Not being paid! and having to owe 110 hours back unpaid in the space of 4 weeks

foxwales

An Employment contract DOES NOT have to be a written document:

A contract of employment including it's terms can be: Written, Verbal and/or Implied; and must meet statutory requirements for pay and holidays.

What you posted does constitute your contract of employment.

Your statutory holiday entitlement is based upon the number of hours you work, so should be calculated pro-rata based upon your unset working week schedule.

You have agreed to the terms laid out that you will bank time owed to your employer to be worked back at a later date.

By making yourself available to work during the severe weather but not contesting the non-requirement to work as stated by your employer then it can be deemed that this arrangement forms a verbal contractual agreement.

You have been paid for the periods you did not work and you admit you owe time to your employer, therefore you acknowledge any verbal written or implied term that applies.

Your employers actions are not unlawful unless you feel there has been breach of contract by your employer, however, to claim breach of contract would mean you will need to approach an employment tribunal for them to legally rule on the matter, but if your employer can prove otherwise, then he can sue you for breach of contract.

The other option is for you to walk away and not work the hours you owe, which would leave your employer in financial loss and he could pursue you through civil courts for recovery.

Or you could work the hours you owe, do your time and remember the wages that you HAVE already been paid.

Summary: There is no unlawful action by your employer and nothing illegal, to prove otherwise you would need to evidence this and present it at an employment tribunal, which could lead to you being sued in turn or pursued through civil courts.

zzzLazyDaisy

The above poster has given incorrect information. Please do your own research or taken independent advice from ACAS or CAB before relying on it.

Under UK law the employer must provide a written statement of the main particulars of employment to the employee within 2 months of commencing employment. The law also sets out the minimum information which must be provided in writing.

Your employer must provide you with some of your employment details in one single document. This is known as the 'principal statement' and must include:

your name and your employer’s name
your job title or a brief job description
the date when your employment began
your pay rate and when you will be paid
your hours of work
your holiday entitlement
where you will be working (if you are based in more than one place it should say this along with your employer’s address)
sick pay arrangements
notice periods
information about disciplinary and grievance procedures
any collective agreements that affect your employment terms or conditions
pensions and pension schemes
if you are not a permanent employee how long your employment is expected to continue, or if you are a fixed term worker the date your employment will end

The letter offering you the job, or your employment contract, could be your principal statement or full written statement. There is no need for your employer to give you a separate written statement if everything is covered in either of these two documents.

The government website gives more info

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/EmploymentContractsAndConditions/DG_175704

In addition, the employer may not make deductions from your wages unless there is a clear clause in the contract allowing such deductions to be made, or unless you have given permission in writing for the deduction to me made before the debt arose. The exception to this is where there has been a genuine overpayment of wages (in simple terms, this would usually be where someone has been paid money by mistake) or as required by law such as tax and national insurance.

foxwales

My information was not incorrect and if you are aware of employment law then you should know that the written statement does not form any contractual agreement and is not required to be in one document.

The only way the OP could take further action against his employer is through an Employment Tribunal where the written statement can be used as evidence in satisfying any particulars of this case.

As the OP has admitted owing the hours and accepted the fluctuatiing hours of work and hours banked, then this forms part of the contract with the employer, be it written verbal or implied.

There is no unlawful deduction of wages in this case as a record of all hours worked would need to be supplied to determine statutory holiday entitlement and whether any monies are owed based joins outstanding holidays.

The OP has stated that he owes time to his employer and he has been paid accordingly for this time, therefore the employer is at financial loss and could pursue the OP through ET or Civil courts for recompense.

The only way the OP can challenge this position is by pursuing breach of contract in which the particulars of the written statement will be called upon.