Im Desperate! Help needed re unpaid wages :(

Niknik77

Hi all im new to this forum, so please be patient with me.
I have recently finished working for a private childrens home. I was on the sick when I gave my notice, so did not give the full 4 weeks. My manager did not say that this was a problem until now, when my wages are due.
They were due on Monday, when I emailed to confirm payment, she said that they would be in the bank between Monday & Friday, of this week. When speaking to another member of staff, late wages seem to be a regular occurance.
When it got to Thursday & I had still not been paid, I contacted Manager again. When I read her reply, I was shocked & horrified. I have not been paid for 5 weeks and as a low income family, you can imagine, we were relying on that money.
Anyway, she is now stating that she is receiving advice regarding my wages. As I had a CRB done, she is wanting to charge me for this, plus admin costs, which equals £75. This is a figure she seems to have plucked out of the air, as I sat with her to complete the CRB application online. So there is no costs for admin. Also there is nothing in my contract to state that I must cover the costs of this!
Also she says she has incurred extra costs, due to my sickness & not working my notice. As only 2 staff are paid each shift and she does not pay for sickness, no extra costs have been accrued!
I have had a quick look online & it seems that she is breaking the law by not paying me for hours worked. So I have emailed informing her of this & that I will also be putting in writing, all monies that are due to me.
This was yesterday & I have still not received any reply, nor have a received a penny.
PLEASE can someone help???? I am at the end of my tether.
Thank you
Nikki x

DVardysShadow

It may take a little while to sort this out.

She cannot charge for a CRB if you did not agree to the charge at the outset.

Why did you not go back to work out your notice after you came off the sick?

tactful

How long was you employed for, had you past the probationary period?

marybelle01

tactful wrote: »

How long was you employed for, had you past the probationary period?

What relevance does this have? Unlawful deductions from wages, assuming that is what this is, apply whether or not someone is in their probationary period.

OP, there are things that aren't clear here. What is the five weeks wages that you say you are owed for? Does this include the notice period of four weeks, which you say you did not work? And surely you get SSP when off sick?

tactful

The relevence is that the notice period is directly affected by you being or not being on probation. Obviously.

Breezay

You are entitled to hours worked, regardless. I had a similar problem at the beginning of last year. I started working for a care home, who kept putting me in situations that I was not covered for - making me very anxious. I'd be asked to lift people alone, without training & would be left alone with residents, without training. It made me very worried so I left. (If something happened, the home manager wouldn't have covered me & they wouldn't let me do the training).

Anyway, I worked about 3 shifts & left. When payday rolled around, I wasn't paid. I immediately called ACAS, who told me that it didn't matter how long I'd worked there, I was still entitled to my pay.

ACAS told me to write a letter, give it x number of days & call back if I didn't get a reply. I called ACAS back and they phoned the home manager. Within hours, the money was in my account.

I'd definitely suggest giving ACAS a call, they are great at this sort of thing & they can step in when there is a dispute. Best of luck x

marybelle01

tactful wrote: »

The relevence is that the notice period is directly affected by you being or not being on probation. Obviously.

Not obviously at all. The OP has stated that their notice period is four weeks. Therefore, whether they are on probation or not has no relevance. Their notice period is four weeks. Probation doesn't mean anything at all. It doesn't exist in law. Some employers may increase notice periods after probation, but many, including my own, make no distinction at all. So probation has nothing to do with notice periods.

Niknik77

I started work there on Thursday 17th May, this was earlier than planned, as the Manager got in touch as they had taken an extra child.
I was doing 10am-10am shifts, with sleepover. But my first shift accrued extra hours as they were waking hours due to an emergency.
There is nothing in my contract that I had to cover the cost of the CRB though, so I dont see how she can decide to deduct it now. It seems to me that is just trying to pay me as little as possible!
I sprained my ankle, so she did not include me in the rota for 2 weeks. Even though I said that I would be happy to return after 1 week. Then during this time I realised that this time of volatile work was aggravating my bi-polar condition. I have managed my symptons for years & realised, after a conversation with my family, that my behaviour was increasingly erratic.
So I gave notice & explained the reasons why I would not be able to work out my full 4 weeks notice. She was fine about it, luckily I have kept the emails. She also sent me get well wishes.
I have had no further contact with her, until this week when wages were due. I know my shifts were covered by other staff, as this is the norm. It is only a small home, with a small staff.
Apart from emails telling me when payment of my wages would be & then to say that she was seeking advice, I am no further forward.
I have a family to keep, rent & bills to pay. Surely she just cannot pay me the money for the hours I worked?

Notmyrealname

tactful wrote: »

The relevence is that the notice period is directly affected by you being or not being on probation. Obviously.

No it isn't. The notice period is what is written in the contract. If there is no notice period in the contract, the statutory notice period of 1 week takes effect and is regardless of whether you're on probation or not.

I just can't get my head around why someone who is on a low income desperate for money hands in their notice.

DVardysShadow

Niknik77 wrote: »

I sprained my ankle, so she did not include me in the rota for 2 weeks. Even though I said that I would be happy to return after 1 week.

Was your contract zero hours or did you have a weekly number of hours? If you had a set number of hours, by keeping you off the rota, there is a degree of 'constructive dismissal' [waits for people to come and say that only 5% of constructive dismissal cases are awarded to the employee at tribunal]

marybelle01

I know that the employer has to pay you for what hours you have worked, and cannot make deductions except for certain things unless there is a contractual clause. What I am still not clear about is what you say you are owed. It seems you worked there about a month and at least two weeks of that you were off sick, and maybe part of that was also notice which you didn't work? Have you received no pay at all since you started, and what exatcly do you think you are owed. I can't figure out how you think you are owed five weeks wages when you don't appear to have been in work most of those five weeks. And do you qualify for SSP or not?