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Hi,
I have raised a claim with Acas, they have only just been in touch with my employer yesterday and the conciliation period ends on Tuesday. I need to take a decision very soon and I would like some advice.
I started working for my employer in January this year. I wasn’t given a statement of terms and conditions (but was promised I would get one). I wasn’t given payslips for the first few months, I was paid cash in hand. I said I wasn’t happy with this on the long term (I said it right from the start), again I was promised things would get done properly “soon”. They claimed they had applied to register as a business and sign me up on the PAYE payroll and were waiting to hear back from HMRC. I kept chasing this up, every time my employer had a different excuse.
The business closed down for 2 months because of Covid-19. The whole time I thought I would qualify for the furlough scheme. My employer reassured me I most likely would, even though they must have known I wouldn’t, as I wasn’t even registered as an employee - I only found this out in June when I was eventually signed up on the PAYE payroll (after asking with a bit more insistence). Had I known I wouldn’t qualify for furlough, I would have looked for another job or applied for benefits.
The business reopened in May (I agreed to go back to work on the condition that protective screens would be installed so I could work safely, yet this never happened).
To make up for the fact I couldn’t get any salary for the 2 months the business was closed, my employer gave me £500. I know they didn’t have to and I was very grateful for this (and at the time, I still believed they had acted in good faith about the payroll issue and I genuinely thought they were just waiting to hear back from HMRC)
The business didn’t really pick up again, so my employer decided to close it down for good in July. I was given 2 days notice. I am owed holiday pay but my employer claimed at the time that they were bankrupt and simply couldn’t pay me.
I have raised a claim with Acas, they have only just been in touch with my employer yesterday and the conciliation period ends on Tuesday. I believe I am owed about £650. My employer offered to settle the case at £300.
They texted me after being contacted my Acas to inform me (amongst many other angry things) that the business doesn’t exist anymore, so my claim will be lost.
There are a few things I am unsure about:
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
I have raised a claim with Acas, they have only just been in touch with my employer yesterday and the conciliation period ends on Tuesday. I need to take a decision very soon and I would like some advice.
I started working for my employer in January this year. I wasn’t given a statement of terms and conditions (but was promised I would get one). I wasn’t given payslips for the first few months, I was paid cash in hand. I said I wasn’t happy with this on the long term (I said it right from the start), again I was promised things would get done properly “soon”. They claimed they had applied to register as a business and sign me up on the PAYE payroll and were waiting to hear back from HMRC. I kept chasing this up, every time my employer had a different excuse.
The business closed down for 2 months because of Covid-19. The whole time I thought I would qualify for the furlough scheme. My employer reassured me I most likely would, even though they must have known I wouldn’t, as I wasn’t even registered as an employee - I only found this out in June when I was eventually signed up on the PAYE payroll (after asking with a bit more insistence). Had I known I wouldn’t qualify for furlough, I would have looked for another job or applied for benefits.
The business reopened in May (I agreed to go back to work on the condition that protective screens would be installed so I could work safely, yet this never happened).
To make up for the fact I couldn’t get any salary for the 2 months the business was closed, my employer gave me £500. I know they didn’t have to and I was very grateful for this (and at the time, I still believed they had acted in good faith about the payroll issue and I genuinely thought they were just waiting to hear back from HMRC)
The business didn’t really pick up again, so my employer decided to close it down for good in July. I was given 2 days notice. I am owed holiday pay but my employer claimed at the time that they were bankrupt and simply couldn’t pay me.
I have raised a claim with Acas, they have only just been in touch with my employer yesterday and the conciliation period ends on Tuesday. I believe I am owed about £650. My employer offered to settle the case at £300.
They texted me after being contacted my Acas to inform me (amongst many other angry things) that the business doesn’t exist anymore, so my claim will be lost.
There are a few things I am unsure about:
- Can I claim statutory notice period pay even though I was on a zero hour contract?
- Can I claim any compensation for the fact I was made to believe I was on the payroll and therefore missed the opportunity to look for a new job or to claim benefits?
- Can my employer claim that the £500 they gave me was holiday pay? This is what they said they would do. They also said they would look to recoup any extra money they have given me (not that there is any other than those £500) could they ask for the £500 back?
- I received payslips for the months of April, May, June and July, even though I wasn’t working at all in April. I never got payslips for January, February and March (I believe my employer did this for tax purposes) How can I prove the holiday I am owed when my payslips say I only started in April?
- The only written proofs I have are texts with my employer and a few payslips, will this be enough to defend my case? I have several texts that show they have been lying about the payroll
- Does it matter that the business doesn’t exist anymore? I was paid directly by my employer (well, by his wife), not by a company, and they almost certainly aren’t bankrupt
- Is it common practice to apply for a preparation time order? I have no experience with employment tribunal, so I am not sure how much time and energy I will have to invest, but I feel like it probably isn’t worth it (for the extra £350) and I should maybe settle for the £300
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
