Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

[rach321]

Hi my friend works for a cleaning company and more often than not he doesn't get paid the right amount of money.
He did overtime this month and his wages are £500 down. Payroll refuse to sort it saying it is not their problem and his supervisor always says it's a mistake but he will get the money. He never does. He don't have an area manager to talk to as he is abroad for the forsee able. And his supervisor doesn't tell him who he can talk to.
What does he need to do to fix the problem as they record their shifts in a log book so everything is in there. Thanks for your help.

[teaboy2]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

Is he employed or a self employed contractor? As a lot of self employed contractors that work for cleaning companies rather then direct employees. Basically if hes got his own tax and NI to pay hes self employed.

Does he have the address for the companies main office, is their a Human resources department?

Also whats his hourly rate and contracted hours, and how many hours overtime did he work for the month in questions? This is important as depending on his hourly rate the non payment for the hours overtime he worked, could mean the employer is in breach of national minimum wage laws, and that will fall back on to the supervisor as the company won't be happy the supervisor allowed it to happen.

[rach321]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

He's on 6.50, employed not self e.ployed. He normally works 14 hours (cut from 28 recently) and he did overtime of 99 hours for which he hasn't been paid (roughly from what I remember him saying).

[teaboy2]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

So based on working 99 hours over time on top of his 14hrs a week then thats definitely a breach of national minimum wage as hes on the minimum wage rate.

So 14 x 4weeks = 56hrs

56 + 99 = 155hrs

14 x 6.50 x 4weeks = £364

£364 / 155hrs = hourly rate of £2.35 thats £4.15 below the national minimum wage hourly rate. Figures are approximate only as obviously i don't know the precise hours hes worked for the month in question. But its a clear indication they have paid him less then the national minimum wage.

What he needs to do is write a formal grievance requesting that he be paid for the hours overtime he worked, pointing out that failiure to pay him for those hours is a deemed as an unauthroised deduction from wages and a breach of section 13 of the employment rights act 1996. Not only that but as hes on the national minimum wage of £6.50 per hour, then as a result of them not paying him for the 99hrs (change to precise hours worked as overtime if different), then they are also in breach of the national minimum wage laws as due to the non payment of wage for the additional hours or work his hourly pay rate that hes been paid is approximately £2.35 instead of the minimum of £6.50. State in the letter that if the outstanding wages are no paid within 7 days by normal method in which his wage is paid, he will commence legal action in the small claims court and report them to the national minimum wage office for non compliance or the national minimum wage law.

In the same letter state how he brought the matter to the attention of the payroll department only to be told it not their problem, and how he also brought it to the attention of his direct supervisor and despite being told it would be sorted, nothing has been done about it. Address the letter directly to the Managing Director of the company at the companies main office address.

Prior to sending the letter, make sure he has a copy of the log book with his hours in it, if hes not already got one!

[teaboy2]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

Can you tell me how long hes worked for the company and if hes been given a written contract - This due to your stating his hours were recently reduced from 28, as if they didn't get his signed consent to reduce his contracted hours then they will be in breach of contract not only for failing to pay him but also for failing to give him his contracted 28hrs if he didn't consent to the change of hours. Which if that is the case, they will have to still pay him the full 28hrs per week, even if he only worked 14hrs in any particular week since the change occured. As the law is clear, that if an employer can not give an employee work during their contracted hours, they most still be paid for those contracted hours were the employer failed to give them work.

Plus if hes been there for more then 2 months and hasn't actually been given a written contract they are in breach of section 1 of the employment rights act 1996.

[rach321]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

He's worked there fr nearly 12 months. He does have a written contract (although he doesn't have access to it) and also he signed consent for the change in hours as he had no choice really.

Thanks for your help

[rach321]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

He's also drafting a letter based on the above post now. So thank you as I told him he would need to do that but wasn't sure what had to go in it.

[teaboy2]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

He's worked there fr nearly 12 months. He does have a written contract (although he doesn't have access to it) and also he signed consent for the change in hours as he had no choice really.

Thanks for your help

well if hes only been there 12 months then yes he didn't really have much of a choice as he wouldn't have been able to take the matter to tribunal if he had refused and was then dismissed for any reason.

When you say he doesn't have access to his contract - Do you mean he has it in his possession but not current with him? Or do you mean he hasn't got a copy of it at all, but the employer has?

He's also drafting a letter based on the above post now. So thank you as I told him he would need to do that but wasn't sure what had to go in it.

Let us know what their response is, and send the letter recorded delivery so it will need to be signed for when its delivered (that will be proof of postage and proof they received it). Also keep a copy of the letter for your own records, as may come in handing if they want to play hard ball - Don't worry, if they do want to play hard ball, they'll be in for a surprise! So make sure you keep us updated here.

[rach321]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

Hi. He hasn't got a copy of his contract. It's not in the office at work. Also he gas seen the time sheets and the supervisor has added extra hours to himself when faxing them off to payroll and then putting the hours back to normal after as you can see the indents in the paperwork.

[teaboy2]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

Ok well the main thing is getting his pay for those hours, the contract we can get a copy of simply by him requesting a copy of his contract from his supervisor. As for the supervisor giving himself more hours and then changing them after hes sent them to payroll, that is suspicious, but then we don't know if he also told payroll of the changes either. Has he been changing your friends hours on the logs too or is it not possible to tell?

Has he sent the letter yet? As he could mention what the manager is doing in the letter to head office too.

[teaboy2]

Re: Not being paid - supervisor refusing to sort it.

Has there been any response or any update on this as yet rach?