Sorry to hear about your boss's suspension. Councils always try and get out of not paying out, really annoys me! With my claim I had to threaten to take them to small claims court before they would even look into my claim. I spent over complaining about the road and eventually i managed to rally all the local businesses not to pay their rent. We all said that the council contract said they will provide and maintain access under the lease. Took years to get the road resurfaced but we got there in the end.
I would suggest that no matter what excuses they give, keep pursuing it and eventually they will have to conceed!