Unpaid Wages

[MrPayne]

In january i started work, one month ago my contract was terminated because of company policy as i was untracable on a crb check according to my employer although i do not see how this is possible and neither did my supervisor but i was assured i would be paid for the work i had done by the regional manager. its been a month and i have yet to recieve the money, i have no pay slips but there was a sign in book does anybody know if there is anything i can do in this situation ?

[bluebottle]

Re: Unpaid Wages

Your employer is required to pay you for work you have carried out. Write a polite but firm letter to the employer's head office, requesting they pay what they owe you within, say, seven days. If they drag their heels, you can take them to the county court or report them to HMRC. How much are you owed in gross and net wages, please?

[Eloise01]

Re: Unpaid Wages

Writing to head office will only delay things. They don't even know who you are, never mind what they may owe you - and probably care even less. Have you phoned your supervisor and asked where your pay is? There may be a perfectly sensible and happy answer that you can get immediately! If that does not work you should write to the manager and explain that you have not received your pay and explain what steps you have taken to obtain payment. You must give 21 - 28 days for them to pay - seven days is simply not enough and no court would accept this deadline, so you are wasting your time giving a deadline that won't get you any further forward. Your letter should state that if payment is not received before then, you will take legal action to recover your wages without further warning. An ET1 is cost free (for now) and a tribunal claim for unpaid wages will trigger ACAS involvement which would probably get your money faster than any county court would.

[MrPayne]

Re: Unpaid Wages

Im not sure of the exact amount as my hours were flexible and i took alot of extra hours but its in the region of £270-£300, i know its not a huge amount to me it would make a huge difference for me and my partner.

[MrPayne]

Re: Unpaid Wages

thank you for the replies i have been in contact with my supervisor and he assured me he would contact the regional manager on my behalf and do what he can to ensure i was paid today.

[Eloise01]

Re: Unpaid Wages

If you don't hear back from him today, phone tomorrow to see what has happened. It is actually possible that the short period of employment has simply caused a problem in payroll - it generally takes a few weeks to get someone on the system and they often aren't designed to them remove that person within weeks! It could simplt be an adminisration problem that has caused the delay. But just chase it again to see what is going on and if that doesn't work, send the letter being polite and apologetic about being forced to take action to recover your wages if this can't be resolved. That usually clears things up.

[bluebottle]

Re: Unpaid Wages

Writing to head office will only delay things. They don't even know who you are, never mind what they may owe you - and probably care even less. Have you phoned your supervisor and asked where your pay is? There may be a perfectly sensible and happy answer that you can get immediately! If that does not work you should write to the manager and explain that you have not received your pay and explain what steps you have taken to obtain payment. You must give 21 - 28 days for them to pay - seven days is simply not enough and no court would accept this deadline, so you are wasting your time giving a deadline that won't get you any further forward. Your letter should state that if payment is not received before then, you will take legal action to recover your wages without further warning. An ET1 is cost free (for now) and a tribunal claim for unpaid wages will trigger ACAS involvement which would probably get your money faster than any county court would.

That's something new I've learned today.

[Eloise01]

Re: Unpaid Wages

That's something new I've learned today.

Which bit - there were several!

If you are referring to the amount of time to pay up - as a general rule 28 days is the broadly accepted norm. If you read all those debt letters that aren't delivered by bailiffs - usually the early ones I suspect - they almost all say 28 days. Some parts of statute require this (don't ask me which bits - it was 30 odd years ago I read this but the law hasn't changed in this respect) so it became the expected norm - 21 days is considered to be within the general boundary, pushing your luck a little, but not too much. But courts do not like people to resort to law without being reasonable about trying to resolve things first. That is why DCA's need to resort to misleading statements and such like - because they know full well that the courts have little patience for people wasting their time with matters that can be resolved without recourse to law.

[ostell]

Re: Unpaid Wages

But if the contract was terminated a month ago that's plenty time to sort out the wages.

Don't forget the holiday pay that should have accrued!

[Eloise01]

Re: Unpaid Wages

But if the contract was terminated a month ago that's plenty time to sort out the wages.

Not neceassarily. Given the employment was very short, depending on payroll runs and dates, it is possible that something had been set up and then had to be dismantled and reset against leaving dates, to say nothing of the thorny problem of human error. It's always best to ask first - it is often the fastest route and does least harm to everyone. There's always time for legal action if that doesn't work, but once things get to that stage, things can drag on.

[bluebottle]

Re: Unpaid Wages

Which bit - there were several!

If you are referring to the amount of time to pay up - as a general rule 28 days is the broadly accepted norm. If you read all those debt letters that aren't delivered by bailiffs - usually the early ones I suspect - they almost all say 28 days. Some parts of statute require this (don't ask me which bits - it was 30 odd years ago I read this but the law hasn't changed in this respect) so it became the expected norm - 21 days is considered to be within the general boundary, pushing your luck a little, but not too much. But courts do not like people to resort to law without being reasonable about trying to resolve things first. That is why DCA's need to resort to misleading statements and such like - because they know full well that the courts have little patience for people wasting their time with matters that can be resolved without recourse to law.

I am aware of the requirement to avoid going to court unless all attempts to resolve fail. What does interest me is the introduction of compulsory mediation before a case can be progressed into court. It will be interesting to see what effect this has on those who appear to be litigation-happy or what I have heard referred to as "professional litigants".

[Eloise01]

Re: Unpaid Wages

It isn't really mediation on a general basis (although the introduction of mediation before tribuanls is now in effect) - it is more a matter of what I know you already know - because I have seen you say it yourself but in different circumstances. If someone says that you owe them money, they are required to to tell you what you owe them and why, and give you an opportunity to pay. I cannot simply go to a court and say that Bluebottle owes me £500 and I want it. It is actually the complaint (or one of them) about bailiffs - that people have ended up in court without any knowledge of the debt owed or the court proceedings. This should not be able to happen, but it seems to. That is fundamentally wrong. I do not know how this happens, but it shouldn't. And I agree entirely - more so than "progessional litigants" (unless you are including them) DCA's etc should be held to such standards, and perhaps one way forward is to introduce something like ACAS mediators (but not their call centre!) in other areas of law.