Advice needed RE: NMW, Contracts etc

jonuk7

Hi apologies now as this will be a long post,

My GF Got given a job in the local beauty salon, there was only 1 member of staff at a time with a total of 3 to cover mon-sat. She has been there approx 6 months maybe a bit longer, now when she started she was told she was on "Trial" ok thats fair, but ongoing now she has still received NOTHING in writing, she did fill in a P46 when she started but recently found it stuffed behind the till. She is only paid £5/phour which is below NMW. He has as far as we know done this with the other 2 people aswell. Last week she rang another work collegue as she was ill and had asked them to cover her shift, they couldnt do it so she started getting ready to go in, she text the owner stating she would be in work but would be around 10 mins late, the text back was appauling from the owner it said - "You must think im stupid, dont F****ng bother coming in". so since that day she hasnt been in there, is there anything we/she can do now i understand its late and it got left too long, but she never got contracts/payslips anything, and tbh the owners reputation is known for "Dealing" with problems. is there anything she can do with regards to claiming back dated underpayment? the NI and Tax Issues? there is only people word of mouth that proves she works there but there is alot of people that know, also the CCTV unit was fitted for a period of her working there, so it may still be viewable unsure how long the tapes are kept for?
Many thanks

jazzyman01

Was she paid cash in hand?

fengirl_2

First of all, she can report the employer to HMRC for paying below the NMW - once they have finished their investigations, she will be entitled to back pay for the underpaid wages. She can also inform HMRC that she did not receive payslips and that she found the P46 in the salon. (I am assuming she was paid over £125 pw). Being paid n cash is irrelevent - tax and NIC has to be deducted and a payslip given to employees, no matter how they are paid.
The lack of a written contract can be dealt with through an Employment Tribunal - Google this - the forms are online. It will be a straighforward fact that she didnt get written terms and conditions.

jonuk7

Yes it was cash in hand every friday, she came out with £65 a week or £100 if she worked the Saturday. How does she go about reporting the pay below NMW? iv had a quick look on the HMRC site but couldnt see anything or does it have to be done on the phone? Thanks

LittleVoice

jonuk7 wrote: »

Yes it was cash in hand every friday, she came out with £65 a week or £100 if she worked the Saturday. How does she go about reporting the pay below NMW? iv had a quick look on the HMRC site but couldnt see anything or does it have to be done on the phone? Thanks

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw/#c includes (a) link for a pdf form to download, complete and send to the address given on the form; (b) helpline to use to complain - 0845 600 0678 - open 9 to 5 Mon-Fri; (c) links to making a complaint online.

jazzyman01

I am not suggesting that being paid cash in hand makes what is happening right. It may well have made it easier, that is all. When it is cash in hand it can come down to one persons word against another regarding the amount paid. I appreciate that this does not prevent the employer being caught for non payment of tax/NI, but I assume her main driver is to get paid what she was entitled to?

jonuk7

I have filled in the employment tribunal for for her and sent that in, i hope this will make them investigate the entire business as i know the other 2 girls are paid the same way with nothing official. having worked out how long she was working there for the diffrence in NMW and what she was actually paid only works out to be £17.60 kind of makes you think is it worth it or would they look at some form of compensation for the unfair dismissal or would this not be an option as she was only there 6 months ish and no contracts or anything were signed.

jamesb1239

Just a quick one to add in, you dont state the age of your GF as NMW is £5.73 for people aged 22 and over, 18-21 is £4.77 and 16-17 is £3.53. Her old employer would as far as i know need to simply state that your GF was self employed and made aware of this and was therefore liable to pay her own tax and insurance, just the same way that takeaways do with their cash in hand staff.

Hope that helps

jonuk7

shes 24, and if she was self employed he wouldnt of asked her and the other 2 girls to complete a P46 would he?

LittleVoice

And, if they were self-employed, he would be able to show the invoices from them, wouldn't he? Or they would have been hiring the chairs and receiving payment from clients direct - and there would be records of how this had been paid to them.

LittleVoice

jonuk7 wrote: »

I have filled in the employment tribunal for for her and sent that in, i hope this will make them investigate the entire business as i know the other 2 girls are paid the same way with nothing official. having worked out how long she was working there for the diffrence in NMW and what she was actually paid only works out to be £17.60 kind of makes you think is it worth it or would they look at some form of compensation for the unfair dismissal or would this not be an option as she was only there 6 months ish and no contracts or anything were signed.

Is that £17.60/week or for the 6 months?!

She would also have been entitled to paid leave. Was she paid for any holidays in that time?