not getting paid for work i've done! :(

[anne21]

Hi. I need abit of help/advice please. The thing is i was contacted by a private nursery to work there for a month. I worked a full week (over 35+), but was unable to continue - due to some health problems. I notified them straight away & they were okay about it. Anyways i waited till the end of the month to get paid, however i did not receive anything. So i decided to contact the manager & was quite shocked by her response. She said ' the week i worked was a trial week & i wasnt going to get paid for it. But this was never mentioned at any stage! I thought i was working those hours to get paid at the end of it. So yh, i dont stand a chance of getting paid, do i - because its her word against mine & theres no paperwork to prove it. So shall i just forget it or do i have a chance of getting somewhere with it? :/ any help/advice would be much appreacited. Thanks..

[Sidewinder]

You say that you were contacted by the nursery? Was this in writing? By text message? By phone? I presume that there must have been some indication of a salary?

 

If there is indeed nothing whatsoever that can prove that you were asked to WORK, then it will be difficult, although not impossible, to chase them for the money. If there is some evidence to suggest a request for you to carry out work, but no mention of it being a trial, then this would be as much in your favour as it would be theirs. A judge would have to decide on balance of probability whether there was an intention to pay you, and after all, who agrees to work for a whole week without wages? A day or a few hours perhaps, but a week? A judge would almost certainly agree that a responsible employer would and should clearly set out the precise terms of any offer of work whether on a trial basis or otherwise.

 

If however there is no evidence whatsoever to support the fact that you attended their premises and carried out work then this would be harder.

 

Personally I would issue a Letter Before Claim stating clearly that you were never advised that the work was on a trial basis and put them to strict proof that there was any agreement to that effect. Demand that you be paid whatever rate was agreed or suggested, and give them a reasonable period (7 days, 14 days?) to do so or you intend to issue proceedings to claim what you are owed through the County Court.

 

They may call your bluff, and it will then be your decision whether you take them to court. You can do this online via MCOL for a relatively small fee, which can be recovered from the other party if you win.

[anne21]

Thank you for getting back to me. Well basically 2 years ago i did student placement at that nursery. This year the manager randomly called me up asking if i wanted to work there. I asked about salary and she said it would be min. Wage. She told me to come for an interview, which to be honest wasnt exactly a proper interview. She asked me some questions & made me fill out some paperwork e.g. Contact details etc & took copies of my passport-documents etc. Tbh it was all rushed as she seemed quite busy that day & she needed someone to start the following week to cover a staffs annual leave. But i was never given any paperwork to take home with me. So yh in abit of a difficult situation :/

 

You mentioned issuing a Letter before Claim, should i write this to the manager or the boss of the nursery (who pays the wages). Also, im not very good at letter writing lol - do you know where i can find a good template from?... Its worth a try i guess, nothing to loose really. I mean i did 7/8 hours a day that week & to now be told i aint going to be paid, is just outrageous!

[becky2585]

There will be disclosure obligations on the nursery if you do issue proceedings - you can ask them for the copy documentation if they fail to disclose it. Technically if they failed to do so, or had destroyed the documents, it could be a contempt of court.

[anne21]

hi sorry for the late response but does this letter seem ok to send..