situation, but must tread carefully in my wording as this is an ongoing issue. I worked for a major UK company, and after a series of bullying, and victimization incidents by the company, including their breach of contract, i finally complained using the terms of my employment rules through grievance procedure. 3 days after the informal stage, the company dismissed me on made up charges that have been refuted by multiple members of the company that have come forward to support me. 15 minutes after i was dismissed, and made to leave the building (after being refused representation), the MD sent a circular email to every member of the UK wide network telling them that i had been dismissed...It took me an hour to get home, so therefore the entire network new i had been dismissed before my own family I have now been anonymously given a copy of this email, which shows the names of every person in the network that it was sent to, the time it was sent, and the message does indeed mention me by name. i know there are many employment specialists on this forum, so here's the question..., how should i proceed ? Is the email more damning evidence than the non representation, or the victimization, or the breach of contract ?

Hi all, been reading these forums for a while and found it much help! I work for a high-street retailer and have recently "stepped" down from a mangerial position to my original position as a customer service advisor. Basically my contracted hours are 20 and have been since I was a CSA, (since Jan 2010) but to"step down" back into my original position I would have to take a 10 hour cut in my contract, I declined and asked management for them to justify this and was told the hours "are not there". I feel this is unfair because: - Another manager who recently stepped back down to a CSA has been in the organisation 11 months and has managed to get a 16 hour contract. (His managerial contract was 16, worked 39 hours as a manager but as a CSA before his promotion had a 8 hour contract as a CSA) - The store is currently advertising for new 8hour customer service advisors to join the company. - I was not issued a contract of terms relating to my managerial promotion which began in January 2013 (first pay date 18th). However I was verbally told there is a 3 month probation and was told my "contracted hours" would be the same as my previous role of customer serive. (I notified my manager on the 1st April 2013 of my intent to step down) My contract for customer service states in the terms that "Your working hours are subject to variation and directed by your manager" but at the top it states "Contracted Hours: 20. I have no updated contract since I stepped up to my promotion in January. It's a bit of a complicated situation but would anyone mind giving their thoughts if this is enough evicence to support a formal grievane to obtain my original hours back? Much appreciated!

Shocking stories of bullying following their incompetence in correct billing. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-2232395/EDF-bullies-threatened-debt-collectors.html

Hi, Hope someone can provide any advice. On the 11th May 2012 I requested a grievance hearing meeting concerning my Area Director on how he was managing my long term sickness plus when I requested my staff file I found two outcome letters, both written by the same person, dated the same, with outcome upheld but different actions. The one I received was lodged in my staff file and the other one in my line managers filing but HR had been advised it was partially upheld and told the actions on the line managers copy. Due to the fact I had been off work with work related stress, occupational health (AXA PPP) then requested that I attended an independent medical assessment on the 28 May 2012 to gain a better understanding of the clinical reasons for the ongoing sickness absence. As a result of this, a medical report was sent to OH and they forwarded this on to Human Resources on the 31st May. HR then emailed a copy of this to my Area Director on the 7 June 2012 and at the same time sent a copy of the report to me. My grievance was heard on the 11 June 2012. Due to circumstances I had to request my staff file again and have since found evidence that when my report was emailed from HR to my Area Director on the 7 June he then forwarded this email to his assistance and my grievance hearing manager on the same day. The email clearly states that the attachment was only intended for the recipient of the email and under no circumstances should any of this info be disclosed to any other third party not entitled to receive it under the DPA 1998. It was also password protected sent via a separate email. I understand that under DPA this is classed as sensitive data and permission should be sought from the data subject first before disclosing to someone else. As my grievance was in no way connected to the independent medical assessment as this was carried out after I had lodged my grievance I believe that my AD should not have forwarded the contents of the report. I have spoken to my ex-employers Data Protection Team who advised me that if the grievance was about the assessment then he could forward it on, as soon as I mentioned that there was no connection they clammed up. Please can anyone advise me as to whether my understanding is correct and if so should I complain to the ICO. I have already reported them for not releasing my file after 5 separate requests, they were given a warning and given a chance to correct it. I wait in anticipation..... Many thanks

Hi quantum. I'm in a similar situation - can you help me at all? Many thanks. R

Hello, not sure where to post this?? I work in the health service and my friend works for a localauthority. We have pooled our skills and experience and started a businessoffering social care. As we have worked in this field for many years, we haveseen that we can help to fill the gaps and deliver a service. In a nutshell, my friend’s employers have suspended him onthe grounds that he has not declared a conflict of interest and that he wasoperating our business while he was being paid to work for them. This is basedon private emails that I have sent him to his work email. All rubbish aseverything has been done in our own time. Any emails I sent him were forinformation and updating purposes and general chit chat. What makes it worse is that when he tried to approach hismanager about what we are doing they refused to speak with him about it. Thereisn't a conflict of interest because our business will be to support localauthority's to perform their statutory duties and responsibilities. They have used this information that I have sent him andapproached clients (who are over local authorities) of ours as part of theirinvestigation. They have admitted that they are doing this and that they haveused the information from the emails that I have sent to my friend. They alsoinformed him that they will be contacting other third parties!!!! He was interviewed this week and the majority of theinterview was about 'ME'. They are asking questions about my health as theyfound out that I had been signed off work for a few months and during that timeI had sent him emails. They actually accused me of 'working' while on sickleave - not to me but to my friend during his investigation interview. They asked about my interest in the company, my role, myfinancial circumstances plus a lot of other These questions are none of their business and cannot berelevant to their investigation!! I spoke with my employer and declared what I am doing. I didas we have nothing to hide, and are doing nothing illegal and they have beencool about it as there is no conflict of interest and initially all workwill be done in my own time until things take off. Now, I know that they are totally overstepping the mark andI believe that their actions are likely to cause harm to my business and alsomy personal and professional reputation but would appreciate some advice as towhat and how to approach this please.

Hi everyone looking for advice on what to do I was hauled into a meeting on Friday by my manager and accusations were made, which i responded to. I was advised they would consider my responses and make a decision as to whether i would be dismissed!! I received a letter to this effect yesterday. Checked online and it seems i should have received something in writing etc BEFORE the meeting and also asking if i wanted to be represented, is this correct? If so, what do I do now? Wish I could resign but i cant afford too but how how do i go back to workin with my manager after this, if i am not dismissed? Thanks

Hi guys, Hope someone can help. A DCA contacted me with an alleged debt owed to Orange, I had no knowledge of the debt, asked for evidence, none provided. I spoke to Orange who said the alleged debt had been sold to the DCA so they couldn't even discuss it. Heard no more about it so assumed the error had been resolved. In 2011 I got a letter from Orange and a new DCA saying Orange had sold the debt to them. I wrote to both, again stating I had no knowledge of the alleged debt, please provide proof. Also argued that as Orange had claimed to have sold the debt previously, where was the Notice of Assignment from the old DCA back to Orange? Didn't hear anything from Orange and the new DCA said I would have to prove the debt didn't exist via a letter from Orange, got a couple more standard letters but then heard no more from either. I've just checked my credit report and the (new DCA) have registered a default. In addition to this it seems they are registering a 'non-payment' every month. The alleged initial default was in 2009 but if they keep registering a default every month effectively it will never drop of my credit report. Furthermore, even I did owe the outstanding amount, the DCA have bought the full amount, I have made no agreement with the DCA to make a monthly payment so how can I be defaulting every month?! Orange don't respond to my letters and DCA won't stop until they get a letter from Orange confirming it was an error so I'm stuck with an alleged debt that I have no knowledge about. Is there any way I can get them to stop adding defaults and remove what is there? And also, insist on receiving proof of the debt? As it's a phone contract apparently the CCA rules don't apply as credit isn't involved so I'm a bit stuck with this one! Thanks for any help

Hi all, I work as an administrator within the care sector. One day last week I was working in my office as normal. I went onto the unit to get a cup of tea and was told by a nurse that a member of staff had been suspended. I had absolutely no knowledge of this until the nurse told me. We then (a group of 4) had a light hearted discussion about a previous incident (that I didn't know much about) which we all thought could be the reason for the member of staff getting suspended, and that was it. The same nurse that told me about the suspension, then went and told my manager that I had been discussing the matter with others. Next thing I know I have been suspended on grounds of 'serious breach of confidentiality' I have the investigatory meeting on Friday afternoon this week and I have absolutely no idea what will happen. I have no idea how I could have breached confidentiality as I knew nothing of it, until the nurse told me about it. Also they only found out because the person that had been suspended, went and told everyone on the unit. Oh and as far as I am aware, even though there were four of us discussing it, only I have been suspended. My manager told the nurse (who got me suspended) to have an informal chat with the rest of the staff, and that's it. Has anyone got any advice? Where do I stand legally? and knowing what my manager is like, I know she will do her best to try and make it stick. If she does and goes ahead and gives me a disciplinary, can I take her to a tribunal? I feel that my manager has done this to make an example out of me to warn other members of staff, except she has gone the wrong way about it and hasn't given it much thought. I have called ACAS and the information they gave me was extremely vague, so I'm still non the wiser. Thanks for reading

Hi all having a problem with T-Mobile contract phone and would like others thoughts. Story: T-Mobile contract paid on time every time through their web page once logged in, Kept getting charged for none direct debit which I have refused to pay as its a penalty. I did receive an email from T-Mobile support explaining how to pay to avoid the None DD charge and in the email it stated you could pay online through your account and not be charged the none DD. I had a few of these charges refunded to my account but T-Mobile were adamant that I had to pay them going as far as ringing me for £10.71 that was still owing on my account. Paid my bill on the 21st last month, only my bill mind, I still refused to pay the £2.50 + VAT for choosing how I pay my bill. 5 Days later my services are suspended so after checking the terms and conditions I find this nice little gem: clause 4.4.5.1 and clause 4.4.5.2 that states if you have a dispute over payments and contact them in writing to that fact explaining your dispute and how much you will be paying or not paying, t-mobile will not suspend services until your complaint is settled. Since I had done as the terms and conditions stated and I was so peed at T-Mobile for suspending my services I wrote to them explaining they had breached my contract by suspending my services and to send me my PAC code within 7 days. I did receive a letter back 2 days later from my recorded delivery breach letter saying that their last letter was final response on this matter and sent me their codes of practice. From my reading of OFCOM T-Mobile must send me my PAC code but I'm worried that they may refuse and the cost to have all my stationary and vehicles re-written with a new telephone number will cost in the 100's. Can I take legal action against T-Mobile if they refuse to give me my PAC code or allow my number to lapse. George

Hello Someone I know sadly does not work in a union he has been employed six years I have been asked to find out, he did not get his basic pay due to being off work sick with stress from personal issues but he did get a bonus and sick pay and they were aware of his depression. He was just wondering as they did not pay his basic pay would that be breach of contract? He made his employer aware he had depression in 2012 the pay was not paid in November 2011 He is asking should he miss employment claim just out of interest, if breach of contract, can he issue six year route at civil court He's hoping he will not but thought he would check if I can for him Thanks

Hi I don't know where this question sits but basically, here is the situation. I have a friend who's account details have been breached by someone within the bank. There was a specific transaction that was made on her account which was leaked to her family and this has caused a lot of personal issues in her family. Apparently her brother claims that he knows someone who works within the bank and he obtained the information through that bank employee. She is adamant that no one but her and the bank would have known of the transaction and she always shreds her bank statements and disposes of them properly. She went to the bank today to complain about this but the manager wasn't helpful and said that she needs to put it in writing along with the name of the employee who has leaked the information but she doesn't know who it was. This is clearly a breach of data protection but she does not know how to pursue this further. Is there anything she can do to get the bank to thoroughly investigate this and ensure that such leaks do not occur again? Would the police get involved if it was reported or does it not class as a criminal offense? Thanks for your help Rob

Happy New Year everyone. I could do with some advice regarding an apparent breach of the DPA. Last year my father sent a SAR to MBNA with a view to reclaiming PPI. MBNA informed my father that they had no information, etc. and he'd never had an account with them. My father complained to the Information Commissioner and provided dates for the accounts, account numbers etc. In September, the ICO ruled in my father's favour and lo and behold MBNA refunded 5k in PPI. In November, I sent a SAR to MBNA for my information. I received their package today and contained within it were letters between MBNA and my father, and MBNA and the ICO in respect of my fathers complaint. Obviously I've made my father aware of what's happened today. Any advice on what to do next? Should my father and I contact MBNA or should we contact the case handler for my father's complain? Much obliged!

When I signed up with O2, about 18 months ago now, I was told in no uncertain terms by the sales assistants, that the cost will remain the same throughout the term of the contract. This was the strong point in their sales patter - the reliability of this charge being the same constantly to help you budget for the duration of your contract. I was (foolishly) persuaded. May I ask whether this constitutes a breach of contract if they now decide to increasse the charges in spite of having made verbal promises via the sales staff to keep to the same price every month for the duration? If there is a clause that allows them to do this, would this constitute an UNFAIR contract? After all, I am required to pay IN FULL the complete remaining cost of the remaining months should I decide to leave O2 and even then, after payment has been made, I would need to give a month's notice AND not enjoy the service any more from that day onwards. Should I complain to OFCOM? I shall, of course, be complaining to O2. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Prior to an office move, I advised HR that I could not do heavy work due to extreme nerve pain and for which I was having Neurosurgery for a few weeks later. This was accepted by them but it was lip service only and I ended up going home in agony and increasing my medication(morphine). My husband complained to HR but I have found out that the HR manager shared this email with another member of staff (finance manager and Company Secretary) They have explained this as needed due to a possible payroll adjustment which is not true as I was no where close to this, and they have said that as company secretary she had a right to know as there was a business need. There was no business need and no payroll adjustment on the horizon. Surely there was no need for this member of staff to have sight of an email with sensitive and private information such as medication.

I would like some advice regarding a recent purchase from currys of a blackberry play book. I bought the item on 22/09/2012 and noticed on returning home with the play book that there was a contact loaded onto the videochat and a picture of a male approx 50 yrs old stored in the pictures files. I assumed these were example/templates and didn't take much notice of them. The play book was bought by my 12 year old daughter with her bday money she had got the previous day and she continued to set the play book up and load her own info on and as per the requirements of the videochat including her email address along with my mobile number (an agreement we had so I can monitor her calls for her own safety) The following day I noticed that the contact we assumed was an example had tried to call her several times including at 4:12am, I called back and asked why he was calling her and he stated he was trying to call 'Colin' yet continued to call after I advised him the details belonged to a 12 yr old girl! At this point I contacted currys via email to ask if the play book was preowned which could explain the contact being already installed, I received an email back stating this was not possible, a week later I emailed again asking further questions to get more or less the same reply. I decided then to take matters into my own hands and found another email on the play book and contacted them to ask for help. He emailed me back stating that he had purchased a play book from currys and returned it faulty a few weeks previous and it would be a friend of his that had been calling! I then rang currys and explained I had been sold a used, and returned as faulty play book for full brand new price and had also subsequently told twice this was not possible, I have called twice since and never got 1 call back. I would like to take this further now and ask why currys have sold me a used faulty product, lied to me, ignored my requests for help, and potentially endangered a 12 year old in the process - they have failed to meet the requirements of safe guarding a minor and been careless and irresponsible. I last rang a few days ago to complain I was awaiting a manager to call me who was apparently disgusted (but seemed to forget fairly quickly!) and they again said it was shocking and that an area manager and head office were being alerted, I am now yet to hear from either! I am furious! I intend to take this matter to the press if currys do not settle this matter to my satisfaction, am already in contact with a solicitor regarding breach of contract and have sent the same details to watchdog - all things i had no intention of doing if i had not been continually ignored by currys and left to find out all of the above info myself - shame on currys for lying, selling second hand faulty products and shrugging off their obligation to help safeguard minors!!!! :mad2:

Hi, looking for some help/advice. Started a 24 month Orange contract at end November 2011, on a £41/month Panther plan, with £6/mth insurance through Orange Care, with a new Blackberry Bold 9900. This phone had signal issues, but put up with them as didn't think anything of it. Had a fault with the phone within a month - put on charge one night and woke up in the morning and phone would not switch on, and Orange Care replaced handset. Within another month, started having signal problems again, signal would drop to SOS when trying to make a call, again phoned Orange who organised a replacement handset. That handset had exactly the same problem, so Orange changed my sim card. Still the same fault, and after many hours on the phone to customer service, they said it was down to the masts in the area having problems. Put up with it for a few more months, until the handset started turning itself off when trying to take a picture or use other features on the phone, Orange again replaced. Now, within two weeks of that replacement, the microphone has broken. This new replacement also has the signal problems that have plagued the phone since the contract started. That is 4 brand new Blackberry Bold 9900s that have gone wrong in under 12 months, all with the same underlying signal problem. I am normally quite easy going, but this has driven me insane, and I am at my wits end. Orange cannot replace with a 9900 as they are out of stock, so have offered me a 9360, a 9800 or a 9860, all of which are inferior to the Bold 9900. I believe that Orange are in major breach of contract, as well as breaching the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, as does my legal adviser. I would like to stay with Orange, as a past customer of Vodafone (who are ten times worse!). However, to do an early upgrade, they would like me to pay off the remaining 12 months of my 24 month contract, at a cost of £387.24. I am unwilling to pay this, as I am already paying for a service I am not receiving 1005 of the time, whereas Orange say they are providing the service because they replaced the phones that have been faulty. I am seriously tempted to cancel the direct debit, and go and sign up for a new contract on the iPhone 5 with Orange. What are your views? Thanks for any input/advice. Ed

Hi to you all. I was making a complaint to Barclays when a customer service advisor did a credit check on a loan for £7100 for 60 months without my permission,but the loan got declined because the customer service advisor did wrong information by spelling my middle name wrong,other details wrong. So I lost 50 points off my excellent credit score,I have made a complaint,but Barclays don't seem bothered. I have asked for £250 goodwil for the stress of messing my credit score,but they admit that this could have happened,but they will not offer me a goodwil. So I have passed my complaint to the FSA,their are waiting for their reply,asked for the recorded call to prove it. So any advise would be helpful.

Hi, I’m new to this forum and seeking advice for a friend. I am not a lawyer, but ran a housing advice service for some years so have a smattering of legal knowledge, which is why he turned to me for help. I apologise for the length of this post, but it made sense to me to set it all out as fully as possible. In July, my friend, a gifted craftsman, received a ‘Letter Before Claim’ from a business rival. In 1998, my friend had bought a few items from this man - reproductions of original Arts & Crafts pieces. He bought these for his own personal enjoyment, but is now being accused of copying them and selling them on his own website. He hasn't done so, because the pieces HE produces are copies of publicly available items in museums, reference books and private collections. They are clearly sold as reproductions. To me, the rival's copyright claim is nonsensical because he doesn't own the intellectual property rights to the pieces he produces. It's like painting a reproduction of the Mona Lisa, but preventing anybody else painting their own copy. However, my friend signed an order form when he bought these pieces 14 years ago that states "I accept that a condition of ordering is that I will not copy (either exactly, closely, or 'in the style of') the pieces ordered h/w or featured in our information sent to you, under your own name or any name used by yourself, or allow a third party to do so. Breaking of this condition may result in legal action to defend our work." It is this order form that the rival insists is a contract, and that my friend is in breach of this clause. My friend sought (expensive) legal advice and wrote back to the business rival, refuting the claim in detail, stating clearly that there is no legal case to answer. So then the business rival issued a claim in the County Court. The claim is for £4,995 (plus £100 costs), which I think means he wishes it to be heard in the Small Claims Court. He said in his original letter 'If I have to take it to a higher court I will claim 3 - 5 times this amount (which I view as a more accurate reflection of the losses I have suffered due to your breach)'. But he also has an extraordinary long list of other demands which, while not having a nominal monetary value, would ruin my friend (or that is how he sees it). These include: · To stop producing Arts & Crafts reproductions that are in any way similar to his own reproductions (about 15 individual items); · To issue a public apology (to be drafted by the rival) on his website explaining what has happened and the outcome, such apology to remain there for 14 years; · The same apology to be sent to everyone on my friend’s mailing list; · A link to the rival’s website as the first link on his weblinks page, such a link to remain there for 14 years. The expensive intellectual property rights lawyer would charge so much to defend this case that it just wouldn’t be worth fighting it, particularly as I understand you can’t claim costs in a case heard in small claims court. So we’re struggling to deal with it ourselves. We have applied for a summary judgement on the following grounds: · The plaintiff does not have an active case as the alleged contract was created in 1998 and has passed the 6 year deadline within which Mr xxxx is entitled to lodge a claim under the rules of the small claims court. · The contract document to which Mr xxxx refers is in fact an order form that has been signed only by my friend and not signed by Mr xxxx or witnessed by a third party and as such could be argued as invalid and not a legally binding contract. · With reference to term 7 of the document that Mr xxxx refers to as a contract, term 7 does not state a date or deadline until which the term applies nor provides any detailed explanation of the consequences of acceptance of the condition that could be faced upon signing the document. As such, at the time of signing the supposed contract was misleading and provided insufficient information to enable anybody to rationally or knowingly enter into a legally binding contract. · The items for sale on my friend's website are reproductions of original copyright-free Arts & Crafts designs and/or items and not direct copies of the items he purchased from Mr xxxx in 1998, which are themselves reproductions and not subject to copyright. He is an enthusiast of Arts & Crafts and well known within the Arts & Craft Movement for the specialist work he does. · The approach taken by Mr xxxx is aggressive and threatening, demanding that unless he receives an out of court settlement of £5,000 he will take my friend to court. He has found this particularly upsetting and intimidating and this disregards the legal system in which the defendant is entitled to put forward his defence in the first instance and exercise his right to mediation (offered by the small claims court) in an attempt to settle the matter amicably and avoid the matter going to court. As a result of this a great deal of anxiety and costs seeking legal advice have been incurred, as well as the cost in time, in an attempt to settle the matter as quickly and amicably as possible with the minimum of cost. · The value of the items that Mr xxxx sold in 1998 amounted to £725, which sum was paid in full at the time of purchase. Mr xxxx's request for a monetary award of £5,095 is inflated and unreasonable and he has no evidence to back up the calculations he is presenting. We have now heard that the case has been assigned to the local county court and my friend has received a Notice of Hearing. This says ‘When you should attend’, so I rang to seek clarification of the need to be present for this hearing. Apparently, yes – ‘When you should attend’ means ‘You should attend’. I am a little confused about this, since my understanding was that no further oral testimony can be heard at SJ hearings? My friend has been incredibly distressed by this whole business. His wife suffers from ill health and both of them have been simply pole-axed by this man’s actions. They are very unworldly people and are just bewildered by the complexities of the case. I think it’s a simple attempt at restraint of trade by this rival – my friend is very well respected in this niche field as a gifted craftsman and it is to him that museums are turning for help, rather than the rival. He has told a few key people in this field about the case and they have been wonderfully supportive with written statements about the respect with which he is held and the copyright-free nature of the Arts & Crafts work that he reproduces. Basically, we just want this thing to go away as quickly as possible to minimise the distress they are experiencing. I would really appreciate your advice on the following: Is there a need to attend the SJ hearing? Can I attend as well, as supporter and adviser? Is there any chance of counter-claiming for the costs already expended defending this malicious case? I did mention in the application that it has so far cost my friend £1,260 in legal fees. Should we try and keep it out of the small claims system? Actually, do we have any choice or is it wholly up to the judge? I apologise again for the length of this post. Thank you to anybody who managed to read it all and thank you even more if you can help allay our fears.

Some weeks ago I parked in a service area and complied withall the signage and rules they had, which they have admitted in a letter vaguely. The problem arose because thereequipment was faulty and did not record my car details correctly at the parkingterminal. However they had ANPR on sitewhich showed the car entering and leaving. So my question is ita breach of the Data Protection act section 55 to apply for my details fromDVLA as no infringement of their rules was committed? Also is it a breach of the BPA rules they use to access suchinformation? And if I ask them to remove all data relating me and my carfrom there records do they have to do it?

Hi All In June of this year i approached a software developer to produce an iPhone app for me. We had a couple of web meetings and a price was agreed and i was informed that they estimated it would be competed and on the app store mid august. We are now in november and my app is still not complete. More than seven deadlines for completion have been missed. Moreover the actual BETA (test) app they delivered earlier this month, crashed and was not to spec even basic spelling was not correct. I since found they are farming out the coding to India I have paid 50% of the cost of the app upfront. It was made clear to them that a competitor was developing a similar app when they found out about mine was in development, theres was out in August. Suffice to say i have lost a huge amount of potential customers who have used my competitors app and i cant get the developers to finish my project. In summary I have paid a thousand pounds up front for a app that was expected in August and have nothing to show for it. What would your advise be for my next step, when I challenged them on the delays i keep getting fobbed off with "thats the nature of app development" Can i request my original money back as app is not fit for purpose and breach of contract for timescale? Do i have to give them a timescale first to put the app right? bearing in mind its three months late. Any commets gratefully received

I signed an agreement with a cleaning Co. to supply me with a cleaner a couple of hours a week (as I was unwell). The co. were to supply me with a cleaner to carry out household duties as agreed between the co. and myself and I was to pay the co. a quarterly admin fee and pay the cleaner directly to her on a weekly basis. The service they provided was very poor and after 5 cleaners in as many months and as my health had greatly improved, I decided to terminate the contract (within the terms of the contract). The co. is now taking me to court claiming I breached the contract in retaining a cleaner introduced to me by the co. It has become apparent the last cleaner left the co. the same time I terminated the agreement so the co. is suspicious that she left and took clients with her. I assume they had no contract with the cleaner and so are pursuing me for breach of restrictive covenant. My defence is that I did not retain a cleaner - although I don't know how to prove such a thing?? But I was wondering whether such a restrictive covenant in an non-employment contract could be enforceable? Any help would be much appreciated, or perhaps if there is a better place to post this, could someone kindly direct me? Thanks.

The question is as per the title ..... Would I be in breach of contract should I get another job whilst I am under suspension ? I have been suspended from work on full pay , as is the requirement , not knowing the possible outcome , if I can get alternative employment would I still be subject to giving a months notice as is specified in my contract of employment ?

This may sound off topic a bit, but I was suspended with pay last weekend for 'breach of staff discount policy' What happened was I was called in by the Duty Manager and told that I was to be suspended with pay pending an investigation about my staff discount. It was relating to the purchase of an laptop and return of a laptop. They had given me the dates at which it had occurred but I didn't remember it at the time. So I just commented as I didn't remember. I came home and thought about what was said, and the dates that the purchase and return were made and then it clicked in my mind. What I think had happened, was that my uncle came into my store to purchase a laptop on the date mentioned, and i had offered my staff discount for the purchase as you would, he is family of course. I was there when the purchase was made, but he had obviously paid for it at the discounted price. Nonetheless, my uncle is happy with the laptop. However, I went to purchase the exact same laptop for my dad's birthday (on the day of his birthday) as it was a good offer from another store but I didn't have my staff discount with me at the time, so i paid the full amount by cash. Low and behold, my dad didn't want the laptop in the end lol. So I ended up returning it back onto my card in the store i work at a few days later at the full price that I paid. Why I put the return back onto my card was because I knew the till wouldn't have the £300-400 at the beginning of the day, so my manager's told me that its ok to return it back onto the customer's card if thats easier for them. I did this well within the 28 day refund policy period and that was the end of it and I threw away the receipt. What I think they are looking into is that the fact that I had returned the the exact same laptop a few weeks later back onto my card, at the full price, thinking that i have 'abused' the staff discount which is not even the case! But as I do not have my receipt, what can i do to defend my case? I was told i was to have a hearing next week. So I don't know how I will be able to prove that I didn't just 'allow my uncle to purchase a laptop at a discount, then I return it at the full price on my card' - cos that's how they see it right?! My uncle still has his receipt, so what can i do? I don't have the one i used to purchase my one any more! Please help. I don't want to get sacked or dismissed or disciplined, I haven't done anything wrong or harmed anyone and its stressing me out that something will happen to me.

Apologies if you are reading this twice but my first post hasn't shown up ... I work as a Customer Servcies Advisor on a job share basis 40 hour week (we both work 20 hours). On Wednesday the company owner said that as of Monday 1st October our hours are to be cut to 12 per week. This makes our job untenable and as we have had not notice of this change we have paid childcare fees in advance. My contract says that my hours of work 8.30am-5.00pm can be varied but it doesn't mention that they can be cut. I have not agreed to this and I asked the owner for a meeting to discuss this and asked for the proposal in writing. Other than being told that our performance was good but that the company needed to cut costs there was no explanation and we were not allowed to discuss options. Then on friday we received a letter to say that the cut becomes effective 1st october and that our job role has been changed to 'sales'. We have until 31st december or before to increase company profits and excel in the role or our employment will be terminated. Is this enforced cut a breach of contract? We have not agreed to it or even been consulted on it? Or can the company owner do as he pleases as ACAS advised me?? Any advice would be GREATLY received thanks