Can a former employer refuse business?

BuilderBobby

Apologies if this is in the wrong place. I used to work for a hardware company. They were taken over by new management and subsequently did everything to get old timers like me out. I took the company to tribunal. I didn't have any representation and was unsuccessful at tribunal.

However, a former colleague, who provided a witness statement for me, left to set up his own contracting firm (fitting kitchens and bathrooms, refurbs etc). He never had any problems ordering materials from the hardware company for his firm, but during my tribunal process, he was told they would no longer supply him materials.

He's asked (said Manager who was giving me grief) multiple times why they wouldn't supply him anymore with no response. The advice he was given before giving me a statement was that providing a witness statement is a protected act and therefore he was under the impression he shouldn't be facing any backlash.

Can his former employer refuse to serve him though he is a regular customer now? And if not what recourse should he take, should he go to employment tribunal or trading standards?

Isthisforreal99

Unless there are any written contracts then any business can choose to do, or not do, business with anyone they want, subject to protected characteristics etc

lincroft1710

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915849#Comment_81915849

Exactly this. Plus in this case this would have been a business to business transaction so consumer rights do not apply

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915849#Comment_81915849

Legal protection does however extend to being treated less favourably because you've been a witness in somebody else's claim about discrimination - but it doesn't sound like the OP's case involved discrimination (and I doubt it extends to the witness's business anyway).

eskbanker

The advice he was given before giving me a statement was that providing a witness statement is a protected act and therefore he was under the impression he shouldn't be facing any backlash.

Who gave him this advice, and what is their position on the situation now? However, such advice was presumably only in the context of employment rights, rather than an arms-length supplier/customer relationship?

BuilderBobby

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915862#Comment_81915862

I should clarify he was unable to get materials on retail bases (for his own house project started when he worked there) nor on a trade basis

BuilderBobby

The claim did involve discrimination (Age) and victimisation but was unsuccessful

BuilderBobby

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915890#Comment_81915890

He knows of a paralegal who said that it shouldn't affect his ability to purchase materials for his house (he was/is renovating) but the company have denied service in a retail and trade basis. He has found another supplier for his trade, but had a specific type of flooring which was just easier to get form there as he started the project while he was working there

Grumpy_chap

Any business can refuse to accept custom from any other business or from any individual, so long as the reason for refusal is not a protected characteristic.

Given the business seems to be just a hardware company / builder's merchant, why bother with them when it is easy to just purchase from elsewhere?

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915903#Comment_81915903

Ok, but does "easier" lead to any sort of loss?

Undervalued

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6658827/can-a-former-employer-refuse-business

The short answer to your last paragraph is yes.

Had your former colleague still been an employee then he would (in theory at least) have had some legal protection as far as his employment was concerned.

However, if I understand you correctly, he has left that employment and set up on his own? His former employer is quite entitled to refuse his custom unless he could show that their reason amounted to unlawful discrimination on one of the handful of legally protected grounds (e.g race, religion, gender etc).