Old Employer Wont Collect Their Property

I think you are fine to say you can't change your plans to fit around them, but that isn't the same as saying that you can't accommodate any evening or weekend. It would not be unreasonable to give them some specific times when you would be available, for instance (offer 2 or 3 different options) or make clear that you can accommodation evening or weekend collection at a mutually convenient time and date.

I don't think it is realistic to demand they pay you for your time or petrol to return them - you could have made arrangements to return them during working hours during your notice period

chris1200 wrote: »

They've had 4 weeks to collect it, I now have a new job that will take me away from home at times (perhaps for a week or more on many occasions) and could mean working very late when I'm here. I don't intend to be available or accommodate them if it means I have to change my own plans or affect my new job to do so. At the end of the day if I'm not here I'm not here and if I'm not available I'm not available.

Then they'll potentially sue you in small claims court for the value/return of the items.

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Dear xxx

As you will recall, I have property belonging to the firm in my garage, and have made many attempts to have this collected. I now find myself in the position of needing storage space.

Please contact me urgently to arrange collection of these items, which can normally be collected between the hours of x and y on a zzzday. If the items are not collected before Dec 18th, I will have no option but to charge storage at the rate of £x per day, to cover my expenses in providing extended storage for these goods. I also reserve the right, once storage charges are implemented, to charge £5 for each letter or phone call I have to make about storage or collection arrangements. (I have already sent x emails and made y phone calls about this!)

Dear jobbingmusician,

Thank you for your letter/e-mail. You are reminded of your contractual obligation to return all company property prior to leaving employment. Failure to do so will be regarded as theft of company property and pursued to the fullest extent of the law. We look forward to the return of these items at your earliest convenience. The office is open during normal business hours.

Regards,

ex-employer.

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As you can see, both parties can play petty tit-for-tat games and the OP, frankly, is in the wrong. He'd 'only get away with it' (so to speak) if his employer decided they couldn't be bothered retrieving the stuff, or it would cost more to do than it was worth - not on the merits of his argument.

Unless there's more to it than we're being told, it seems needlessly stupid to sour the relationship over something so petty, which can easily be resolved with a little bit of compromise. Furthermore, unless the OP's sure he's never going to encounter anyone from his former employer who was involved in this spat ever again in his working life, it seems somewhat shortsighted to risk getting a reputation for being "difficult", "argumentative", or just "trying to screw them over when he left".