13th October 2009
Re: Betfred Employment Tribunal Claims
We are writing to you as you are one of the many Community members working for Betfred who has contacted us for advice and support after the company terminated your contract of employment for refusing to accept the offer of financial compensation to buy out your premium time for working evenings, Sundays, and Bank Holidays. The company have since offered you a new contract which only pays single time, and you are currently “working under protest”.
Community has instructed Taylor & Emmet solicitors to submit claims to the Employment Tribunal against Betfred on your behalf. The claims were duly lodged on 11 September 2009. Given there are multiple claims, we have lodged a model claim in the name of one of our members, and the rest of the claims have been joined to this. This means that only the member who agreed to be the named member, along with our legal team, will be required to attend the hearing. The solicitors will have written to you to provide proof of your identity which is a requirement under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
Betfred will have 28 days to submit their response to the claims to the Employment Tribunal. Our solicitors will advise us of the grounds on which the company is going to resist the claim and the ongoing merits of the claim. There will then be a mandatory 13-week conciliation period whereby the Arbitration Conciliation and Advice Service (ACAS) are engaged to explore whether a settlement can be reached before the claims are listed at an Employment Tribunal for a hearing. In the absence of any settlement being agreed it is unlikely that the claims will be listed for a hearing before mid-January 2010. We will continue to keep you informed throughout the process.
If there are any of your colleagues that aren’t yet members of Community they can join us to benefit from the free and confidential employment law advice and support regarding workplace issues that affect betting shop workers throughout the UK. Those wishing to join should call the number below selecting option 2 to speak with a membership administrator. Alternatively they can join via our website at www.community-tu.org by clicking on the ‘Join us today’ link on the home page.
Yours in unity
Community Trade Union
0800 389 6332