Till Down.. Wages Docked?

bigmanphil

I work in a pub and there were four of us working on two till last night, one till (mine and a colleagues) that had been used all day was found to be £20 down, we have both now been informed that we will both be loosing £10 each. we had been told before the shift that if the tills were down it would be coming out of our wages. I'm very angry about this as we both worked our selves stupid and were so careful not to make any mistakes. I have 2 questions really
1) is this legal.. i.e. can my wages be docked for a till being down
2) what can i do about it.. i'm not in a union
also something to mention is that this till had been in use all day including the boss changing money throughout the evening.
i appreciate your comments please

a Very irritated Barman

borders_dude

Im guessing this is a matter of company policy, if it was you should have been informed about it.

Someone on here should know a definite answer.

I can see if from the companys point of view. If the till was balanced at the start of your shift, and only two people were using it, it was then found to be short, then I too would expect the employees to put in the missing money.

Years ago on the buses thats how it worked, the drivers simply had any money they were short deducted from their pay. Seventies.

In your case the till wasnt balanced at the start of your shift, so someone may have made a scew up earlier in the day in which case you shouldnt be punished. Perhaps the short money should be repaid in equal amounts by everyone who used the till that day, including the boss.

sprogs

bigmanphil wrote: »

Iwe had been told before the shift that if the tills were down it would be coming out of our wages

Are you told this before every shift that you work, or is this a new job? If not and the person that told you happened to be one of the people that had used the till earlier in the day I think I might be a little suspicious. But I don't know how you stand legally. Next time you need to ensure that the till is balanced at the start of your shift or voice your concerns that the till has been used all day without being checked and therefore you cannot be held responsible for errors.

bigmanphil

i've been i the job 18 months and this is only the second time in 18 months that the till has been down and it was the boss who told us this immediately before the shift, it is the first time she has done so

wontfallforit

As sprogs says, be as careful as you can in future. If the boss insists on docking you for any irregularities, insist that you have the right to start each shift with a clean slate.

As for this specific incident - try asking why the boss came to the conclusion that it was eitehr yourself, your colleague, or both of you who were responsible. Had the till been checked at any point before you both started your shift? Are there any cameras? Do either of you have a track record of past irregularities? etc...

we had been told before the shift that if the tills were down it would be coming out of our wages

I'm agreed that this is a strange thing to say!

zenmaster

Hmmm. I wonder if the till had been over by £20 whether they would split that between you and your colleague?

Somehow I doubt they would.

globalds

Do you get a share of the money if the till is up ?


EDIT

Damn my slow typing ..

MrC_Beds

Not sure whether you are employed on a contract or not, but check out ss.13 & 14 Employment Rights Act 1996. It would appear that deductions of this nature require the prior written agreement of the employee.

Shazmar_2

If it is not in your contract and you never gave permission then they can't do it. Even then you could say you agreed under duress.

All workers have the right not to have unlawful deductions made from their wages. For deductions to be lawful, they must either be required or authorised by legislation, or authorised by the worker’s contract of employment so long as a copy of the relevant term or a written explanation of the term is issued to the worker prior to the deduction being made, or agreed to by the worker in writing prior to the deduction being made. Further protections are afforded to workers in retail employment where deductions are due to cash shortages or stock deficiencies connected with retail transactions.

I would go so far as to say your employer already new the till was down and may even have taken the £20 themselves.

Mrs_Money

Just found this on the BBC:
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] If I break something or my till is short, can I have my pay docked? [/FONT]
The Employment Rights Act 1996 permits an employer to make deductions from a person's pay packet if such deductions are:

[*](1) authorised by legislation (such as income tax and national insurance deductions) or
[*](2) authorised in your employment contract or
[*](3) you have otherwise agreed to them in writing beforehand.

Therefore, in general, if you have not agreed to a deduction in writing, the employer cannot dock your pay!
However, there are special provisions relating to retail workers.
An employer may make a deduction from wages or demand payment from a worker on account of one or more cash shortages or stock deficiencies.
"Cash shortage" is defined as "a deficit arising in relation to amounts received in connection with retail transactions".
"Stock deficiency" is defined as "a stock deficiency arising in the course of retail transactions".
Therefore, if your till is short and you work as a shop assistant, your employer may make deductions from your wages.
That said, it is unlawful for an employer to deduct more than 10% from the gross wages of a retail worker on any one pay day.
Accordingly, where deductions can be made from a retail worker's wages to pay for shortages or stock deficiencies, the sums owed may be recovered in instalments but each instalment must be no more than 10% of the worker's gross wages on any one pay day.
However, the 10% limit does not apply to deductions from the final payment of wages.
However, the 10% limit does not apply to deductions from the final payment of wages.
With certain exceptions, a deduction of any size from the wages of a retail worker is unlawful if made more than 12 months after the cash shortage or stock deficiency to which it relates was (or ought reasonably to have been) established by the employer.
So it seems it can be done but you have to know about it in advance - like in a contract of employment or something.
Got the info from HERE.

Zazen999

How did she know that the till was going to be down, on that night of all nights in the last 18 months?