pay when a member of staff walks out?

Mudd14

Fair point Savvy_Sue, I ahve enforced the claue ona number of occasions. We employ mostly eastern europeans who disapear at the drop of the hat, they are required to give 2 weeks notice and they are paid fortnightly in arrears.

So, if notified that they have left we hold there money which in two weeks in arrears. We must have done this numerous times and no issues yet at ET.

It may obviously sound very harsh that we dont pay these people but at the end of the day they have left us completley in the mess and our clients need a replacement on that day which usually ends us with us getting in agency staff to cover the time to get a replacement which actually losses us money!

stressed_mummy

a sales person that doesn't bring work in to even cover ones salary & jumped ship before they were pushed.

we are going to hold fire on a replacement for the time being.

The boss has said that he will pay up to letter of resignation less the overpaid holidays which will be almost a week.

they have stuff belonging to the company can they withold it even after receipt of final wages & p45 etc??

sandiep

Stressed Mummy - be careful. The first thing that you need to do is get written confirmation that they have resigned. I had a situation where an employee walked out, about 1 weeks before Christmas, we had a verbal chat and she said she was going to leave, never confirmed it in writing, we agreed to pay up to the end of the week, outstanding holiday etc. She sent a sick note in. All tidied up. Then End of Jan she sent a letter into the office saying that her doctor had advised her that she was now ready to return to work - she denied resigning, and said that she was just off sick. All complete bullwhatsit.

The cause of this was that the benefit system doesn't pay out immediately for anyone that just walks out. And the form that they need to fill in in such a situation is basically leading the employee towards an unfair dismissal claim (the form basically leads to one of two outcomes, the employee walked out and no dosh, or they were unfairly dismissed - therefore anyone that can't afford to wait for their benefits usually heads towards the unfair dismissal route).

So, get the resignation in writing. If you are a member of FSB get onto them and do what they say. If you're not a member of FSB phone ACAS and follow the procedure they set out to the letter. Also check that all contracts and terms and conditions are all up to date.

Pay what they're owed, don't make any unnecessary deductions, document everything fully, send all letters special delivery, and make sure that there is nothing that you do in this process that can come and smack you back round the face should it progress down the tribunal route.

Mudd14

stressed_mummy wrote: »

they have stuff belonging to the company can they withold it even after receipt of final wages & p45 etc??

I would process there wages but not pay them until all items are returned to the company. A leter AFTER you recieve their resignation confirming that all monies outstanding will be paid once all company property is returned would be the best way of notifying them so they just dont think your holding their money.

Savvy_Sue

Mudd14 wrote: »

It may obviously sound very harsh that we dont pay these people but at the end of the day they have left us completley in the mess and our clients need a replacement on that day which usually ends us with us getting in agency staff to cover the time to get a replacement which actually losses us money!

Now, I believe you CAN sue people for losses incurred by them walking without notice, although employers rarely do because it's unlikely to be cost-effective. So I suppose if anyone ever does come back to you and say that what you're doing is unlawful deduction of wages, you can say "Fine, see you in court for our losses" and hope they back down.

Anyway, you've got legal advice, and I think the OP would be well advised to tread carefully given the additional information.

Savvy_Sue

stressed_mummy wrote: »

they have stuff belonging to the company can they withold it even after receipt of final wages & p45 etc??

No. I would follow Mudd's advice: if you normally pay by BACS I'd write a cheque and hold it for them.

sandiep wrote: »

So, get the resignation in writing. If you are a member of FSB get onto them and do what they say. If you're not a member of FSB phone ACAS and follow the procedure they set out to the letter. Also check that all contracts and terms and conditions are all up to date.

Pay what they're owed, don't make any unnecessary deductions, document everything fully, send all letters special delivery, and make sure that there is nothing that you do in this process that can come and smack you back round the face should it progress down the tribunal route.

Very good advice. In the absence of resignation in writing, I would write to them, recorded delivery, with a resignation letter for them to sign and return with the company property. You might want to suggest a time for them to do this, at which point they can collect their P45 and final wages.

Mudd14 wrote: »

I would process there wages but not pay them until all items are returned to the company. A leter AFTER you recieve their resignation confirming that all monies outstanding will be paid once all company property is returned would be the best way of notifying them so they just dont think your holding their money.

Or this way.

Of course some companies do exit interviews. You wouldn't find that this person would claim they hadn't been sufficiently trained or supported at such an interview, would you? Only asking, in the interests of ensuring it doesn't happen again ....