vrp-20231207-120558

A person had a phone call with their lawyer to discuss a legal matter. The lawyer suggested giving the other party another week to respond. The person mentioned their support system and their lawyer advised them to prepare for potential challenges. They also discussed doing breathing exercises to reduce stress. The person shared information about another company involved in the case. So, yeah, I sort of got my back up and the class and also Peter, they said, hold on a sec, they said just try and see it from a different angle. Because I was saying, no, they've had two weeks, that's ample time for them to reply. Of course, they're going to try and get more weeks. When they say in the coming weeks, well, there's Christmas and then it will fall into the new year, and then they'll be on holiday and then it will go into February. So I said that's not good enough for me. So I had a phone call with the lawyers Tuesday afternoon to go over this. And Peter did talk me around to sort of not going guns blazing, which I didn't. I'm glad that he did that, but just to gain their pain. And I said, I don't think like weeks, I think it's sort of in our, the ball's in our court. We've served them the papers. They don't get to take like, what, like weeks. Like, yeah, I just don't think that would be enough. Anyway, I spoke to Evan, that's my lawyer. And he was really good. What he suggested, because I just went in the phone call saying, okay, what are your opinions, Evan? And okay, it is a game they're playing. But what I suggest is we give them another week. So the 15th is the deadline to next Friday. They must respond by next Friday. He said that's ample time. I don't want it to go into the new year, like they said. He said because, and then that was my thought, because I'll just keep on stretching it out. But he agreed with me and he said that I would like to do it before Christmas, obviously, is the 15th. So I was glad that he was on board with that. And he said, so that's a law firm. He said they're a very large law firm. And he said they're actually quite good. He doesn't know Gavin, the guy who's doing the case. And he said that, so John's got this firm here. And he said this will be going through John's insurance. John's got insurance that actually covers him. I wasn't aware of that, though, yeah. So he said that it won't be, he'll have to pay like an excess. But it won't be hidden in his pocket, like I thought he would have had to pay for legal fees. I would have preferred him to, but yeah. Anyway, and he said they're sort of more on the insurance side, this firm. Like insurance papers, which is what they're doing. And he said that, Evan said that he wanted me to get support over the next how many weeks. And I said, Evan, I do. I've seen my psychologist weekly and she's a great support. And I've got John Moore and Peter. So he just wanted to make sure. Just to make sure that I need to prepare myself. Because, of course, John is going to be writing whatever. I have to be prepared for that. And usually it's not like it can really upset people and trigger people. And he said that depending on what's in the document, we can withhold it until we get some support. Or we can send it to you once we get it. And I said, no, I'd prefer just to send it to me when available. Because I know it's not going to be nice. Like John said, he wrote in the Becky investigation. It was just, and what Paul wrote as well. Absolute lies. I used to stay back and watch the lady cleaner clean. Because she didn't have a bra on. I'm sorry. No, I don't do that. I'm gay to start off with. And I don't know what I want to say back there when I wanted to get out of there. It's ludicrous. And John's making lies up as well. Like about smashing the plates. He said it was an annual thing that they used to do. Smash plates. All the staff. And I'm like, I would have heard about that. That absolutely did not happen. And when the Becky investigator interviewed Laura, one of the employees there. She said, oh, do you have an annual smashing plates? And she goes, no, I've never heard of that. But, you know, why would you, it's just John's lying. Like saying, it's on a Greek wedding or something. Like, yeah. I'm, yeah, I know. Because you go, why are you smashing plates? I mean, if the plates were half decent, you'd say, does anyone want to take them home if I don't want to use them? Oh, no. I wouldn't do that. It was, we did these little horse props that we used for a window years ago. Sorry, I keep on saying we. Yeah, remember? You're remembering that. But, yeah, no way. Okay. They had these little horses and they went into some window, I can't remember what it was. And they were ceramic. They got used to them and they were left over. And John decided one day that he saw them there and instead of giving them to people away, he thought that he would smash them all. So he smashed them all in front of everyone. I guess, like, I didn't want one. I guess someone asked for one maybe and he grabbed it and smashed them in front of them. I don't know. He smashed the horses. I remember he did smash those. Not an annual plate smashing, absolutely not. I'm fascinated by the annual bit of it. You know, when I said about people, it's interesting how people embellish comments, isn't it? Because you're going, yeah, we had a funny day and for some reason we all thought it was fun to smash the plates. That actually makes, strangely enough, makes more sense. And we do it annually. Yeah. Yeah. And plus all the, like, because I used to, when I used to, like, update my property at home, I would always bring it in because people use it downstairs for lunch and all that. So, and that's what people do at work as well. They just bring it in wherever. Yeah, yeah, right. Down the kitchen. Those can be prevalent to use, but yeah, absolutely no annual plate smashing or anything. Just targeting me and smashing my plates that I use for lunch. That's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, actually it's interesting that Evan said next, you know, the 15th. Yeah. Yeah. Because I was wondering whether, you know, as you say, you know, and as he probably would have pointed out as well, weeks, it's really non-specific, right, isn't it? Yeah. And, you know. Do you know or? Sorry? Is that what blows normally do? Like, just leave it on like that or? Look, I think anyone's going to, whether it's a lawyer or not, they're going to give it a bill if they can. But I, you know, it's the vagueness of it. Whereas I wasn't, I was a little surprised that he said the 15th. So, all right, we'll give you until then. You mean for a week? Yeah, only like a week. Like it's not two weeks. It's like only a weekend. Yeah, I was surprised as well. But I did expect at some stage he might have said, well, we'll give them a definitive date of some, whether it was. But of course, he, you know, is fully aware too. Make it, you know, 20th and you've, whatever. And then you're suddenly into Christmas and then the, you know, holidays, all that sort of thing. Then there's a stray day. It's just all, it goes so quick. And yeah, I'm really glad that he. Good. He's really, he's really, you know, going up. This is ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah. And you also say that he said that he's like willing to go like as far as possible. Like he said something along the lines of that. So, I mean, that was, that was sort of like put a lot of pressure off me. Well, it feels like you're feeling supported. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's where it's supported. Like, because I haven't really been speaking to, last time I spoke to Evan was like a year ago. Like when I, it's only been three months. I've been speaking to Luke as well, like his associate. Oh. Yeah. Like I do feel better, but I'm still, you know, just anxious. But I mean, I understand that, like, it's not going to be an easy ride. Like it's going to be things thrown at you. And yeah. So I just have to, like things that just like keep, don't blow my child's life or anything like that. So I get that. But yeah, always sort of good advice as well. And yeah, I just, I don't know what to prepare for, like. Well, I mean, you know, as you said, you've got the group and it's really nice to have their input, you know, because they know you. And apart from that, you know, looking at it. So that's excellent. You know, doing some of your breathing exercises. Yeah, true. Yeah. You know, a bit like the, I know there's heaps more, you know, but, you know, maybe even the physiological side. I think we talked about that, you know, that. Have we done that? Yeah. There's one which is called the physiological side. And basically, you know, and we can do it right now. You're looking for your notes, are you? Yes. All right. I'll send you a, with a little bit of, you know, a PDF. So the idea is, all right, I just want you to take a deep breath in. And then we're going to just top it up with another breath in. Right, so we're going and a bit more. And then out through the mouth. Yeah, we have done that in class. Forgotten the benefits of that, but. Yeah. And the idea, and in fact, I was reading some research the other day. And it seems like a long time to do it. But they were suggesting that, you know, if you could do it for five minutes, you really chilled out. But I would say maybe do it for a minute periodically throughout the day. You know, you could put a timer on or something. Yes. But to, you know, and it is one of the most effective ways of reducing stress. Okay. And, you know, you might also, in the middle of it, kind of, and it might be a bit, I won't say mean, but it's a bit of fun sort of imagining them scrambling around. You know. Yes. Going, oh, shit, you know, we're sending this thing and, you know. And I don't know. And you go, yep, well. You know, whether the, is this the first time you've heard from this Landers crowd through John? Did he have another company? Yes, he did. He had another company that was supporting him. That was for the Fair Work Commission. That was his, what was that called? I think it was OHNSR. Okay. It's like a, it's actually a really dodgy company because they've been taken to court many times for being dodgy. And I remember just before I left Stage 1, John got me to go to a guy, Aaron, who was on work at Stage 1. And John wanted me to research, like, Aaron, because he told me he wanted me to get information so I could fuck him off, as he said. Like, try and get rid of him. Get rid of him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I, like, saved John with this. And one of them, I can't remember the firm. It's like a really dodgy firm. It is, yeah, the Fair Work Commission. And it's Michael, yeah. It's called EmployShore. Have you heard of them? Oh, I have, actually. Yeah. Yeah. Not really. Yeah. Just going off with a package or something, because they're the people that, so when I gave John the second letter of bullying, John, he, because he didn't actually action on my, on my list that I gave him. But as soon as I gave him that letter, he quickly hired this firm, and they came out and they gave all the OH&S to the Stage 1, picked that up, and also they were discussing me. I could hear them in the background. I couldn't open up. They were talking about me and John, because we have, like, a logging system, like, with our card. And John doesn't do it. John never does it, because he's, because John's actually an employee of Stage 1. So he's managing for an employee, and I've set up this system of, like, swiping, all the staff swiping, so then I know when they're clocking. And because I'm 9 to 5, Rick and, Rick and, who's the other one? Rick and Mark, they never logged in, because, like, we were doing the logging, and I was just 9 to 5, and just, yeah. Anyway, he said I never had to log in, so I never did. There was no point. And so John came around to ask me, and he said, how come you're not logging in? And I said, well, I never have, since we've owned this system since 2005, when I started working there. And he said, every employee must log in. And I was like, okay, I understand that now. I get that, but I was just told that I didn't have to. And I felt like saying, well, are you going to log in? Like, because he's an employee, and he said every employee is an employee. Well, I mean, he's an employee because he gets an income. So even if you own the company, you're still technically going to be an employee, but you're also the owner as well. Yeah. So, and he said, we need to have everyone logged in, because if there's a fire, we need lights. And I said, fair enough, I understand that. Yeah. All right, I'll start logging in. So I started logging in, but, yeah, I just felt like saying, like, well, you're an employee. You should be logging in, but you're not my staff. Anyway. Yeah. So, yeah, EmployShaw, and they have, like, a legal department. And they actually helped John in their Fair Work Commission case that, yeah. Yeah. The reason I was asking about that was, you know, it's interesting when you look at, you know, like, if he's already got something in place, apart from whether they're dodgy or not, that they are an established business. And, you know, and, but why wouldn't you continue, you know, why wouldn't you continue using what you've already got? Unless, of course, they're not supporting you in, you know, they're not telling you what you want to hear. You know, which wouldn't surprise me in terms of what you've said about him. You know, if they've said, look, you know, you're better off just settling this because, you know, then, yep. And that's when you start to kind of, I find it interesting when you look at, you know, if you've got a company that you're happy with, that's working well for you, you'd say this, wouldn't you? You know, and then you look at this other organisation which, you know, has now, and I can kind of see it and hear it from their point of view too. If they've just been landed with this, yeah, they've got to get up to speed. But at the point, it's not your role to worry about them getting up to speed, is it? Yeah, exactly. And I think that's ample time for them to respond. Like, as you said, they're just weeks, coming weeks. Like, that's just that open-ended question. So, yeah. Yeah, so that's good. So, you know, that's, you know, and, you know, they're a large company too, so there's no reason why somebody can't go through the stuff, whatever it is. And address it. Yeah. Well, I've also been told that Redlic is like a reputable law firm. And even Evan that I've got, my lawyer, he's, I've been told that he's really, really good. So, I mean, that's good at least. Yeah. Well, they're holding Redlic. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, they are. They've been around for a long time. Why? Because I was with my WorkCover lawyer, that's his advice line, but they just recently merged with Redlic. Oh, did they? Oh, okay. So, yeah, I'm really glad because Evan spoke to my WorkCover lawyer again, he said, on our phone call on Tuesday. And, which is Linda, and yeah, just to touch base and so they don't intertwine the cases or whatever. Make sure that he says, to make sure that you'll get, so it's focusing more on the employment side, obviously, because he's an employment lawyer, rather than the injury side. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I get that, like, and he also said, obviously, because you can't claim both, try and claim two things at the same time, and I was like, yep, I get that. Obviously, you can't do that, yeah. So, like, claiming one thing in the employment law and one thing in the, same thing in the WorkCover. Yeah, that's a double dipping thing, yeah. Yeah, that's what, yeah, and I said, yep, I totally get that, that's very nice. And the, oh, I also asked him about, do I have to advise WorkCover, Gallagher Bassett, that I currently have an employment law case against Stage 1? And, just to let them know, like, and he asked Linda and they said, no, I don't need to advise Gallagher Bassett. Because I spoke to my case manager, Ben, yesterday from Gallagher Bassett and I spoke to him for, like, half an hour. I just wanted to see how it was going and, yeah, I was just chatting to him for, like, half an hour. Oh, okay. But I didn't mention that I've got an employment law case against Stage 1 at the moment, yeah. Yeah, okay, well, you know, the, you know, you've been advised about, from your lawyers, so, you know, that's, they're the ones who, you know, that's their area of expertise, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. So what did you, what was the outshot of the conversation with Ben? Well, we were talking about 13CADS, about my complaint that I put in to 13CADS and they kept on hanging up on me and I asked the team leader and he was actually on my side. I said, look, I'm sorry that I emailed, like, the customer service of Gallagher Bassett, but I said, Ben, they, in my opinion, they really should be aware of what's going on at 13CADS, like, and he totally agreed. He said, hey, keep on doing that. If you have any problems, you're welcome to email that customer service email address because they follow, make sure to follow up. They've put a complaint into WorkSafe. Anyway, so we're talking about that and he said that I may have another techie company that they've just signed up with, Gallagher Bassett. Okay. And he asked me to do a bit of research on it, which I did yesterday, and he said that we, what he would most likely set up an account for me so I can use them. They're more like a GPS, like an Uber sort of thing. Oh, okay, I've never heard of them. Yeah. Either or both. It's sort of new. I looked at their website and they're more sort of, I think I would rather go with them because you can sort of book the same driver each week and have a set time, which is good. No, they should book the night before and then you're waiting 40 minutes, like 13CADS, and they're sort of, they're more upper end cars, which is nice. So, because some of the 13CADS is very filthy to get into. So, yeah, I've looked into it and I'll ask Ben if he can sign me up to that because it does sound better, but I've never heard of it either. There's so many of these, like, ride-sharing cars, like there's Ola and Fiji. Did you know that? Yeah, I knew those two. I never used them, but yeah, I'm aware they exist. Yeah. Well, if you ever get taxi, it's worth, there's an asset, so that's all free, like Ola, and it does the cheapest one because there is a big price difference. Oh, okay, right. Yeah, it's worth comparing because sometimes it's $10 difference, but yeah. Well, I think also some of those things, if there's a big demand, they'll even increase the amounts, won't they? Oh, they do. What are they called? Surge. Surge stuff, yeah. Yeah, it's just like the kind of demand, and like if there's a concert or something, it just vibrates. And, you know, it's, you know, if you're able to do that, you know, you don't use capture. Fortunately, sometimes, oh, we've got the contract, you know. Yeah. But, of course, as we've said, as you've said, the guys sitting at the head office, they're getting paid. They're not, you know, it's the poor driver and you guys that suffer. Which is important because, as you said, like it could be triggering much if it doesn't work. And, as you said, you know, feeling like actually somebody is interested. Somebody is listening. Somebody is taking this on and allowing, you know, even, you know, and it's up to them, the lawyers to kind of, you know. But, you know, basically the message is said to these guys is, you know, just do it. Answer the question, you know. How more full and complete a response do you want to, you know. So, you know, yeah. Have you kind of mentioned what the next step is? So, well, for them to obviously reply and then he'll read the information and then that's why he said he wanted to make sure because like it will be full of whatever. Yeah. Responding to their letter of demand. Yeah. My letter of demand. And he said, yeah, we go from there. We go on your instructions from there. And I'm gathering everyone's taking classes. These things take months. It's been like six months. I'm like kidding me. Six months. Like I should write that in there. Well, it can take an inordinate amount of time because it's a bit like the lawyers. This might be the first they've heard of it because they haven't been involved in it. But for you it's been a longer journey. Yeah. But, you know, also, you know, if Evan is coming up with a, you know, there's going to be claims and ambit claims and all that sort of stuff. But ultimately if it's clear to John and whatever that, you know, basically you're going to be, it's going to save you money. It's going to do whatever. I don't know. He talked about the insurance. That just puts up his premiums as much as anything else. But if there are some often times where, you know, lawyers can say to somebody, look, you know, let's just settle because, you know, is it worth the angst? Is it worth the time and energy and all that sort of stuff? Because, and, you know, and particularly if there's a, and I don't know, but, you know, he talked about the insurance claim. But there might be a limit on how much they're prepared to, yeah, you know, I mean, you know, I was looking at something the other day. My professional insurance, which we all have to have, you know, I get access to lawyers, but there's a cap on it. Oh, okay. So, you know, if it's over a certain amount, then, you know, but I don't know what happens because I've never, I've only ever used it to just ask a bit of advice. So, but, you know, that's where you look at it and go, well, you know, we're prepared to do this, but we're not prepared to do X or whatever it is, which was kind of interesting. So, even, like, I can't say much that he has to sort of fight back with because, like, I've got video evidence of Paul urinating on my desk. Like, I've got more evidence. Yeah, that's right. You've got absolute, you know. But there's a bullying to John over the years about how he treated me. Well, I guess that's where you'd look at it and say, if this was the case, here's where that has been going on. It's not like, oh, it's the first time I ever heard about it. And as you say, the urination, which is just horrific. And as you, you know, and you said, you know, it's his responsibility as the owner. So, yeah, you know, you can jump up and down as much as you like, you know. And I've written the letter that the lawyers kept on pointing out that John, he never took action when I gave him the first letter about bullying. And the second letter, like, he never, with Paul and the urination, like, never, I'm sure he would have said, no, you can't do that to Paul. But, like, he's still production manager there and he's working. Sorry, that's a fireable offence. Like, no chance of that. I say that as John encouraging that behaviour, if he's still working there. That's just my opinion anyway. Yeah, anyway. So, but that's, it's good that, and in terms of the response. Yeah. So, we have our session next week, which is fine. And I know they'll send it at the last hour. So, I probably won't get it till Monday. The lawyers won't send it till Monday because they'll send it like at, the deadline is the 15th at 5pm. Is it Friday the 15th? Yeah, it is. No. Hang on, just let me have a look. Yeah, it would be, because today's Thursday. Yeah. I mean, I think it's Friday, so it's normal. No, no, we normally do, but I have to move it, that's why. And I think. Yeah, it is Friday the 15th at 5pm, as we said, so. And yeah, I won't get it till Monday or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 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