Zero hours contract - pay for uniform, and holiday???

nimbo

Hi all,

I have recently got a part time job - zero hours generally to work 16 hours with extra when people are off, and as needed etc.

I couldn't afford to say no, and although it isn't my dream job I am happy to do it to pay the bills etc. This was the only thing to come up, that will fit around university when I go back in September...

They haven't mentioned holiday and I am a little nervous to bring it up, as it is such a political place to work... How does it work? What am I entitled to?

I have to wear a uniform at work (my own shoes and trousers, they provide tops and a tie), and have been told that I have to pay for this - they will take £3 from my weekly wage until this has been paid off - I am on £6.35 an hour... Am I able to reclaim this at all in any way, as this does push me under the national minimum wage....

Any help that can be provided would be a great help, and many thanks.

LittleVoice

nimbo wrote: »

Hi all,

I have recently got a part time job - zero hours generally to work 16 hours with extra when people are off, and as needed etc.

I couldn't afford to say no, and although it isn't my dream job I ma happy to do it to pay the bills etc. This was the only thing to come up, that will fit around university when I go back in September... Does that mean you are in the age18 to 20 age group where natioal minimum wage will be £5.03 from 1 October?

They haven't mentioned holiday and I am a little nervous to bring it up, as it is such a political place to work... How does it work? What am I entitled to? You should be entitled to the same amount of holiday, pro rata, as a full-time person. As a minimum that will be 12.07% of the hours worked.

I have to wear a uniform at work (my own shoes and trousers, they provide tops and a tie), and have been told that I have to pay for this - they will take £3 from my weekly wage until this has been paid off - I am on £6.35 an hour... Am I able to reclaim this at all in any way, as this does push me under the national minimum wage.... £6.19 is the current minimum wage for a worker aged 21+, so I guess you will be a mature student. Is that right? So, working 16 hours a week and having £3 deducted would indeed take you below NMW and would not be lawful. I must say I have no knowledge of employers charging for part of a uniform which, presumably, advertises their business and which employees would not want to wear other than when working. Others may be along soon who know more about this.

Any help that can be provided would be a great help, and many thanks.

............................

nimbo

Hi, I am a mature student - so minimum wage for me is £6.31 I think (I love the way it was advertised as being 'above national minimum wage' - hahaha so close it's not really worth mentioning!!!!!)

I think I cam claim some of the cash back through tax, but I'm not sure I'll be paying any as I'll earn so little...

LittleVoice

nimbo wrote: »

Hi, I am a mature student - so minimum wage for me is £6.31 (adult nmw is £6.19 now; £6.31 from 1 October - so you will be that bit more above nmw if you work in August and September) I think (I love the way it was advertised as being 'above national minimum wage' - hahaha so close it's not really worth mentioning!!!!!)

I think I cam claim some of the cash back through tax, but I'm not sure I'll be paying any as I'll earn so little...

They still can't pay you less than nmw, saying that you can use the tax system to make up the difference. Your tax isn't their concern (except to deduct it and pay it to HMRC whenever due).

zzzLazyDaisy

LittleVoice wrote: »

They still can't pay you less than nmw, saying that you can use the tax system to make up the difference. Your tax isn't their concern (except to deduct it and pay it to HMRC whenever due).

The problem here, re NMW, is that they only have to pay NMW gross. Any lawful deductions that take you below NMW don't count (eg tax, NI, and pension). Assuming the deduction for uniform is a lawful deduction and comes off the net pay, the NMW argument doesn't hold.

nimbo

Thank you all for the replies -

I wasn't going to rock the boat I need the job too much, but |I will ask about the holiday though - I will be wanting to take some of that!!!!!

LittleVoice

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

The problem here, re NMW, is that they only have to pay NMW gross. Any lawful deductions that take you below NMW don't count (eg tax, NI, and pension). Assuming the deduction for uniform is a lawful deduction and comes off the net pay, the NMW argument doesn't hold.

Thanks.

What makes it a "lawful deduction"? Is it simply that they have told the employee they are going to make the charge or do they have to have a piece of paper signed by the employee agreeing to the deduction?

£3/week for however long that takes to meet the cost of tops and a tie. Seems that could be never-ending - pay for one set and automatically be issued with another top. As it's a uniform, how would the value to the employee be determined - net cost to the employer, notional value set by the employer, gross cost to the employer?

I wonder if there is a set maximum amount (like deductions that can be made for live-in accommodation)?

theoretica

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

The problem here, re NMW, is that they only have to pay NMW gross. Any lawful deductions that take you below NMW don't count (eg tax, NI, and pension). Assuming the deduction for uniform is a lawful deduction and comes off the net pay, the NMW argument doesn't hold.

I hesitate to contradict you, but am having trouble reconciling this with:
https://www.gov.uk/understanding-your-pay/deductions-from-your-pay
and specifically HMRC claim that “in most cases, the National Minimum Wage is only worked out after any deductions an employer has made to cover things like uniform, tools, transport”. from here
http://www.ceridian.co.uk/connection/articles/nmw-deduction-or-payment/

ohreally

Just when you think nothing would surprise you...

Your employer is under a duty to keep records (S)9 of the minimum wage act. As his employee, you are entitled to inspect these records and they must be provided (s)10.

I'd start making requests to establish what they are paying you in terms of meeting their duty in law, and for whats its worth, I suspect they may be on a hiding to nothing by extorting these payments from you.