Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

[Pyotor]

Hi, Any help you can give will be appreciated. I'll start with a bit of background info before getting to the problem.

About 3 weeks ago about half of the employees at the company where i work were not paid on time (We are all weekly paid on a friday) myself included. Like a lot of people i have money problems of my own and this was very stressfull, having been given excuse after excuse and still not getting my wages i decided to take a stand. On the wednesday following the friday i didnt get paid i reported for work and was given £600 to put fuel in a company vehicle, i took the money then said to my manager "if i havent been paid by the time i need to put fuel into this vehicle i will be taking my wages from this money before fuelling". He told me i couldnt do that and suspended me from work asking for the money back which i refused. to cut a long story short police were called and they said i had done nothing wrong so long as i didnt take more than i was owed. I was told to report for work the following day by a company director. I reported for work and was susequently suspended on pay for an unrelated matter.
Now the problem.. I havent been paid since March 11th and my overdraft is almost exhausted. What if anything can i do?

[leclerc]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Were you told why you had not been paid?
Have you got a letter explaining your suspension?

[charitynjw]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

I would immediately do a written Grievance (for a paper trail )
Also bear in mind the time limit for referral to ET* (usually 3 months)

*Employment Tribunal, not extra-terrestrial :tinysmile_grin_t:

[Pyotor]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

1) No i havent been told why i havent been paid the director just said that he'll look into it and get it sorted that was on friday and yesterday. this morning i called again to ask why i havent been paid and he said it was being done as we spoke. I might point out that the company uses and instant tranfer method of payment which means it takes seconds from them hitting enter on their computer to the money being in my account. I have tried to call him three times so far today but hes not taking my calls.

2) I have nothing in writing to state why i am suspended or that i am suspended on pay because getting stuff in writing out of this guy is like trying to get blood from a stone but i have 2 witnesses who heard him say that i was suspended on pay. I should also point out that the payment on 11 March was a basic weeks wages for being on suspension.

[frisp]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Write to them stating your greivances and post it registered.

In the letter state clearly that you want to know why you have been suspended, how long for and for them to confirm that the suspension is to be on full pay. Go on to state that you require payment of your wage in full buy the end of the week or you will consider legal options not limitied but including a claim of constructive dismissal.

Then contact your local CAB and ask them for advice.

Best to start to create your audit trail.

[postggj]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

quote section 13 employment rights act

[Pyotor]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Thnx for your help guys n gals, Looked up my local CAB but found they weren't open for a couple of days. Also been reading posts similar to this one and found a link to ACAS so i gave them a call they pretty much told me to do the same as frisp said so i have written a formal letter requiring reasons for my suspension in writing and payment of my wages and any other wages due by the time they get the letter (due another weeks wages on friday) within the next 7 days. ACAS have told me that if i dont get a response within those 7 days give them a call and they will help me. I'll let you all know how it progresses, thnx again for the advice.

[Guest]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

This is a straight forward breach of contract issue, although I have to ask, how much of the £600 (if any) did you keep and how much money are you still owed?

You should not include any reference to constructive dismissal in any corespondence, since you have not been dismissed, merely suspended. For a claim of constructive dismissal to be upheld, you need to have actually left, that is, your employment contract must have been terminated. In addition, the conduct of the employer must be sufficiently serious as to go beyond unreasonable conduct and must amount to a fundamental breach of contract. This may be the case, but since you have not left and your suspension is ongoing, you cannot know the outcome of any hearing that you have yet to attend.

[Pyotor]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Cetelco - The money i took from the £600 is a seperate issue let me try to explain further in the form of a diary. ~Pay week is Sun-Sat paid 1 week in arrears~

25/02/11 didnt get paid and was given excuses for following days.
27/02/11 last day i worked as following 2 days were rest days required by law (i drive for a living).

02/03/11 Incident involving £600. Of this i took just over £300 in unpaid wages and returned the remainder to company.
03/03/11 Suspended on full pay.
04/03/11 Received Wages for w/e 26/02/11.
11/03/11 Paid basic minimum of 37.5hrs wages.
18/03/11 didnt recieve wages. Phoned company and was told "it's being sorted"
21/03/11 Phoned again to see where my wages were, again told "it's being sorted"
22/03/11 Phoned @ 09:30am to find out where wages were, was told "it's being paid in right now" The method the company uses is instant payment.
22/03/11 Phones 3 times between 11:30am and my first post each time boss didnt answer the phone.
22.03/11 Sent the letter I dont have a scanner so i've typed it out below.

Dear Mr *******
I am writing to you with regards to missing wages and my suspension from work. I was told verbally by you that i am suspended from work with pay. I received my wages on 11/03 but have still not recieved wages due on 18/03. I have already spoken to you on the telephone 3 times regarding these missing wages and have been verbally assured that you are dealing with it but i have still not recieved them.
I am therefore formally writing to to to requestthat all wages due to me as per the contract of employment be paid to me as soon as possible or at the latest within 7 days of the date of this letter. I also require written confirmation of my suspension from duty and all reasons for it as required by the disciplinary codes of practice.
Many thanks
MR **********

[Guest]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

You have done the right thing so far, now you must wait.

[Pyotor]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Had to log onto my bank account to get the dates and now i've spotted another problem dont know wether i need seperate help but here's the problem. I cant beleive i didnt see this earlier.

I have an arranged overdraft with the bank to help cover bills that may come out on the wrong day of the week like i'm sure most people have. I anly get charged if i use it so thats not the problem.

Problem is i have my loan due out in 2 days which will put me within £20 of my overdraft limit any more money coming out of the account will put me over my overdraft and incur massive charges. I have always had a good credit rating and have always paid my bills on-time but unless i can get this sorted the next time i need food or need to put petrol in the car or my next outgoing direct debit will screw me up. gonna goto the bank tomorrow to see what can be done about this any suggestions on what else i can do or what i need to say to them?

[WendyB]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

I think I would just explain to the bank that there is a problem with your wages, tell them what the issues are and ask if they can temporarily increase your overdraft in view of the situation. As you have a previously good credit rating hopefully this will be ok, however be aware that the decision doesn't rest with the bank manager these days, every request for an overdraft etc is now credit scored, so you may be successful, you may not.

[Pyotor]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

UPDATE :-

Checked with post office and the letter was signed for this morning and guess what.. the bank have just taken the time to telephone me and tell me that a payment has just been paid into my account. I think the letter gave them a kick up the backside so to speak. Will keep an eye on things and let you all know if i get paid on friday and if i get the documentation i requested.

Thanks again everybody who helped.

[di30]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Hiya

And thanks for your update.

So happy to hear that a payment have been made into your account, and wishing you all the very best, but yes keep an eye on things, good luck.

[frisp]

Re: Help : suspended on pay but not been paid

Glad it got sorted for now but keep an aye on them would be my advice and also get that letter regarding your suspension also write and ask them for a copy of your contract and their disciplinary procedure.