Not been paid for two months

kellyintreuddyn

Hi everyone just wondering if anyone had any info/advice on my rights/entitlements

I started work as a secondary school science teacher on january 4th 2010, its a maternity cover for a minimum of two terms (roughly 6 months) and i am employed as a supply teacher direct through the local council.

I had worked almost until the end of the month before i realised that i had never completed any forms/ bank details and so asked around the staff room, they informed me that before starting i should have received a registration pack from the council. So off the the heads secretary i went and she couldnt believe that i hadnt been sent this pack either - i explained to her that i am a newly qualified teacher and this was my first post so i didnt know what i should or should not have received.

she contacted the council and they sent out the pack ( baring in mind i had worked for a month now!) in this pack i was surprised to find an application form, a CRB application form and a medical form - so i had been working for a month in school that had no confirmation of my qualifications, no details of any medical problems or if i was fit to work and most importantly no CRB check - i could have abeen anyone off the street!

So i got my pen out and completed all the forms and sent them back ( this was at the end of january)

2 weeks went by and i hadnt heard anything and still no pay so i contacted the council direct, they said they were waiting on my crb and that as soon as that comes back they can get me on their system and pay me. (it doesnt matter in the meantime that im still working without a crb!) so i wait another week, and get really fed up so call crb direct and find that they had only received the crb on the 15th feb so it must have been sat in the councils offices for over a week.

I am seriously not impressed not only have i not been paid for 2 months now but the crb have said it could take anohter 3 weeks before that is finished so at least another 3 weeks until i can even think about getting paid.

is this illegal? how am i supposed to live without pay for 3 months, so far i have been lucky that i could use my overdraft and borrow from my parents but they dont have much themselves.

if any one has any advice please let me know

thanks
kelly

Newbiesw

Don't know about the legality of it, after all they haven't said they're NOT going to pay you, but 3 months???, that a quarter of a year without pay!:eek:
Our Company will advance a sum of money to roughly slightly less than the expected net pay to be deducted from the first payment, do your employers not have a similar operation?

Newbiesw

kingfisherblue

The best person that I knw to advise you is a poster called tafkam on www.tes.co.uk - post on the Pay and Conditions forum and he (and others) will be able to give you appropriate information and details on teachers terms and conditions.

Mudd14

Have you got a contract yet?

kellyintreuddyn

no written contract yet either! i was recruited because i had already interviewed for a full time post at the same school but didnt get the job so when a maternity leave came up they offered it to me.

when i have spoken to the person dealing with my paperwork in the local council she said there is no way they can pay me until this crb comes back but i am pretty sure that its not legal to work with children on a daily basis without a crb!

i just find it very annoying that they cant pay me until this crb comes back yet i can still work with children until then? surely that is the most important point! all of the other members of the department have said they have never heard of a problem like this and think it is appalling.

I just dont know what to do, i cannot afford to live for the next 3 weeks (at the very least) without being paid especially as all my bills come up at the beginning of the month, i love the job but i am seriously thinking about leaving and just going back to supply teaching as this means i will get paid weekly and therefore much sooner thani will possibly paid from this post.

i will definately look into the TES thing thanks

IHateDida

Are you part of a teaching union? If not, join one now (you should be in one anyway - as the threat of being falsely accused of something definitely warrants one). Contact the teaching Union - they will help advise you and fight your cause. The council are fobbing you off - with regards to pay (I'm an ex-teacher and now how councils work - it takes ages to get anything done - it took me 4 months to get my current contract!).

I have been involved in sorting out a CRB check for a member of staff this week that I am dealing with and theres no definite rules. Our council says that as long as the member of staff has had a list 99 check and the CRB is in progress then thats fine! Theres no reason why they shouldn't be paying you. Start demanding this and threaten to get the union involved (join as quick as poss if you haven't already!).

Good luck with this - keep up the fight!

IHateDida

Actually thinking about it....they probably aren't paying you as they don't want you to appear on their books without a CRB check incase something happens - then they can say that you don't work for them.......actually no, this is probably incorrect as no one at the council would probably think of this. I think its just the council being really slow in organising things but definitely join a union - teaching unions have quite alot of power with councils!

kellyintreuddyn

i am already with nasuwt, i will have a word with the rep at school tomorrow to see what they have to say, thanks for the advice everyone

libbyjade

As Ihatedida says, consider joining your union. They may not be able to help you sort this out as they normally state you need to be a member for 3 months before dealing with personal issues. But will be useful long term.

There is no automatic quick solution to this, the quickest way is to get the council to pay it. So contact your manager, HR or whoever you think will be able to do something. Try this informally at first and definitely in writing (email or letter will suffice). Give them a deadline to get some funds to you. Be it a few days if necessary.

If this deadline passes without joy, consider raising a formal grievance, this is a way of telling your employer you are really not happy. In your letter state that you may have no other option but to put in a claim to an employment tribunal for unlawful deduction of wages if they do not sort out almost immediately.

Hopefully step 1 will work, or maybe step 2. If neither then it could be anything from a few weeks to a few months before you get paid particularly if you go to an ET.

Good Luck :)

kingfisherblue

Libbyjade, the OP is in a union.

The advice given to the OP when she posted on the TES website was to ask the school for an advance on her wages and also to get the headteacher to sort things out with the LA. Apparantly both are possible and have been done before for other teachers.

icar36

Three points here:

a) No pay
b) No CRB
c) No employee file

First things first... A CRB (Enhanced Disclosure) check is now a legal requirement in order to work in a school.

How did you by-pass the council? (you went straight to the school?)