Fear for job if I raise concerns with boss
RENFREWSHIRE CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
I have become really unhappy about some of the things my new boss is asking me and other employees to do.
I used to have a business in the same field and know that some of the things we are asked to do aren’t strictly legal, and wouldn’t meet health and safety standards.
I was really surprised by this as I have joined quite a big company as I wanted a regular income. I tried to bring it up but he became quite angry.
I am worried that if I take this further I might lose my job as I am only recently in the door.
There is protection against dismissal for employees who are whistle-blowers. If you were dismissed for what is legally known as “making a qualifying disclosure” this would be automatic unfair dismissal and you wouldn’t need to have two years’ service to have a claim at tribunal.
To be covered, you have to have tried to report one of the following: a criminal offence, failure in a legal obligation, a health and safety issue, a miscarriage of justice, damage to the environment, or an attempt to cover up any of these things.
From what you say, your situation would be covered.
If you decide to make a report to your employer, keep a written record and make sure what you are saying gives specific details about what they are doing wrong.
Hopefully this will be enough for improvements to be made.
You can get further confidential advice about whether to take action from Protect on 020 3117 2520.
If you work for the NHS, there is a new confidential service to support people thinking about raising work concerns.
The independent national whistleblowing officer advice line can be called on 0800 008 6112.
I bought a refurbished phone from a mobile phone company online but it kept on turning off for no obvious reason.
They agreed to take it back and repair it but they had it for several weeks and now I’ve got it back I find the problem hasn’t gone away.
I didn’t expect a second-hand phone to be perfect, but this is unusable.
What can I do?
Well, it sounds like your mobile phone purchase is “not fit for purpose” and so you can rely on the Consumer Rights Act 2015. In practice, what this means is that you are due a refund, repair or replacement.
However, you don’t have to accept a second repair or replacement now that something has gone wrong again.
You can ask for a discount on the original price or your money back if the repair hasn’t solved the problem, or another fault has developed.
This would also be true if they had provided a replacement and that too was faulty.
If you ask for your money back and it’s less than six months since you bought the goods (which sounds like the case here) you should get the full amount.
If you would like more free support with dealing with your consumer problem, you can contact Advice Direct Scotland’s consumer service on 0808 164 6000 or Renfrewshire CAB on 0141 889 2121.