unpaid wages help

brian01

:DI have worked for my current employers for over 5 years in January 2009 i had a stroke.
upon leaving hospital my employers wanted to know when i would be returning to work my reply was that i would return when my doctors said i was able to they continued to badger me to return to work in the end they sent me to see an occupational health doctor in London at bupa whom agreed that i could return to work as soon as i liked but it was still fairly early to even contemplate returning to work after only 5 months that it normally took at least 1 year of recovery.
After this i agreed to return to work on the 24th may 2009 on a part time basis however things did not go well and i ended up having to go back off sick again suffering now with severe depression for which i was hospitalized for 1 month.
I began to get better and again after 5 months started to renegotiate returning to work again on a part time basis
however to cut a long story shorter my employers would not allow me to return to work despite my having the support of my doctors this has been going on since then in September last year i again had a meeting with my employers whom said that they were going to create a specialist role for me which i was extremely grateful for, and agreed to return to work in December 2010 at this meeting i informed my employers that i was moving home from Kent to lincolnshire this was something i was told not to do by my unite union representative,
However after telling my employers that i was moving home they withdrew the new specialist role that had been created for me and said they were considering terminating my employment.
in remember 2010 i had another meeting with my employers and agreed that i felt that i would like to be able to attempt the new role from my new location they told me they would think about it in January 2011 i received a letter from my employers saying they were going to terminate my employment and back dated my termination to the 19th of January they told me i could appeal this decision which i did.
As of today’s date i have still not been paid my money in lieu my holiday pay or anything else from my employers what do i do now have i been wrongly dismissed i am finding this wholes situation very traumatic and upsetting
My sincere apologies’ if this note is hard to read but it is a really difficult time for me right now I guess the main question I am asking is can I charge my employers interest on the money that I am owed which would be 7 weeks pay in total I was in a really highly paid job so this would amount to about £6000.00 if I am able to charge interest at what rate should I charge it and should I inform my employers

xxMelissaxx

Unfortunately I don't think you can charge them interest. You should, however, be looking for legal advice as by the sound of it they don't have a leg to stand on and you may win an extra payout. I'm not sure what else to suggest but make sure you chase up some free legal advice and keep us posted how you get on.

zzzLazyDaisy

No, you cannot charge them interest on the money owed.

You say that you have appealed the decision. Have you had your appeal hearing yet? Assuming the hearing is held promptly and without unnecessary delays by the employer, it is not unusual for the final payment to be held back until after the appeal hearing, on the basis that there is little point in issuing the final payment and P45 until after the the final decision had been made on the appeal.

What notice period is provided in your contract of employment. Judging by your estimate of the money your are owed (£6000), I'd guess that you had a three month notice period?

If that is the case, you are not entitled to any notice pay, so you might want to 'keep your powder dry' on this point and see what happens.

Why do I say this? Because you have only worked there 5 years, so your statutory notice period is shorter than your contractual notice period by more than one week. The normal rule that an employee on sick leave is entitled to be restored to full pay for the duration of the notice period, but this does not apply if the contractual notice period is longer than the statutory notice period by more than one week.

Edited to add: You may have a claim for unfair dismissal and/or disability discrimination, but it is impossible to say on the information provided. You need to speak to a specialist adviser who has all the facts, since you are a member of the union, that would be a good place to start. However do be aware of the 3 month time-limit for making an ET claim - with a termination date of 19th Jan, the time limit would expire on 18th April.

brian01

the money that i am owed is 5 weeks notice as i have been with them for over 5 years this amounts to £7199.99 plus i am owed expenses which have not been paid and submitted since december 2008 the expenses were submitted during the week i returned to work in 2009 but have still not been repaid i have spoke to my union rep today and he has told me to issue a couty court claim against them for the money i am owed i feel i have not only been not paid my money but that i have been unfairly dismissed my company have accted against my doctores have not sent me for a medical they offered me a new job on in september 10 which i accepted according to my union rep this complied with the disability discrimination act but when the company found out that i would be moving from kent they immediatly with drew the nes position offer however at the meeting in the september the offer of the new job was not conditional on my living in the south east of england so i feel that i now still have a claim against them under the disablity discrimination act any thoughts on this

zzzLazyDaisy

brian01 wrote: »

the money that i am owed is 5 weeks notice as i have been with them for over 5 years this amounts to £7199.99 plus i am owed expenses which have not been paid and submitted since december 2008 the expenses were submitted during the week i returned to work in 2009 but have still not been repaid i have spoke to my union rep today and he has told me to issue a couty court claim against them for the money i am owed i feel i have not only been not paid my money but that i have been unfairly dismissed

I am surprised that your union adviser has told you to issue a county court claim, as the only sensible way forward would be to make a claim to an employment tribunal for breach of contract and/or unlawful deduction from wages. There is no charge for this, however if you go through the county court you would incur fees and probably legal costs as the money owed is over the limit for the small claims court. In addition, the county court cannot deal with a claim of unfair dismissal or disability discrimination, which would have to proceed in the employment tribunal any way.

I am also surprised that he advised you to start legal proceedings while the appeal is still pending. But if you intend to do this, you first need to write to your employer to give them 14 days notice to pay the money owing to you, and put them on notice that if they fail to do so, you will commence legal proceedings.

Do you have legal insurance with your house insurance? This normally covers employment disputes.

Otherwise, you may wish to pay to see a solicitor or speak to ACAS or CAB for further advice.

I really don't think that people on this forum can help you with the merits and/or prospects of success of making an unfair dismissal or discrimination claim, as it would be impossible to ascertain all the relevant facts.

You need specialist advice if you wish to pursue such a course of action.

brian01

my union rep says i have an extremly good case for both unfair dismissal and a good claim for the disabilty discrimination act his reason for telling me to make a claim for my money through the county court was the time frame as i have told my union rep i am now broke have spent all my savings and have to live on just £91.00 per week he felt that the small claims court would deal with my claim quicker than an idustrial tribunal when i spoke to my union rep this moring he tells me that my firm have gone about this totally incorrectly as i have never had a diciplenary not even before my termination and that he thinks the employer is going to refuse me an appeal

brian01

thanks the main problem that i have at the moment is i can not afford the court fees any suggestions i feel this is extremely un fair of my employers to hold on to my slary that in there own words they owe me

brian01

thanks i will do that i will also send a copy of my letter to my union rep so that i am not going against any of his advise