Wages being docked for alledgedly not clocking in

heynonnynonny

Hi all, thanks in advance if you can offer an opinion or advice.

The large high street clothes/homeware retailer I work for introduced a couple of months ago a clocking in system where you have to punch your payroll number into the till.

Not long after the introduction of this system a sign went up to say anyone who forgot to clock in or out or did so very late will have half a days pay withdrawn.

Quite often, the times on the tills are wrong, once I went around 4 different tills each time was different on each till, and once I clocked out to leave, left it to register, then my colleague said it had not registered and did it again for me.

One day last week me and my colleague were told to come in at 6am and no one came to open up til 7am but I have been assured that was dealt with because they knew we would be clocking in late.

This month I have had £30 withdrawn from my wages, as have many other people of varying amounts up to almost £70. Considering the above problem

Is it worth fighting to get the monies back at all, seeing as this is not included to in the original contract nor does it form any amendment to the contracts, nor present in any staff handbooks.

Thanks!!!

jdturk

if you leave it it could be seen as an acceptance of change in terms of a contract so if you feel it is unfair it would be suggested you follow your companies grievance procedure.

And speak to ACAS

DVardysShadow

Raise a grievance. Consult ACAS too. It is not right to dock you for time you were locked out. It is also not right to use clocking in devices which do not register the correct time. I imagine that there may be some ancient regulations concerning clocking in devices to ensure fairness, but it may require research.

Oh, forgot to say, keep a diary of when you clock in and the time according to you and to the till. It may prove valuable.

Debt_Free_Chick

I'm not clear about why they've docked you. Is it the case that you did forget to clock in once? Or have you religiously clocked in every time?

You can't use the problems you've outlined as a defence against failing to clock in one day.

theoretica

I think your employer would have trouble justifying this. See for instance:
http://www.paypershop.com/faq/deducted.html
But note that deductions that are punitive in nature are only likely to be lawful if the amount of the penalty is a reasonable reflection of the actual loss to your employer.

Roobarb73

Have you signed a contract containing a written clause or otherwise given your employer your written agreement that they can make deductions from your pay?

What percentage of pay does this amount to? In retail there is a maximum the employer can deduct of your pay - I believe it is 15%

ohreally

Your employer is on thin ice.

Was this procedural change an imposition of the employers will or was it agreed prior to introduction?

I would seek to prosecute a grievance based on possible unlawful deduction from wage, you may wish to arrange this on a collective basis although its not necessary.

rupee99

Changing the manner an employee reports for work is not, in itself, a change to their conditions, it is merely a method of ensuring that s/he is complying with their obligations under their contract of employment. However making deductions from wages based on the data collected from an obviously faulty system is unlawful, the problem for the OP and colleagues would be to gather sufficient evidence to prove the errors.

heynonnynonny

Thank you all so much for your replies. Despite having worked in retail for many years now I'd never heard about ACAS and will ring them if I get no joy with my employer.

Debt_free_chick, I've raised my query with the office as have maybe 5 other people. I guess until they respond back to me I do not truly know the exact why I have been docked, although it definitely is a clocking in/out issue as it appears on my slip.

Roobarb, our contract sheet is very small. I have worked there 5 years and none of the contracts I have ever signed to amend my hours have included making pay deductions, in fact the contracts themselves say very little. All the contract says is basically you may be required to do extra days or different hours put simply and indicates your contracted days of employment.

I think it is 10% of your pay before it becomes unlawful, my deduction is about 5% this time so not in that position just yet!

I'm grateful for yours and everyone elses advice. The company I work for does NOT recognise any trade union, are notorious with the CAB for complaints, and HR are useless so I never really know who to turn to.

I will hold tight and see what happens, thanks for all the replies yet again.

rupee99

heynonnynonny wrote: »

I think it is 10% of your pay before it becomes unlawful, my deduction is about 5% this time so not in that position just yet!

Any improper deduction is unlawful, however your employer doesn't need your permission if they claim that you have not worked the contracted hours. Therefore if the £30 represents hours they have deducted because they allege you were absent (and the varying amounts for your colleagues the time they were "absent") they do not need anything to be agreed with you.

If the system for clocking on is wrong or unreliable or there is a "penalty" element (e.g. I remember when I was a student in a summer job, back in the dark ages, if you clocked on more than 5 minutes late you were docked half an hour's wages) then, in the case of the former it is outright unlawful and the latter only lawful with your written consent, usually in your contract of employment.

theoretica

I assume if you simply had not turned up for work on the days they allege you did not clock in then there would have been more repercussions than a missing £30 on your pay slip- so they probably can't claim they didn't know you were in work!