Company withholding payment

[andy2965]

Hi everyone,
I have had plenty of useful advice regarding a seperate posting to do with excel civil enforcement and i'm hoping somebody can helpmewith this new problem...
I recently did some work for a company called Yodel delivering parcels, the work was arranged by a friend(a current employee of yodel) and as such payment for the work was to be made to him which in turn would be passed on to me. I completed the 2 weeks work with no problems and awaited payment...
Since i left my friend decided to try and steal a parcel from yodel, this was caught on cctv and my friend was subsequently arrested and sacked. The upshot of this idiotic action by my friend is that yodel have cancelled all monies owing to my friend, this comprises of £2000 of my friends wages and £500 owed to me for the work i carried out.
I have tried to speak to various managers at Yodel who will not acknowledge that i worked for them, insisting that i worked for my friend and that i had to see him about my money. This is pointless because i know he cannot pay me until yodel have payed him. I now find myself in an impossible position, having not done anything wrong.
If anyone has any advice on where i can go with this it would be greatly appreciated as i carried out the work in good faith and the money is hugely important especially at this time of year.

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Just to add to my post before i started the work at Yodel i had to go to the depot to carry out a training course, i was also given an expensive hand held scanner to use and yet they refuse to acknowledge that i worked for them. This i find ridiculous as it would imply that they give expensive equipment to every tom dick and harry that walks through the door!!! Just wondering if this equipment could be used as proof that i worked for Yodel?

[labman]

Re: Company withholding payment

On what basis did your friend work there - full time contract, commission based etc....?

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Hi labman,
His official title was service partner he worked there on a self-employed basis so unfortunately no contract of employment.

[labman]

Re: Company withholding payment

Was there a verbal contract with you to carry out this work, or was it on the understanding you would help your friend complete his work, for which he would pay you?

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Well my friend did his work for a contractor within Yodel, whereas the work i did was for Yodel themselves so the money he earned came from the subcontractor and my money would come directly from Yodel, it just happened that all money would be payed to one bank account(his account) and he would pay the Yodel money to me. Like i said before the work commenced i had to go to Yodel to be trained and to be given the handheld terminal and the Yodel calling cards and the Yodel manager also told me what time and day to start and to which account my money would be paid so i dont know if that constitutes a verbal contract or not.

[labman]

Re: Company withholding payment

My understanding is that if there was an agreement as to what you would do and an agreement as to how much you would be paid, this would constitute a binding verbal contract.

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Right thank you Labman i think that route could be my best chance of getting the money thats rightfully mine.
Another thing about the training before i started the job is that i signed what i believed to be a contract and was told i would receive a copy in the next few days. I never received this and when i put this to a Yodel manager he told me this was not a contract, but a 'service agreement' (whatever that is), am i legally entitled to see a copy of that signed document?

[postggj]

Re: Company withholding payment

are we not missing the point on this

even if your friend was summary dismissed for theft, the employer has no legal right to with hold any outstanding wages

section 13 employment rights act deals with this under unlawful deduction of wages

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Thanks i suspected that was the case, the only grey area was that neither myself nor my friend actually had a written contract of employment with Yodel and i was unsure whether i could pursue Yodel myself.

[charitynjw]

Re: Company withholding payment

Sorry to introduce a note of doubt here, but it may be advisable to address the issue of 'employee/worker or not'. (Contract for services or contract of service?)
s230 ERA 1996
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/230

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Hi thanks for the reply,
whilst my own situation is complex due to Yodels insistance that the work was undertaken through a third party, would my friend not have a fair case either way? if he cannot use the employer/employee definition surely he can claim that as a contractor his client has not paid for services given.
If i cannot make a case against Yodel i am hoping at least that my friend has a good case against them because he can then pay me for the service that i provided to him.

[charitynjw]

Re: Company withholding payment

Hi thanks for the reply,
whilst my own situation is complex due to Yodels insistance that the work was undertaken through a third party, would my friend not have a fair case either way? if he cannot use the employer/employee definition surely he can claim that as a contractor his client has not paid for services given.
If i cannot make a case against Yodel i am hoping at least that my friend has a good case against them because he can then pay me for the service that i provided to him.

Re the highlighted bit above, are you now saying that you concur with Yodel's definition of your employment status?

It definitely is complex!

As you have said that you've only completed 2 weeks work, would it be safe to say you have not been given a statement of employment particulars. (You would need to have been working for them for 2 months in order for this to be a statutory requirement).

Is there any documented evidence that you did any work for them?

(I feel a bit like the Grinch at Xmas :tinysmile_cry_t

[andy2965]

Re: Company withholding payment

Hi,
No i certainly do not concur with the claims of Yodel because i was trained by them, given the hand held computer by them and given a start date and payment rate by them. I was also made to sign what they call a service agreement before the work commenced which i was never given a copy of. However i am unsure as to whether any of these details would carry any weight in court. When i speak to anyone at Yodel they always say that i need to speak to my friend about any moneys owed but when my friend calls they refuse to speak to him and simply hang up. I suspect these are stalling tactics in the hope that we will both simply give up. I amhoping to get the money owed to me as soon as possible so if Yodel stick to their guns and will not acknowledge that the work was carried out by me, would it be quicker for my friend to pursue them?
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
My position is complex for totally the opposite reason, in that i strongly dissagree with Yodels insistance that i worked for a third party!

[labman]

Re: Company withholding payment

Hi Charity,

Do you mind if I ask a question (by the way you're doing a brilliant job making sure we get this right between us thanks! :-)

According to my legal dictionary a verbal contract is defined as I stated above. Is there any reason, in your opinion, to doubt a verbal contract had been extablished?

If not, is there any reason why, if a verbal contract has been established, the OP should not receive their pay either through a third party or directly?