Still not paid...

[haveigotnewsforyou]

I started a very shitty minimum wage part-time shop job mid-July. Despite one verbal and two written requests I have not received a contract and/or terms of employment. When I asked when we would be paid, I was told that the timesheets are submitted to the bookkeeper at the end of the month and cheques(!) would be raised. The owner added that the bookkeeper ran to his own time as he was a friend and did not receive pay for his services. For some reason, she seemed to think this was quite funny.

I received the cheque on 13 August and duly sent it off to my online bank. It has bounced twice. It was re-presented again yesterday and I am waiting to see if it will clear. On both occasions, I only knew the cheque had bounced after I received a letter from my bank. The owner, although on holiday (in the UK), texted my colleague to say the salary cheques had bounced but not me. As you can imagine, I was pretty annoyed so much so that I handed my notice in on Monday (after the first bounce).

I texted the owner today and asked her if she would check and confirm when the cheque was expected to clear. She replied saying there was nothing she could do until her return from holiday until Tuesday (which is due to be my last day). I said that it wasn't good enough and if she couldn't be bothered was unable to do anything before Tuesday then I wasn't prepared to work for the remaining day of my notice. She re-iterated twice that there was nothing she could do until Tuesday as she had no paperwork with her, intermittent mobile coverage, etc. I have confirmed that I will hand my shop keys and t-shirt in on Saturday.

So... other than sticking a rocket up this woman's backside, what should I do now? I am not adverse to writing letters, contacting ACAS, threatening to take her to tribunal, etc. Just want to know the best approach.

Also, what is a reasonable timeframe to be paid? If timesheets are submitted on the last day of the month I would expect cheques to be available on the 7th at the latest. My July salary is now almost two months in arrears. I am not dependent on this money but if I had direct debits going out that depended on it I would be up 5hit creek.

I have considered calling her bluff and raiding the petty cash tin but realise that this will probably cause even more problems!

Any advice appreciated!

[LemonSlice]

www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1461

ACAS were great in helping me to recover holiday pay owed. Good luck.

[haveigotnewsforyou]

Thank you LemonSlice, I will give them a call.

Any other advice would be welcome!

[KatieMiddleton]

Write her a letter giving her 7 days to pay all outstanding wages due (quote exact figure) before you start tribunal proceedings for non-payment of wages.

Then if you don't have the money by x date complete an ET1 form to start tribunal proceedings. It's a longish form but fairly straightforward so don't waste money on a solicitor for this. Then wait for her to pay up.

Alternatively take her to the small claims court (but you'll need to pay a fee for this) and petition her for the money there. If you win and she still doesn't pay up you can get a court order to seize goods to the value of the non-payment of wages.

[KatieMiddleton]

Oh and contact hmrc. Bet she's not paying NI or tax on behalf of employees either. This won't help you but will make you feel better