You and the Law

I moved into a newly-built house six months ago. I paid £1,750 extra for an en-suite bathroom but the work is unsatisfactory. Half a wall is missing, there’s no shower door, they’ve put in chrome shower taps and gold sink taps and so on.

Two years ago I had an accident at work, where the ladder I was on I slipped and I fractured my hip. Then recently I was knocked off a stepladder and fractured my foot.

I am an 80-year-old widower living alone. I have about £10,000 in the bank. I have made a will in favour of my son. When is probate necessary, what does it mean and what does it cost?

My wife was run into by a motorised buggy in a supermarket. They’re provided by the supermarket for elderly people to use. She had the trolley shoved into her midriff, bruising her ribs and her leg, and she is still in pain four weeks later and receiving treatment from her GP.

From next year, holidays at my place of work are being allocated to individuals in blocks of up to three weeks. We will be allowed to make exchanges with colleagues, but anyone unable to negotiate a suitable holiday swap will be forced to take up to three consecutive weeks. Are employers legally allowed to do this?

The firm I work for has just gone bust and all the staff were left unpaid. I’ve held on to my company car since I’m owed wages and a redundancy payment, but the receivers have threatened to sue me if I don’t return it. What can I do? They owe me roughly the car’s book value.