No job, help with letter

daisydook

I'm in a strange position because I don't really know for sure what has happened to my employer.

I have not been able to get in touch with them since the beginning of February and have not received any wages since before Christmas.

The phone numbers I have are either disconnected or permanently engaged, I've tried emailing the office using all the addresses I have but have not received any replies.

I've contacted several agencies and have ended up with advice from ACAS, which agree that they have probably gone bust and it's just a matter of time before they will appear as insolvent.

In the meantime I've been advised to write a letter to the office stating how much they owe me in wages and why.

Does anyone know if I can find a template for a letter that would suit this purpose? I've been sat here ages and cannot work out how to write this into a letter so that it will be correct.

Thanks for any advise.

Daisy Dook

Starlet

What field of work did you do? Retail?

daisydook

Hi

Thank you for your reply.

It is a field marketing company, which does means doing work in shops, but on behalf of a client rather than for the actual shop you are working in.

It's just frustrating not knowing one way or another what has happened to them, but it does seem as if they are no longer open for business.

I've been advised to send this letter to the company address, I don't think it will do much good if there is no-one there, but ACAS have advised that this is the next step to take.

Daisy

daisydook

Just wondered, the ACAS advisor said that I would have to wait until I could prove the company was insolvent before I could do anything further, and as the Company House website it was not in real time, this could take a while.

Is there any other way of establishing whether a company has closed or is it just a case of waiting and checking on the Company House website regularly.

I've contacted the administrator who says that he is working with the company on a day to day basis, I have no idea whether this means they're going to go bust or they've already gone bust. The administrator will not confirm anything or give out any contact details and seeing as the company is still not answering any phones or email, I still do not know what is going to happen with regards to employees owed wages.

Daisy x

daisydook

Still no word one way or the other

surely the administrators are obliged to let employees know what is happening? or will they contact us when things have been decided?

still don't know if we will get the wages we are owed!

daisydook

I know that I haven't strictly been made redundant but I have absolutely no idea where to go now for any help.

I sent two letters, one to the company I worked for and one to the address of the administration offices. I had a phone call this morning from the administrator who told me that he was NOT acting as administrator for the company and would only confirm that he was working with them. He wouldn't say what he was doing, just that he was not an administrator and anything else was confidential and I would have to contact my employer for any other details.

Any ideas what I can do now?

If they are still trading then how can they just remove the website and disconnect the phones leaving employees unpaid without any explanation one way or the other?

I don't know where else to go for any advise

daisydook

I think this is definitely in the wrong part of the forum as I cannot get any advise

is there anyway to delete it or move it to another more relevant part of the website?

anniecave

It sounds like the administrators or potential administrators are waiting for something to happen. They may be waiting for payments to come in from customers or an agreement to be made about who pays for the fees needed to actually carry out the receivership. That would be my guess anyway.

If the company has run out of money then all the former employees are probably in the same situtation as you. Phones may have been put onto voicemail or answerphone or cut off due to unpaid bills.

Have you signed on for job seeker's allowance or other benefits and been looking for other jobs?

anniecave

have a look at

https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent

Have ACAS given you advice if you don't hear anything further from the company? I assume you need to make a claim to the government's national insurance fund if you don't hear anything?

I think this is the correct forum, it's just that not many people reading the forum will have been in this situation I'm afraid...

daisydook

Thanks for your reply Annie.

It's now been over the 14 days since they received my letter so I've contacted ACAS again and they have told me I need to use PPC .... I've had to give them the contact details I have, but as they are not answering anything i don't suppose they will get any further. Have to wait and see I guess

zzzLazyDaisy

This sort of thing happens a lot with small employers, unfortunately.

I am presuming that you are no longer carrying out any work for them, and you are no longer being paid?

It sounds like the company has ceased trading but has not actually gone into administration or liquidation. This means that the company still exists, and so you must make a claim against the company directly, for your outstanding wages.

It also sounds like you have been made redundant - either owing to closure of the work place, or owing to the fact that the employer's requirements for employees to do work of a particular kind have ceased or diminished (both genuine reasons for redundancy). What this means is that provided you were employed for at least two complete years, you are also entitled to a redundancy payment.

If your employer had gone into liquidation or administration, you could make a claim to the government's redundancy payments service, but if it is simply the case that it has closed for business, then you don't have that option.

When did you start working for the company? I ask, because the advice on what you do next may depend in part on your length of service.