Order for spousal support?

My husband 'sacked' me from working with him once he saw a sol in a pending divorce. I cited 'un-fair dismissal' at him after looking at an ACAS website.

He stated that he no longer wished me to work with him, but he'd pay £585.00 (standing order) into my Bank account, which he said was 'spousal support'. Now, at his sols suggestion he's cancelled this standing order.

Where do I stand? Is it worth an application to have the money re-instated?

He has an income of over £60k, and I have around £16k from freelance earnings. Now that I'm up-to-my-neck dealing with solicitors and legal advice, anything I earn is being gobbled up.

Two yrs ago, I inherited £35,000 which I locked-up until Nov 2008, in a high-interest account, for my pension. Would I still have the right to claim spousal support with these savings?

The first point is that there is a time limit of three months for an application to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal. This is interpreted strictly and failure to lodge a complaint in time will almost certainly be fatal. Incidentally, this causes more claims against CAB's than anything else put together.

You don't say, madam, whether you are in the process of divorcing your husband. This seems to be implied, but you don't say so specifically. As there is presumably no court order and your husband is paying voluntarily, this means he is free to cancel it.

Have you considered whether you can claim tax credits ?

In answer to your question about the savings, the income generated would be taken into account but would not necessarily be fatal to a claim for spousal maintenance.
It all depends on your respective circumstances. If you can tell me a little more I might be able to speak more intelligently.

Mike

I think Mike means more knowingly as he always speaks intelligently.

Short term a maintenance pending suit is intended to support someone with little or no financial provision until the final settlement. You are still both living in the FMH and presumably at least sharing costs, you have some income and your inheritance which could be deemed enough to tide you over.

Longer term it's the whole package to be considered and generally speaking the larger the capital settlement is in your favour the less need there is for periodic payments. Other factors to be taken into account are 1) it was a short marriage and 2)your earnings potential. Maintenance for a period of readjustment wouldn't be unreasonable.

OK. I was just asking. Mike, he cannot apply for divorce until end Jan 2008. However, a divorce is 'pending' because he's already instructed a solicitor.

I don't expect any spousal support after the settlement. I am only going to ask for a settlement from the work I've done re: property development issues. He has two businesses, (I am not intending to claim from those), nor Pensions, savings or other assets. So I think I'm being fair.

I posted my details re 'unfair dismissal', and got the reply that since there was not a formal work contract, it would end up costing more to fight, than I'd be compensated for.

I worked for him for the first 18 months for nothing, (whilst he enjoyed the profits!).... So, once he mentioned 'divorce', he said he'd make the standing order, and I could keep it as spousal maintenance, (i saw it as 'backdated pay')... However, his sol made him cancel the standing order, which is why I asked about my rights.

Whether I've got savings or not, it's about him conning me out of 18 months work! Maybe I'll just ask for that in the final lump-sum settlement.

Now, here's where it all looks weird. I don't do anythign formoney. (Ex said when I met him - that I was the first women he'd ever met that never asked him for anything) Not even an engagement ring. Everything I did here for two yrs, was for saving for a new home together, so if it meant I'd work for nothing, then more money for the pot!
Now I just see how my generosity was used!

Sera,

Whether you could make a claim for unfair dismissal at all depends entirely on the contract. Only employees can claim unfair dismissal, and whether you are an employee depends on the facts of each individual case ; important factors are, (i) obviously, payment of wages ! (ii) whether there is a written contract or at least particulars of terms of employment (iii) whether the ' employer ' pays national insurance ; (iv) the degree of control exercised by the ' employer ' (v) whether the ' employee ' works for anyone else as well ; and so on. Sometimes the ' employer ' claims the worker is self employed ( for obvious reasons ) and the worker claims he is an employee and the tribunal has to look on the realities of the contracts and not what the parties choose to call it. But in your case this doesn't look much like a contract of employment to me.

I agree with Fiona's analysis of the situation vis a vis spousal maintenance. I wonder if I can infer from what you say that you married in January 2007 ; if so, the shortness of your marriage will be a negative factor, as you will know, but I think you have at least a respectable argument that if you supported your husband in his business, and can show that he has benefited financially from that support, I don't see why you should be denied a share in the benefit, regardless of the length of the marriage. I don't know whether Fiona would agree with that, but it seems reasonable to me. It is also possible, as she says, for maintenance to be awarded for a short time to enable you to re-adjust.

Mike

Mike,

No, no contract of employment. I came to live with him Aug 2005, his wife had died, (she was doing what I was doing, but for money!).
When she died, he discovered thousands of pounds worth of loans. The bank closed in, and he re-paid the loans, as I'd warned him they'd claim against the house (her property, inherited by him) if he didn't.

So, from the goodness of my heart, (a heart that was in luuuuurve...) I filled-her-shoes from the work point of view, and worked for nowt, whilst he re-paid these debts.

Since our marriage, my husband started to pay me, (having now cleared late-wifes debt). I met with his accountant, who was drawing up a contract-of-employment, when my husband yelled "Wanna-divorce"! ... his accountant wants nothing more to do with me, and even denies our meeting!

I wasn't going to ask for spousal support in the divorce by-the-way, I just feel cheated of monies I believe I've earned.