Last day of notice today - but not been paid in full and still have their company car

[hsanders]

Today, 5th Jan is my last day after maternity leave and sick leave and I am due to hand my company car back at 3pm this afternoon...

However, in my Dec pay, I only received half of what is owing to me. I have asked for the remainder and been told I'd be paid it on 25th Jan (normal pay day).

I am concerned however that I will not get this money due to past problems with payment of salary and commission owing - do I have the legal right to keep the car until I am paid? Apparently the woman who usually does payroll is off on next Monday - surely she can process the payment via CHAPS the same day - and then I'll return the car?

Any advice would be gratefullt received.

id phone cab as soon as they open today and ask what ur rights are

It may not be strictly legal, but they can't do anything if they owe you money. Think of it as security against the payment the company owes you. It will certainly make them sit up and think about it.

If you give the car back, it will be much harder to claim missing salary or commission.

But if you keep the car until 25 Jan, they would be entitled to charge you e.g. the lease cost or depreciation, insurance etc if they own the car themselves, for whatever period you were not entitled to use the car. It would probably be petty if they are a large company but if they decide to do that they'll probably deduct it from the amount you get at end of Jan, therefore leading to more problems, negotiation etc.

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i dont think its legal to keep the car but i would go and seek legal advice if your not paid soon.

do yourself a favour keep all the your docs to do with your work ie, pay slips, bank statements,
contracts etc

you may need things like that as proof

good luck with the baby, and i hope you get paid soon

Thanks for the advice - have spoken with an employment lawyer who agrees that it's not legal. However they have made a BACS payment and we have agreed in writing to return the car upon the payment clearing - which is very good of them.

Incidentally, if I had handed the car back and not been paid, the route to take would be greivance followed by a claim for unpaid salary. But neither party would have wanted that.

Thanks for your advice.