Can they do this?

EastMidsGal

I am posting on behalf of a friend who is very worried. She has a toddler and a five month old baby, her partner is on some paid apprenticeship scheme.

His employers have owed him a weeks wages for 7 weeks and instead of paying him what they owe they turned around today and said he can have a weeks paid holiday next week. He doesn't want holiday, he wants money in the bank to pay the bills. They are struggling with their bills as it is.

Also, they are not providing him with payslips and my friend says she needs the payslips in order to keep claiming LHA otherwise it will get cancelled

What can they do about this without annoying the employers so much that her partner gets laid off

Thanks so much in advance

Jarndyce

Can they do that? Ah my favourite question. Yes, they can do that, because they have done it. The question is, what can you actually do about it?

And as you imply, with so little protection, the answer is very little. He can either stand up to his employer and risk losing his position, or he keeps his head down and says nowt. At the end of the scheme, if he is still owed money, then he can make a claim for whatever he is owed, but I suspect there is no way he can raise this now without putting his placement at risk - much as I wish there was something that could stop employers acting in this way.

As an aside, it sounds like this employer might be having cashflow problems (and possibly worse) which is the first sign of terminal trouble in a business - your friend has to decide whether it is going to be worth the effort to stay put and say nothing.

ceridwen

Hmmm...not good omens in that job I'm afraid.

Personally - I think he needs to keep pushing for the money they owe him - as, frankly, it doesnt look likely to count against him that hes stood up for himself (ie because the firm as a whole looks a bit dicey).

Best to ask and ask and ask again for that money in the circumstances - as I dont think he has anything to lose by "standing up for his rights" and chances are that he will manage to get this money out of them and be in a better position than he otherwise would if the firm "goes down the swanee" subsequently.

I REALLY REALLY dont believe in the "Let them walk all over you - because if you don't you might be sacked" scenario. Certainly - there are at least SOME circumstances in which you've got nothing to lose by "standing on your rights" and I think this is one of them.

EastMidsGal

Thanks for the replies

Jarndyce - my grammar is awful at times, you are right!

I have passed on all the advice given here to my friend, I don't know what her and her partner are going to do about it. She's scared about slipping further into debt and is scared about him losing his job if he complains about this in case he doesn't get another training placement and can't gain skills needed for a semi decent job afterwards. She's at college training to be a midwife, they're both working hard and really doing their best and then they get screwed over by his job.

I admit when she told me it did cross my mind aswell that the company might be in financial difficulty

Thanks so much for your help. As I said I have passed on everything you have both said, what they do now is up to them. Thanks x