Notice periods & pay

[westham1]

Hi guy's

 

I went for a work induction for a security company last Tuesday and was offered work on the Friday morning and Saturday, up until the Saturday evening I had not received my letter of employment or contract. In my letter of employment it stated I had 14 days to question the T&C's.

 

By the Sunday I hadn't signed any contract or letter of employment and had found out some nasty things about the company which led me to resign on the Monday after working just 2 day's.

 

The HR manager was very nasty on the phone to me after quitting and told me that Iwould not be getting paid for the 24hrs worked on the Friday and Saturday. CAN THEY DO THIS ??

[Sidewinder]

No

 

By law they must pay you for time worked and a failure to do so represents an Unlawful Deduction under Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

 

Of course in the absence of a contract (other than a verbal offer, they might choose to say that there was an understanding that you would work for free on that day - that is the difficulty with verbal contracts, but that is for you to argue with them!

[westham1]

Hi

 

Thanks for the reply. At the moment the HR manager has sent a few emails saying it states in my contract they finally sent me that i will not be paid as i didn't work a weeks notice so that's that issue out the window. The other thing is i sent him that exact reply about section 13 and he laughed it off and still refuses to pay. Pay day is now on the 7th of next month and i must pay some bills i have a horrible felling they just wont pay !!!! what do i do next !!

 

Thanks.

[Sidewinder]

Ah but you didn't agree to any term relating to deductions in the contract - neither were you bound by any notice requirement! Statutory notice only comes into it after you have worked for a month or more, so you cannot be held to a notice period unless by contract or statute and neither exists in this case. Even had you been subject to notice, the employer would have to show that failure to give notice caused actual loss to the business and they would have to sue you for that, not deduct it from wages earned - unless you had signed a contract which allowed them to. As I see it, whichever way you look at it, they do not have a case.

 

What you need to do is to write and demand that wages earned for the day worked must be paid within the next {XX} days or you will be forced to take the matter to an Employment Tribunal as a complaint of Unlawful Deduction from Wages. Leave it at that and if they don't pay, you complete and submit an ET1 online, which costs nothing.

[westham1]

Hi

 

That's sounds great and reassuring because i sent that exact letter once again to the swine !!

 

Not sure what an ET1 is but I'm guessing its easily obtained via the net ??

 

Thank you once again .

[Sidewinder]

Head the next letter as a Letter Before Action

 

Forms and Guidance are here http://www.justice.gov.uk/forms/hmcts/employment

 

Good Luck!

[westham1]

Thank you

[becky2585]

Its an ET1 claim form which can be downloaded and posted or submitted online through the employment tribunals website. You'll be pleased to know its quite an easy process, and the hearing will only be an hour or two

[westham1]

Thank you guys ill now be taking this company to court as they are refusing to pay me my wages !!!

[Sidewinder]

Please keep us informed!

[westham1]

they sent me my induction form which has my signature on it but does not state i was taking through the one week notice period. Even so they have no proof to say they took me through this information !!!!!!!!!! so annoyed !

[westham1]

There putting down to a verbal agreement !

[Sidewinder]

Works both ways. Who is to say that they didn't agree verbally to pay you £2000 a week!?

 

Extreme, but I'm sure that you get the point. If one wishes to hold another to a contract, it needs to be signed and agreed properly in order to be watertight. A verbal contract is one person's word against another's.

[westham1]

Thank you again im slightly stressed !

[becky2585]

The thing you need to consider is that in these type of cases the burden of proof is on you to prove you were an employee - so anything you received from the company will need to be used in evidence. Did they ask for ID from you?

[westham1]

Yes ID was taken and photo copied i guess .

[westham1]

It has now come to light at some point in my induction i did sign and date this form as show in the attachments. BUT BUT BUT I can honestly say nearly 3/4 of this information on this form was not highlighted to me in the induction.

 

Is this my downfall ??? does this mean they have proof to say I did see the notice period and that I now dont have a case to take to a tribunal ??

 

[ATTACH]39080[/ATTACH]

[becky2585]

Well, even if you should have given a weeks notice, it doesn't alter the fact you're entitled to be paid for the two days worked!

 

If anything, the induction form helps you prove you were an employee.

[westham1]

But will this stand in court in front of the judge thats the issue now !! now i really dont no what to do ?

[becky2585]

Why wouldn't it?

[westham1]

Well im worried that the fact i have initialled and signed that form the judge will end up just saying "well you have signed that you have seen the form"

[becky2585]

Does the form say you won't be paid outstanding salary if you don't give a weeks notice?...

[westham1]

The contract does but what i signed does not !

[westham1]

Unfortunately the company in question refuse to pay my wages and i cant take the risk of being counter sued for there fees if i lose so ive decided not to fight for my wages.

 

Thank you for your help .

[elche]

Unfortunately the company in question refuse to pay my wages and i cant take the risk of being counter sued for there fees if i lose so ive decided not to fight for my wages.

.

 

If this claim is brought as an unlwaful deductions from wages claims (as per sidewinder's first post), you should be able to bring this in an ET, where you are virtually certain to have many opportunities to back out before you are liable for any costs order - which initslef would seem unlikely in this claim.

 

Submitting an ET1 is free and can be done on line.

 

Che