police pressing charges

keith_t_3

Just thought i`d let you know how things went yesterday. Our solicitor turned up and went in with the policeman for 10 mins then came out and told us it was the biggest load of c**p he had heard in all his years. The solicitor spoke to my wife and took all her details and made her statement , the policeman let her go and said he would show his superior and see if it would be taken any further . Anyway to clear things up the ex boss was trying charge my wife with putting a password on the user page , she had not changed the admin part just put a password on her user part. Like i said the solicitor said it was a load of crap and they would be stupid to take it any further , but we will wait and see. As i said earlier the ex boss has told an employee that we know he has friends in the police and will make sure she never gets work again. Our solicitor was quite interested in this part. So thanks for some of your feedback and hope you see from our experience that if your boss doesn`t pay you and you take him to tribunal for withholding wages and he doesn`t show up, there`s sod all you can do. Unless you take him to court and that will cost you, i thought workers would have some protection but i have seen with my own eyes this is not the case.

yvonne13_2

Thanks for the update OP

Uncertain

keith_t wrote: »

Unless you take him to court and that will cost you, i thought workers would have some protection but i have seen with my own eyes this is not the case.

That is not entirely true.

There was a change fairly recently giving direct cheap access to the High Court enforcement procedures following an employment tribunal win.

If the employer does not defend the tribunal you will get judgement and, if appropriate, an award. If this is not paid you can have it enforced on payment of quite a small fee. There is no need for separate court procedures.

In the past you had to go to the County Court (although generally a formality) then use bailiffs who only had limited powers. High Court enforcement officer have far more powers than bailiffs.

Obviously there will be some instances where they cannot obtain any money (firms in liquidation etc) but the success rate is quite high and the financial risk fairly small.

karmaqween

I am a newbie here, I am a little annoyed at reading the post by `gettingready`, there is no need to put people down regarding grammar.

To Keith t, You need get some better legal advice, if your wife was not paid and has proof of having worked for this person? she has rights. I would not fret too much regarding the password at this moment, go through the legal motions as need be (but, with better legal assistance! - Are you in the UK?, The Citizens Advice Bureau are maybe your best option, you can also search free legal advice online, ensure you place UK on any Google search or, you will have several American Orgs pop up).
There is (from what you say), plenty to back you up regarding this persons illegal behaviour, you must pass on all this info asap and, I think your wife will be fine, she may even be able to take out a suit to sue him for the wages she is owed?. Keep us posted.

bubblegum1985

thanks for the update Keith.

Got to say this bit made me laugh...

keith_t wrote: »

As i said earlier the ex boss has told an employee that we know he has friends in the police and will make sure she never gets work again. .

Police have far more important things to do that this, and what exactly are they going to do to stop her?! Total rubbish.

Hope she gets something soon.

Yorkie1

karmaqueen did you read the whole thread before posting?

Advising someone to ignore a police investigation is hardly good advice. Particularly, if you had read to the end and saw that the OP's wife had to go to the police station and had a solicitor with her, you'd have got the full facts.

timbo58

dizzyrascal wrote: »

Not difficult to prove at all. I work for a university and it was recently discovered that an image had been accidentally used without permission. Owner got a good payout and all staff got an email reminder about the dos and don'ts of using images on the website.
It was all settled out of court as the copyright had clearly been breached, no point arguing.
Also, anyone involved in web design or marketing should be very aware of the laws relating to copyright.

I didn't say it was difficult to prove.

It is up to the owner to prove loss and for that loss to be worth suing for, so each case is different, i.e. someone without a penny to their name may well never be sued as they are not actually worth suing.

There are also issues regarding whether copyrighted materials have retained their copyright over the time since the copyright was 1st granted.

Valli

keith_t wrote: »

i thought workers would have some protection but i have seen with my own eyes this is not the case.

Please bear in mind that employees have the option to join Trades Unions. I frequently advise them to do so.

Uncertain

timbo58 wrote: »

There are also issues regarding whether copyrighted materials have retained their copyright over the time since the copyright was 1st granted.

Copyright lasts for 70 years from the end of the year of the author's death.

Also, it is not "granted" it automatically exists from the moment the work is created. Whether or not the author chooses to exercise the right is another matter.

Jinx

Hi OP - it sounds like your sol has it all sorted - I just wanted to add one comment. If the police decide not to proceed as such but decide they will let your wife off with a caution - you need to know that this will appear on any future CRB/enhanced disclosures. I dont know if her sector uses these but something to bear in mind before accepting any caution.