Underpaid Wages

[StarFang]

Hi,

My partner has been underpaid for the last three months. His payslips state one amount but the amount deposited into his bank account is short by £80-100. He has contacted his line manager who tells him to call the call centre. The call centre say they will leave a message with the MD, who does nothing.

What do we do next?

[Sangie595]

Re: Underpaid Wages

Hi,

My partner has been underpaid for the last three months. His payslips state one amount but the amount deposited into his bank account is short by £80-100. He has contacted his line manager who tells him to call the call centre. The call centre say they will leave a message with the MD, who does nothing.

What do we do next?

Raise a grievance? Take legal action through the small claims process? It rather depends on whether he thinks he will have a job at the end of it, and how long he has worked there.

I can see no reason why the call centre think the MD had anything to do with payroll. Have you tried the payroll department? If the pay is short that is the most obvious place to start. But beyond that, those options above are your only two, and I wouldn't say they aren't fraught. I appreciate that is a lot of money to be short, but I would never pretend that there aren't risks when you enter a dispute with your employer. Before you do, just double check that you have read the payslips correctly though. It wouldn't be rare for me to find members who didn't read their payslip properly and didn't notice a deduction for something.

Just double check the amounts short and try to speak to payroll, then decide what option you want to take if those don't help, and me or someone else will help guide you through the next stage.

[StarFang]

Re: Underpaid Wages

Thank you for your reply.

The grievance procedure is to firstly contact his line manager, which he did, who referred him to the call centre, who have then consistently stated that they will pass it on the the MD (it's a tiny company), who never calls him back. His payslips state 'gross pay' then 'net pay'. The net pay amount never matches what is deposited in to his bank. Being minimum wage £80-100 short every month is a lot of money for him.

There's no direct way to speak to the person who manages the payroll, as that person is the MD, who we have established, isn't returning his calls.

I will gather more informations regarding exact amounts when I get home this evening.

[Sangie595]

Re: Underpaid Wages

Thank you for your reply.

The grievance procedure is to firstly contact his line manager, which he did, who referred him to the call centre, who have then consistently stated that they will pass it on the the MD (it's a tiny company), who never calls him back. His payslips state 'gross pay' then 'net pay'. The net pay amount never matches what is deposited in to his bank. Being minimum wage £80-100 short every month is a lot of money for him.

There's no direct way to speak to the person who manages the payroll, as that person is the MD, who we have established, isn't returning his calls.

I will gather more informations regarding exact amounts when I get home this evening.

Yes - but if he has done the first stage and that hasn't worked, then you go to the second stage. Why hasn't he done that?

[StarFang]

Re: Underpaid Wages

He has attempted to do the second stage, contacting the MD, but has had no succes.

[Sangie595]

Re: Underpaid Wages

He has attempted to do the second stage, contacting the MD, but has had no succes.

Write a letter? He's phoned and he cannot prove the message was ever passed on.

You really need to do everything you can to sort this out amicably. Let me explain what the legal process is. You write to the employer, and no matter how nicely you put it, you basically threaten them with legal proceedings if they don't pay up in the near future. Then if they don't pay up you take them to court.

Realistically, no matter who is in the right, how long do you think he will have a job for after he threatens his employer with legal action? They probably won't sack him for that - they'll have a better excuse. But they'll probably do it and they will probably get away with it. That's a really cynical view - it's also the most likely result though.

So being pushy right now, but not taking that step, is not only his best bet, it is also the most likely way to get the money and keep his job. If he has phoned and there is no response, write a letter. Send it recorded delivery so there is a signature of who received it.

If it's a tiny company, can't he alternatively go and speak to the MD?

[StarFang]

Re: Underpaid Wages

Write a letter? He's phoned and he cannot prove the message was ever passed on.

You really need to do everything you can to sort this out amicably. Let me explain what the legal process is. You write to the employer, and no matter how nicely you put it, you basically threaten them with legal proceedings if they don't pay up in the near future. Then if they don't pay up you take them to court.

Realistically, no matter who is in the right, how long do you think he will have a job for after he threatens his employer with legal action? They probably won't sack him for that - they'll have a better excuse. But they'll probably do it and they will probably get away with it. That's a really cynical view - it's also the most likely result though.

So being pushy right now, but not taking that step, is not only his best bet, it is also the most likely way to get the money and keep his job. If he has phoned and there is no response, write a letter. Send it recorded delivery so there is a signature of who received it.

If it's a tiny company, can't he alternatively go and speak to the MD?

Thank you, the office is in another town, so going and seeing the MD isn't an option at the minute. I'm writing a letter for him now.

[StarFang]

Re: Underpaid Wages

After gathering some more information, here is the current situation.

His payslip dated 30/11/16 shows:
Gross pay of £1306.80
Net pay of £1152.82
Deposited in his account £1079.38
Shortfall of £73.44

His Pay for December all seems in order.

His payslip dated 31/01/17 shows:
Gross pay of £1180.80
Net pay of £1067.14
Deposited in his account £980.28
Shortfall of £86.86

One other thing that seems 'off', his November and January payments are from 'Emsec Security Ltd Wage Payment', whilst his December payment (the one that is correct), is from Harpr & Harper Wage Payment. I'm not sure if that has any relevancy or not.