Agency worker and shift cancellation fees

[Bimbling]

Hi, my agency (for care homes) has a term in the contract we signed which says that if we cancel a shift then they will charge us a £50.00 fee/charge. We only get minimum wage with an element each hour to cover what would be holiday pay for each hour worked.

I have spent the morning googling like crazy but can only find things about fees they can charge for services, nothing about cancellation fees/charges.

When you contact the call centre to cancel, they add they charge immediately and say you have to speak to the branch if you want to dispute it, and the branch just shrugs and say that they can't do anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bimbling]

Re: Agency worker and shift cancellation fees

Hi, just a bump, has no one come across this type of scenario

[ostell]

Re: Agency worker and shift cancellation fees

Complain to HMRC that they are paying you less than minimum wages. That's for starters

I presume that this is an agency supplying workers for care work. I presume they are treating you as self employed and you have to sort out your own tax and NI. Do they state what hours you have to work and where?

You could, in fact, actually be employed by them and it would be illegal to make deductions from wages.

Put the situation to HMRC and ask for their opinion of your employment status.