advice on leiu of notice

almond

hi
I had been working for the past five years from home for a large holiday company and gave my notice in 12.12.05 terms state I have to give 4 weeks
which I did. Went to doctors to get a sick note to cover the period, got a letter dated 17.12.05 stating "your branch has cease with immediate effect"
checked bank 9.01.06 (day we get paid) no wages, sent a letter recorded
del 9.01.06 asking for wages and another copy of sick note. No reply and today I got a p45 stating I had left 17.12.05.

I wanted to work my notice since I had £900 wages outstanding for that month, in total I have £1800 outstanding but since we are self employed
(which is a joke) I don't get paid till the last customer has travelled.
My new company have lent me £800 till I get my money in leiu of notice
but I reckon I have more chance of winning the lottery than getting any
money from the old company.
head office has also two cheques from sandals for me for £180 which I can't get off them either.
can anybody help?

CIS

I think the best way would be to threaten legal action, this usually get things going,if this doesn't work you probably need to go via either a solicitor or the small claims court

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

joe13

I do not fully understand. You say you wanted to work your notice period to ensure you got paid and yet you also say you went straight to the doctors to get a sick note.

Did you really want to work - or did you just want them to pay you while you had christmas off?

Sorry if this sounds tough, but your posting seems to suggest that you had no intention of actually working your notice period.

almond

yes wanted to work my notice but since i am self employed I would'nt have
received any money from putting my notice in. Then she sent the rota and
had me down for 8.10 xmas eve, boxing day, new years eve and day.
she knew I had been off with a blood clot in my leg so was unable to sit
for long at my desk, that why i had been doing split shifts 8.1 6.10 seven
days a week.
I went to the doctors a week after putting my notice in no straight away.
I have never had xmas off in the past 15 years, I always work boxing day.

Sumostar

Hi

Just a quick comment - If they sent you a p45 then you were NOT self employed but EMPLOYED. As such they need to give you 1 weeks notice (by law) or more if it says so in your contract. The fact that you were supposed to give 4 weeks notice suggests that you may have had a contractual right to more notice.

If they do not respond then threaten to take them to Employment Tribunal for an Unauthorised Deduction From Wages.

Also, had you recently complained about anyone or anything?

I notice you had informed them about a health problem. This condition might be covered by the Disability Disctimination Act (DDA), so threaten them with action for Unfair Dismissal under the DDA.

mathes

Were they deducting tax & NI from your pay? If they were, and you got a P45 you were definitely an employee and not self-employed. As an employee you can use the employment legislation to get any pay due to you. If you gave them 4 weeks notice to leave they cannot then dismiss you during that 4 weeks unless it is for gross misconduct (things such as theft, abusive behaviour etc.) in which case instant dismissal is possible. Otherwise, to dismiss you they would have to give you 1 week's notice for each completed year of service.
If you can't get them to pay you can go to an Employment Tribunal, but first you have to go through a grievance procedure with the employer. You need advice on this, from a CAB or law centre or solicitor experienced in employment law matters. There are time limits, so start action now.

almond

self employed 30% com of profit made, but for abta licence we get £60 a year for cleaning computer, contract stated 4 weeks notice which I was happy to give and would have been happy to work, I had arranged that if I got any bookings for a friend to load them,since I would'nt have been paid, then the rota came in with my hours and I knew what she was up to, so I went to the doctors 19th for a sick note,
but she had already cut the phone lines and adsl.
I am sure I am self employed but as I said my contract states 4 weeks notice.
thanks for the help

jobbingmusician

You say your contract says 4 weeks' notice, but then you say 'contract stated 4 weeks notice which I was happy to give'. So it is clear to me that your contract states that you have to give the company 4 weeks' notice of discontinuing your services to them, but it doesn't necessarily follow that they have to give you four weeks notice of ceasing to want your services.

Of course I think this is terribly unfair, but I wonder if what has happened is that as a self-employed person (and do check this - it does sound to me as if you were possibly an employee) you had to give them notice of stopping - unless it specifically says so in your contract, maybe they didn't have to give you notice?

Having said that, the whole thing sounds very fishy. I've never heard of a self-employed person getting sick pay. Sounds as if it's worth raising an Employment Tribunal case against them, to me.*

*It is VERY VERY RARE for an applicant to have to pay costs in an ET case, even if they lose. Costs are virtually never awarded against an employee unless it is felt that their claim is simply vexatious. It scares the pants off employers to be taken to tribunal.

mathes

I am still confused. Your first post refers to your wages and to getting a P45. Neither of these things happens if you are self-employed. Did you get a P45? If so it will have shown the amount of tax and NI deducted, as well as the gross amount of your pay. If you did, you are definitely an employee and can go to an employment tribunal. If you did not, then you probably were self-employed, but a lot of factors go into deciding this and you could usefully get some advice from a CAB or law centre.

jobbingmusician

BTW, it is VERY COMMON for an employer to claim, and even believe, that an employee is self-employed when they're not!!!

Savvy_Sue

ACAS might be able to help.