Bulgari self employed

[Daringfire]

Hi there,

 

I would very much appreciate some advice, I am acting on behalf of my sister.

 

For explanation of her situation I will copy an email I sent last Friday. I sent it to all the emails she had. I also phoned bulgari head office in the uk to try and resolve this. They told me bulgari Ireland ltd (incorporated in Ireland) manage the heathrow operation. I have sent this same email to all permutations of the directors names (received off irelands version of companies house).

 

Email (names and contact info removed)

 

Dear Sirs

I am writing to you on behalf of my sister who worked for Bulgari as a supervisor from June 2011 to end of May 2012 at Heathrow Airport.

 

She would invoice Bulgari for £1,833.85 per month basic salary on top she was entitled to to a commision based on overall sales at the airport.

 

S left Bulgari at the end of May due to pregnancy, with the attached 2

invoices outstanding. (4 months and 5 months overdue respectively)

 

April invoice totalling £1,043.53 (taking into acount days taken off) May invoice totalling £1,833.85 S understands from SH's corrospondance (S's line

manager) below that it is agreed that April would be paid at the full monthly rate of £1,833.85, due to Bulgari's failure to pay the invoices on time.

S is therefore outstanding £3,667.70 plus any commision she earned from 1st January 2012 to 31st May 2012.

 

S is a new mother, since she gave birth to her son on 14th July 2012. As I am sure you can appreciate this is a large amount of money for anyone to have outstanding for such a long period of time, let alone someone who is going through the stresses and costs of starting a new family.

 

At the moment I have not seen a copy of the contract that exists between S and Bulgari, nor I have I seen evidence of remmitance advices, acknowledgements or purchase orders that you would expect from a normal

client - contractor relationship. I have no experience in contract or employment law but my instinct says that the relationship between S and Bulgari is actually closer to an employer - employee relationship. Which would bring the additional responsibilities as provided for in British law.

 

As I am sure you will be able to tell from this email, I am not an expert in this field. However I can promise you that I am stubborn, extremely focused and I have a lot spare time. Should S not receive payment within 7 days (or a considered response as to why she is not owed this

money) we will take the following actions.

 

 

**1. We will take action in the small claims court in the UK. Seeking*payment of this debt.

**2. We will write to Heathrow Airport Limited explaining how S has been treated

**3. We will write to UK and Irish newspapers, and Media organisations*explaining how S has been treated. (it may not seem like a big story but you never know it may get a small mention somewhere on a slow news day.

**4. We will contact an employment law specialist, to consider the question of whether S could be considered employed by Bulgari.

 

*All S is looking for is what she has earned, please can you confirm that payment will be made (and how much) within the next 7 days. Including any commision she has earned this year*

S can be contacted by email or phone

 

We trust you will contact S by return explaining what your intentions are.

 

 

End of email

 

I fully intend to follow through with the actions I have threatened above. But I am a bit stuck as bulgari are referring me to this Irish subsidiary. Can I send freedom of information requests to their Irish address to get a copy of her contract?

Can I send a letter before action to the registered Irish address, then start proceedings locally in the uk? She did work solely in the uk after all.

 

Any suggestions/ ideas on how to proceed would be very much appreciated

 

Cheers

 

Daring fire

[EveOwes]

Hi

 

Don't know if you're still checking this post. It appears that your sister was an 'employee' and in which case she should have been employed under a limited company set up, eg her own limited company or an umbrella company.

 

You cannot use the Freedom of Information Act to ask for a copy of somebody's contract as that is protected by the Data Protection Act as it's personal information. Why doesn't your sister get a copy?

 

regards

[MARTIN3030]

Yes it would need a SAR.

For you to deal they will likely to require a letter of authority from her which gives permission for you to deal with matters on her behalf.

You might also consider contacting the Bulgarian Embassy in London,Foreign Embassies are usually quite helpful with things like this.

[citizenB]

DF, how did you get on with this - did you send the Subject Access Request ?

[Daringfire]

Good result they paid up within 5 days of my email, note the company was Bulgari not the country Bulgaria!

[citizenB]

Does Bulgaria have sufficient funds anyway?

 

Great, I am pleased to hear that this is now resolved in your favour. Well done.