Unfair Agency Layoff

Jonny1275

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice if anyone can help...


My nephew was working for a company through an employment agency, over the period he was there his weekly wage was constantly wrong and he had to repeatedly contact the agency to have the discrepancies addressed. A short while later he booked a few days holiday, the following week when he checked my wage he had been paid only half of what he should have been. He first off raised this with the agency and was told he had been paid correctly, I calculated what he should have been paid and he challenged the agency over this as it was clearly incorrect and after being fobbed off by the branch and not having his calls or emails answered he contacted the groups head office. The lady he spoke to (the agencys head of payroll) agreed that his calculations were correct and he had indeed been underpaid and made arrangements for the shortfall in pay to be transferred to his account.

Two days later he received a call from the recruitment consultant who he dealt with (the lady who had failed to answer his calls or emails) asking him to call in at the office on his day off. When he attended he was told he was being laid off with immediate effect, when he asked why he was told that the company he was working for was making cutbacks. He contacted his team leader at the company he was working at and was advised by the chap that the decision to lay him off had come from above but the chap added that he wasn’t happy about it as if anyone had been laid off it should have been other temps who had been there less time and had less experience.

All in all it would appear my nephew was laid off because he challenged the agency over underpayments of wages and miscalculation of holiday pay entitlement. I appreciate he couldn’t claim unfair dismissal but surely there is some form redress for him being laid off with no notice purely because he challenged the agency after they continually paid him incorrectly.

spacey2012

The Agency work for you !
They might not think so in todays climate, but they are the agent.

phill99

He hasn't been 'laid off'. He is an agency worker and has significantly less rights than a PAYE employee. The companies that use agencies do so because it's a flexible way of having people available to work.

If the company he was contracted to have decided there is no need for him anymore, there is very little he can do.

Jonny1275

Thanks for the feedback..

phill99... I appreciate your comments but it's the reasons for the lay off that concern me. He was doing well at the job and until he tackled the issues with his wage all was going well. In thirteen weeks he was only paid correctly once, the agency continually paid him short or paid him at the wrong rate. When he booked the holidays they only paid him the equivalent of half a days wage per holiday day, which he tried to address with the branch and was fobbed off. As I said it wasn't until he escalated the matter to the agencys head office that it was addressed.

As I've said he spoke to his team leader at the company who admitted he didn't agree with the decision as it made no sense laying off an experienced worker when they were retaining people with much less experience.

It's quite clear he was laid off as he challenged the agency over there attempts to short pay him on both his normal wage and legal holiday entitlement, the question who can he complain to??? I appreciate agency worker have little or no rights but when a hard working lad is laid off because he complains that he isn't getting paid correctly someone should be held to account.

tomtontom

spacey2012 wrote: »

The Agency work for you !
They might not think so in todays climate, but they are the agent.

Wrong. The agent works for the hiring company, not the worker.

Sorry OP, unless the dismissal was for discriminatory reasons (sex, race, disability etc) he has no rights.

kazwookie

I suggest he applies direct to the company if he stil lwants to work there, cut out the agency

lakes17

In thirteen weeks he was only paid correctly once. It's quite clear he was laid off as he challenged the agency over there attempts to short pay him on both his normal wage and legal holiday entitlement.

I know this could be way of the mark, but could his lay of be due to the 12-week qualifying period, when agency workers become entitled to the same terms and conditions that he or she would have been entitled to if directly recruited by the hirer?

[Deleted User]

Agencies can be get miffed really easily, it's the nature of the beast, eek at the reminder - any chance he can apply direct to company when it dies down kind of?

If there is any consolation for every temporary worker let go, there is another one that says please release me now for permanent work elsewhere... definitely swings & roundabouts

Good luck to the lad, I'm hoping he finds something more appreciative

redcard

Jonny1275 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback..

phill99... I appreciate your comments but it's the reasons for the lay off that concern me.

You don't know the reasons he was laid off.

CCFC_80

Jonny1275 wrote: »

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice if anyone can help...


My nephew was working for a company through an employment agency, over the period he was there his weekly wage was constantly wrong and he had to repeatedly contact the agency to have the discrepancies addressed. A short while later he booked a few days holiday, the following week when he checked my wage he had been paid only half of what he should have been. He first off raised this with the agency and was told he had been paid correctly, I calculated what he should have been paid and he challenged the agency over this as it was clearly incorrect and after being fobbed off by the branch and not having his calls or emails answered he contacted the groups head office. The lady he spoke to (the agencys head of payroll) agreed that his calculations were correct and he had indeed been underpaid and made arrangements for the shortfall in pay to be transferred to his account.

Two days later he received a call from the recruitment consultant who he dealt with (the lady who had failed to answer his calls or emails) asking him to call in at the office on his day off. When he attended he was told he was being laid off with immediate effect, when he asked why he was told that the company he was working for was making cutbacks. He contacted his team leader at the company he was working at and was advised by the chap that the decision to lay him off had come from above but the chap added that he wasn’t happy about it as if anyone had been laid off it should have been other temps who had been there less time and had less experience.

All in all it would appear my nephew was laid off because he challenged the agency over underpayments of wages and miscalculation of holiday pay entitlement. I appreciate he couldn’t claim unfair dismissal but surely there is some form redress for him being laid off with no notice purely because he challenged the agency after they continually paid him incorrectly.

This is absolutely despicable. Some recruitment agencies are just pure lying evil scum. NAME and SHAME?

Tiddlywinks

spacey2012 wrote: »

The Agency work for you !
They might not think so in todays climate, but they are the agent.

Agencies (unless highly specialised) receive their revenue from the employers and not the workers on their books.

Yes, they are agents BUT their primary concern is profit. He who pays the piper...

Jonny1275 wrote: »

It's quite clear he was laid off as he challenged the agency over there attempts to short pay him on both his normal wage and legal holiday entitlement, the question who can he complain to??? I appreciate agency worker have little or no rights but when a hard working lad is laid off because he complains that he isn't getting paid correctly someone should be held to account.

Actually it is far from clear why the company does not wish to continue with his placement. You only have one side of the story.

Don't rely on what the supervisor said - he was hardly going to say that he agreed with the decision was he? Most people don't like confrontation or giving bad feedback that is human nature.

You need to encourage your nephew to accept that agency work can be unpredictable and support him in finding another placement rather than getting him wound up about something that isn't going to get him any further forward in the job market.

CCFC_80 wrote: »

[/B]
This is absolutely despicable. Some recruitment agencies are just pure lying evil scum. NAME and SHAME?

Oh come on... despicable? On what facts are you basing this opinion?

Name and shame? Yeah, I bet MSE will love that.