Breach of employment contract and potentially employment law

[patey]

Hi all,

I am doing this on behalf of my wife who is a Charity Shop manager.

She started working for this company three weeks ago on an hourly wage working 37.5 hours per week. The first week was training and the second in her own shop (she is very experienced in this role). At the end of the second week she'd had enough and handed in her one weeks notice which she is now completing.

Today she received her payslip which was less than expected and HR explained that they calculate the annual salary, divide that by 12 and pay pro-rata on that as per company policy.

The equivalent hourly rate received is much below her contracted hourly rate.

Worse still, this equivalent hourly wage is below the national minimum wage.

Any thoughts on how to approach this?

Many thanks,
Patey

[ULA]

Did your wife's contract state an hourly rate of pay or an annual salary? Have you found the clause in the contract HR are referring to?

I think I know what they might have done - see worked example below based on hourly rate of £10.

With hourly rate of £10 weekly salary = 10 x 37.5 £375 and annual salary of £375 x 52 = £19,500

Based on weekly salary of £375 your wife in this example should receive 3 weeks x £375 = £1,125*

What they may have done (using same figures is ) is 19,500 / 12 = £1,625 per month then taken no of working days (which I presume is 5 days per week for your wife) in Jan which is 22 days x 15 days she worked = £1,107.95.

However they calculated it, your wife cannot be earning below the minimum wage for the work that she did.

I would go back to HR and firstly point out that the way that the calculation has been done takes your wife's hourly rate below the minimum wage and also ask them to provide the exact calculation they have done, a bit like my example above, so you can see exactly how they came to their figures.*

*

[patey]

Thanks Ula,

I have checked the contract and there is no annual salary shown, only hourly rate. There is also no clause to show how they would calculate pay on resignation.

We will write to them as advised and see what they reply with as it's disappointing to lose over £100 in such a short space of time.

Kind regards,
Mark

Did your wife's contract state an hourly rate of pay or an annual salary? Have you found the clause in the contract HR are referring to?

I think I know what they might have done - see worked example below based on hourly rate of £10.

With hourly rate of £10 weekly salary = 10 x 37.5 £375 and annual salary of £375 x 52 = £19,500

Based on weekly salary of £375 your wife in this example should receive 3 weeks x £375 = £1,125

What they may have done (using same figures is ) is 19,500 / 12 = £1,625 per month then taken no of working days (which I presume is 5 days per week for your wife) in Jan which is 22 days x 15 days she worked = £1,107.95.

However they calculated it, your wife cannot be earning below the minimum wage for the work that she did.

I would go back to HR and firstly point out that the way that the calculation has been done takes your wife's hourly rate below the minimum wage and also ask them to provide the exact calculation they have done, a bit like my example above, so you can see exactly how they came to their figures.

*

[ULA]

Good luck and let us know now you get on and if you/your wife needs any more help just pop back to this thread.