Advice please on problem.

davmail

I am employed as a cleaner on a contract job,i work for a cleaning company and am placed at a job near me,i used to work 35 hours a week,my company hold a 'week in hand',the job is now only 2 hours a day!!! I was told this last week,so,my pay is drastically cut,but,in order to leave I have to give a months notice,or i will lose my 'week in hand',but this will cripple me financially until i find a full time job again,is there anything i can do so I can leave and not lose my 'week in hand' pay????many thanks.

bargainbetty

Can you keep working with this place and look for a new part-time job at the same time? Or ask your employer if they have any other contracts to send you on.

V_Chic_Chick

When you say that you will lose your 'week in hand' does this mean that you won't be paid for a week's work that you have done (illegally witholding wages; we can give more info on this if this is the case) or that you are being paid a week in advance and would need to repay the loan immediately?

davmail

When i started they held a week that I had worked,if i dont give a MONTHS notice,they will keep it,seems unfair,as my hours are drastically reduced,i will go bust in 2 weeks time.

LittleVoice

davmail wrote: »

When i started they held a week that I had worked,if i dont give a MONTHS notice,they will keep it,seems unfair,as my hours are drastically reduced,i will go bust in 2 weeks time.

As V Chic Chick says, it is illegal to withhold pay in that way.

However they can still insist on a month's notice if they have notified you in writing of this. If you failed to give the notice they could try to seek damages from you for their excess costs in finding a replacement for you for the notice period - but limited to the amount above what they would have had to pay you. It is much the safest to give proper notice.

How much notice did you get of the change to your hours? Do you have written details of your employment which specify giving a month's notice?

davmail

I was informed on friday that my hours were going from 35 a week to 10!!!no notice,its their customer that has reduced the hours,yes,they did tell me I have to give a months notice,but i never though my hours would be reduced to this,I will earn in a month,more or less what i took in a week,I cannot survive,have bills to pay etc,desperately seeking other work.:(

getmore4less

What does your contract say about hours.

This is critical because they may have to give you notice to change them.

V_Chic_Chick

They MUST pay you the wages that you have earned. If they do not, then it is an illegal deduction of wages, and it can be sorted out through an employment tribunal.

HOWEVER, if you do not give your full month's notice, then they will be within their rights to sue you for the cost of getting other staff in to cover your shift - probably expensive agency staff.

What does your contract say about the number of hours you are meant to work per week? Does it say anything about them giving you notice of changes to your working hours? If so, if you could post it here word-for-word then it would be very helpful, and we can go from there.

Finally - as you are only working two hours a day, I would suggest signing up with another cleaning agency, care agency, hospitality agency etc. and say that although you cannot work during those two hours a day, you are happy to work at any other time of the week. These sorts of agency jobs are usually hyper flexible and fit around other commitments you have, so you work when it is mutually convenient for both of you. Hopefully they will give you work, and that will tide you over until you can quit this job, and get another one.