Employer withholding DDS pay - is this legal?

[dementedma]

Dd is a student who started a full time summer job in June. When payday came at the end of June the employer told her she had started work after the cut off for the payroll run so they would pay her June's earnings along with July's at the end of July. We have had to pay her rent and all costs in the meantime which is really hard. Now she has been told that one of her references from a previous job still hasn't arrived and without two references she doesn't have a start date(?) so they won't pay her unless it arrives before July 14th. Her current employer has contacted the previous one - a national chain- but hasn't received anything. Dd contacted the branch manager where she worked and said she will go in and collect the reference ( there is no problem in them writing her one, she did well there and only left as it was a temporary Christmas job), but they said it has to come from head office. Its not DDS fault that they previous employer is pissing her about and she desperately needs to be paid at the end of July. We don't have the money to pay another months rent and food etc! Can her current employer refuse to pay her even though she will have worked for then for 6 weeks by end of July?

[GerbilsAteMyCat]

That sounds ridiculous. If she is working there she obviously has a start date. Is this a reputable company?

[LIZS]

She must have had a start date if she is working. Their issue if she was allowed to start before they had checked references. They should be putting her on the payroll now but it is common not to get the first few weeks until the following month.

[exexpat]

Even if they don't have references, she is working and has a right to be paid for the work she has done - there is some advice here (Citizens Advice - rights to pay) but it is not clear how quickly an employer has to pay. Does she have a written contract?

[dementedma]

Thanks all. Yes, its a reputable company and all quite legit. I understand the first bit of pay having to roll over but not having to roll over again until a reference is forthcoming from previous employers. Previous shop manager told DD she would write her a good reference but now says she can't and it has to come from head office. It could take forever and by the end of June she will have done 7 weeks and lots of extra hours so they must be happy with her. What is she supposed to live on in the meantime?

[crabbyoldbat]

ACAS should probably her first port of call - lots of information on their website, and I've heard good things about their phone help: www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1461

[flowery]

It's not clear, are they refusing to pay her or are they saying they will pay her but not until her references arrive? Quite a difference.

She has a start date, her start date is the date she started working for them.

Does her contract say anything about pay arrangements?

yes she is entitled to be paid for work she has done, but if they don't pay her in line with her contract in terms of timing, her recourse is lengthy and by the time she's done it, they'll probably have paid her.

I think if she doesn't have it at the moment, the first thing she needs is clarity about whether they intend to pay her at all, as that will make a difference to advice on how to proceed.

[SilverBirchWithout]

Why not see if the Head Office from her old employer can email the reference through to the new one. It will help decrease the potential delays, and be easier for both companies.

Also, some companies will, in these sort of circumstances, be able to make an advance payment through their payments systems. It is not uncommon to do this to prevent new employees from suffering hardship.

[dementedma]

Thanks all. New company are trying to get old company to send an email reference but they are saying they need to post it out recorded delivery!
She hasn't signed her contract yet as they don't have both references but her new boss has said today that they are at fault for letting her start without the references being in place and they will sort something out....I bloody hope so.

[HermioneWeasley]

Ah, I was just going to say that if it's a large company, instead of trying to "pull a fast one", they probably have some policy that people can't start without references being received and OK, and there's been a cock up.

[Littlef00t]

Could old manager write a strictly personal reference while the work reference is coming?

[dementedma]

Thanks all. The reference arrived today so all is well!