Ex employer withholding wages

Tef · 9 October 2012 at 4:11PM

Hi there, just needed some advice about my ex-employer withholding wages. I left this employer on the 2/10/12 and my monthly salary was due on the 4/10/12. That wasn't paid and according to my supervisor (who spoke OTR ) they are withholding my salary as they believe me to be in debt to them. Management refuse to discuss the matter by telephone and have said that they will write to me. As of today I have still heard nothing and have had to procure a crisis loan from the DWP until my first payment of JSA some 10 days away..

From what I have gathered it seems that I now have two options to attempt to reclaim this money, either by Employment tribunal (which I've heard only bad things about) or by County Court action.

My question is this, given that I will be seeking compensation in excess of the wages that were due to me in respect of bank charges, late payments interest and other financial penalties incurred, which of the two methods are best suited to me?

Thank you in advance for any help.
Tef

McKneff · 9 October 2012 at 4:34PM

Do you believe you are in debt to them.

Is there anything in your contract about any of this.

Tef · 10 October 2012 at 4:04PM

McKneff wrote: »

Do you believe you are in debt to them.

No, I don't believe so..

Is there anything in your contract about any of this.

I can't remember ever signing a contract tbh.. Of course if they insist on it I will ask to see a copy of it.. But I was only supposed to be employed by them for 12 months so I don't think they ever got round to giving me one.

Regards

McKneff · 10 October 2012 at 5:09PM

You said your company are saying you owee them money. Can you think of any reason as to why

Have you bought anything through the company, had a loan from them, taken more holidays than you had accrued.

If you cant, you can only wait to see what the letter says.

Have a look at the ACAS website or google 'employer withholding wages' something will come up on there.

tote_alley_stressed · 11 October 2012 at 8:18PM

Hi my son is having the same problem with an employer. He never got to sign the contract for other reasons and gave notice after two weeks. His former employer was very abusive and said that he wouldn't be paid. Rang Acas and they advised him to write/email a letter to his employer giving him 14 days to respond and then its back to them. Witholding of wages and a payslip is illegal and despicable

fangless1 · 14 October 2012 at 8:29PM

An employer can only deduct from wages in limited circumstances.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Pay/DG_175878

You say the employment was for 12 months?

Employment for a fixed term would need to be detailed in writing a 'contract'?

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Understandingyourworkstatus/Fixedtermworkers/DG_175138

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1797

Have you been paid for all accrued holiday pay?

As for ETs being bad, that would depend on the outcome for the persons envolved;)

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative · 15 October 2012 at 4:19PM

Tef wrote: »

Hi there, just needed some advice about my ex-employer withholding wages. I left this employer on the 2/10/12 and my monthly salary was due on the 4/10/12. That wasn't paid and according to my supervisor (who spoke OTR ) they are withholding my salary as they believe me to be in debt to them. Management refuse to discuss the matter by telephone and have said that they will write to me. As of today I have still heard nothing and have had to procure a crisis loan from the DWP until my first payment of JSA some 10 days away..

From what I have gathered it seems that I now have two options to attempt to reclaim this money, either by Employment tribunal (which I've heard only bad things about) or by County Court action.

My question is this, given that I will be seeking compensation in excess of the wages that were due to me in respect of bank charges, late payments interest and other financial penalties incurred, which of the two methods are best suited to me?

Thank you in advance for any help.
Tef

Hi

An employer should not reclaim money owed by deductions from final wages - this could be an illegal deduction of wages. However an employer may sue in the County Court if they believe that money is owed. You say that you are not aware what the alleged debt is for and that so far the employer has not responded with further information. Some examples of situations where an employer seeks to recover money would be:

Where college/training fees had been paid and there was a stated obligation to repay these if the employee left within a certain time;
Where there had been an overpayment of wages where the employee could reasonably be expected to know that there had been an overpayment

There is a section on our website www.adviceguide.org.uk
covering Employment Tribunals - follow the links
Problems at work>Employment tribunals>Understanding employment tribunals

There is a cost involved in bringing a money claim in the county court, see the Court Service website - http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees

Tef · 18 October 2012 at 6:46PM

CAB_Malvern_Hills_representative wrote: »

Hi

An employer should not reclaim money owed by deductions from final wages - this could be an illegal deduction of wages. However an employer may sue in the County Court if they believe that money is owed. You say that you are not aware what the alleged debt is for and that so far the employer has not responded with further information. Some examples of situations where an employer seeks to recover money would be:
Where college/training fees had been paid and there was a stated obligation to repay these if the employee left within a certain time;

Where there had been an overpayment of wages where the employee could reasonably be expected to know that there had been an overpayment

There is a section on our website www.adviceguide.org.uk
covering Employment Tribunals - follow the links
Problems at work>Employment tribunals>Understanding employment tribunals

There is a cost involved in bringing a money claim in the county court, see the Court Service website - http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees

Hello All and thanks for the replies..

I'm sorry about the delay in responding but I wanted to wait until my ex employer furnished his reason for stoppages.

It might help to know that I was a bus driver for a small independent co. I left following an incident of late issue of tickets. When an inspector boarded he reported the matter to the regulating body. They in turn fined my ex-employer and it is this fine he is passing onto me. I should add that I resigned because they had scheduled a disciplinary but my supervisor had said OTR. that they were terminating my employment at the disciplinaries conclusion. Better to jump than be pushed I think, besides that I felt disgusted at the way the whole thing was handled.

The fares missing amount to £5.50 yet the fine is a whopping £550!

As I said earlier I cannot remember ever signing a contract with my employer, and I certainly wouldn't have agreed to such punitive measures. So I have written today asking him to produce a copy of my signed contract highlighting the specific clause that relates to this matter.

I have asked him to furnish this within ten days or to refund the amount of £550 if he cannot do so.

In any event, can they legally deduct this amount signed contract or not?

Regards

Ex employer withholding wages

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