CAB We hate our baby’s name - can we change it?
My partnerand I had a baby boy three months ago. It has been a total whirlwind. My partnerand I spendages trying to come up with a name before the birth and changedourmind a lot.We did decide on a name at the hospital, and registered it immediately. I’m embarrassed to admit we both really can’t stand the name now, it just doesn’t suit him. Can we change it by deed poll? Deed poll isn’t the best way to formally change a name in Scotland, it’s more used down south, but you can apply to the Register General to do this. You’ll need to choose carefully as only one change of forename is allowed before a child reaches two years old.
If you do change your baby’s first name before they reach the age of two, the original name will be replaced by the new name on the register and any subsequent birth certificate.
If you and your partner are both named on the birth certificate, you’ll have to both sign off the change. The only other person who can apply for a forename to be changed is the person who performed the ceremony of baptism or their successor in office.
Now that the furlough scheme is ending,I was hoping to go back to work full time.
Instead, it looks like I amoneof a few staff who are going to be made redundant.I don’t think this is fair as I am definitely better at the job than some of the people they’re keeping on,and should have scored better than them. It wasn’t clear what we were scored on. I appealed, but the decision stayed the same. Can they do this?
Your employer should have made it clear to you how they were selecting people for redundancy. A workplace can choose how to decide who is made redundant. Some will go for a ‘last in, first out’ approach, others will award points for skills and experience, while another might just interview affected staff.
As long as the method avoids discrimination and they choose people fairly, your employer will be keeping the right side of the law.
One common mistake an employer makes is by not considering everyone it should in the ‘pool’ for redundancy. If there are people doing similar work who have not been considered for redundancy, this could be unfair.
Even if told in advance how you would be chosen and scored, a decision to dismiss could still be unfair if the decision was based solely on one person’s opinion of difficult-to-assess things like ‘commitment’ or ‘attitude to the work’. A person has the best chance at Employment Tribunal where they can show that there were clear errors or inconstancies, or where people are chosen for reasons other than the pre-set scoring system.
At this stage, as you have already appealed, you will have to think about going down the Early Conciliation route with ACAS, and should arrange a further discussion with the Citizens Advice Bureau to discuss the strength of your case. The majority of cases are settled before getting to the tribunal itself.
Myenergy provider has gonebust.What should I do?
You’ll still have gas and electricity if your energy supplier goes out of business. The gas and electricity regulator, Ofgem, will move you to a new supplier. This usually takes a few weeks.
Wait for your new supplier to contact you and they’ll explain what will happen with your account. Contact your new supplier if you don’t hear from them within two weeks.
You can check who’s taken over your energy supply if you’re not sure or if they don’t contact you. Get in touch with us and we can help.