Advice needed- employer is not paying me

miss.j_2

Thank you everyone for all your help...So, as it stands now:

My employer said he won't be able to get the payslips for 2 weeks.
Following this, I wrote to the employer asking them to put down in writing everything i've been paid, how tax deductions were worked out, and to declare that they have paid my tax to HMRC on my behalf if there was to be such a delay, and that this needed to be done by the end of the day last week....

They said they needed to speak to the accountant so they couldn't give me anything in writing until monday... They are trying to be very clever and not put anything in writing, as everytime I email them they verbally reply, no doubt there will be some new excuse tomorrow as to why they cant write it, although the clear reason is that no tax has been paid.

Basically, I fear they have not paid the total of £600 which has been deducted from my previous wages to HMRC despite claiming they have when I asked them outright... but also I have no written proof of my earnings as they will not give me any payslips or put anything in writing..... I want to call HMRC myself and tell them what has been going on and check if my tax has been paid.... but I am scared that I will then have to pay the tax again as I have no proof I have already paid it... and ive seen on a number of forums say that it is down to the employee to ensure their employer pays their tax, which makes no sense, how am I supposed to make them do it?

I want to hand my notice as soon as possible, as a friend has offered me a temporary position elsewhere if I need it..... but I am scared to do so until I at least have SOMETHING in writing to say I have been paid X amount, and the employer took X amount for tax and paid it on my behalf.

My wages, are again over a week late now, despite being told all last week i would have at least half by the end of last week.... still nothing has surfaced and the employers are just avoiding me and my emails.
I know this situation will never end until I leave... but I can see a long battle to try and retain the wages i leave behind.

Please will someone advise on whether it is clever to leave before receiving anything in writing? I know that is leaving myself wide open and vulnerable if I try and take it to an employment tribunal to get my wages as I have no proof of anything and these people are extremely good liars. But if the employer has not paid my tax, am I liable to pay it? Even though I have no proof of earnings or tax deductions?

Generali

If they respond verbally to your emails then I would email them back saying

Dear xxxx,

Thank you calling in response to the below email [NB keep the email chain intact]. I would like to confirm that you agreed to the following actions:

> You will provide pay slips showing amounts deducted and reasons for deductions
> You will confirm that these deducted amounts have been correctly paid to HMRC
> You will pay my outstanding salary by dd/mm/yyyy
> List anything else that has been agreed

Feel free to come back to me via email if you feel that I have misunderstood or misrepresented you.

Kind regards,

miss.j

I don't know if it's the case but you come across as quite stressed in your posts. If this [xxxx]head goes around acting like this you can be sure that HMRC know about him/her as they will have received prior complaints.

If I were you I'd report this chancer to HMRC and start looking seriously for a job. If you sit in an interview and are asked why you want to leave your current job then explaining (calmly and without making a song and dance about it) that your boss is paying you cash in hand and you don't want to work off the books like that then it's a completely reasonable thing to say. It also weeds out a potential future employer who might want to pay you cash in hand

You might want to consider taking legal advice. ACAS can likely help as can your union if you are a member (it's not too late to join). The CAB can probably help and the legal board here is very good with at least 2 practicing solicitors posting there:

http://boards.fool.co.uk/legal-issues-practical-51110.aspx

Try to calm down a little though, this really isn't the end of the world. At the moment, AFAICS, your boss owes you far more than your maximum potential liability to HMRC.

miss.j_2

Thank you, that is a good idea for the follow up email, I will do that tomorrow! My next step this week is to talk to ACAS and get some help. I may come across as quite stressed probably as a recent graduate I have absolutely no idea how to handle this correctly and the thought of getting caught up in a legal battle is pretty scary to me! But hopefully it will all end up OK and these people will get what is coming to them!

Yes, I have heard that there are a number of people who have had issues with the company before. One I believe is about to take them to an employment tribunal after the company refused to pay her outstanding wages which ACAS gave them a deadline to meet.

After reading a few posts online and coming across the term 'Phoenixism' it would make sense if this is true of my employer! As I was recently told they had to change the company they were trading under and 'revert' back to their old company... could this be another sign that they are trying to defraud me/HMRC of tax which I have paid?

MikeMouse

Leave and take the temporary position but do so by formally resigning and working your notice.

In your 12 month contract of employment it hopefully states that you are still on probation and as such your notice period is something like 1 week. Even if its a month work it. If its a week then just get through it and get out of there as fast as possible.

A walk out weakens your position. If it doesn't say assume its a month as you get paid monthly. That said if it doesn't say how you can terminate the agreement through resignation then that in itself is a concern!

If the agreement says the frequency and date you should be paid and they haven't honoured that then they are in breach of contract - this is what gives you something to pursue legally. As long as you have this document you will be fine pursuing them after you leave - unless they go bust.

In your resignation letter say that you feel you have no alternative to leave as you are not been paid as per your agreement/contract and summarise the points you made in your post as related to the contract. No payslips, late payment, incorrect payment amounts, no proof of tax and NI etc etc. Keep a copy of this letter.

Your employer is legally obliged to provide payslips that show earnings before and after deductions are made. The odds of your gross pay £1700 resulting in a take home of exactly £1400 after tax and Ni etc are virtually zero. Your either not on the books yet because they are disorganised and have not done the paperwork or your not on the books at all which should concern you for too many reasons too start typing here.

The holidays are a non issue. Your 12 month contract of employment should tell you how many days leave you get annually. As your new you haven't accrued holiday yet so insisting on a form to book it isn't relevant yet. In any case there is no rule that says there has to be a booking procedure in the manner you describe.

Chase the money after you are gone. You may need to chalk this down to experience but the general rule for a company like this is that those that pressurise them the most get paid and those that don't ........ don't!

As its your first job it may be uncomfortable for you but they got two months free before they started messing you about so don't feel bad about standing your ground here.

Unless there is additional information not in your post you are 100% in the right here ......

Good Luck

Generali

miss.j wrote: »

Thank you, that is a good idea for the follow up email, I will do that tomorrow! My next step this week is to talk to ACAS and get some help. I may come across as quite stressed probably as a recent graduate I have absolutely no idea how to handle this correctly and the thought of getting caught up in a legal battle is pretty scary to me! But hopefully it will all end up OK and these people will get what is coming to them!

Yes, I have heard that there are a number of people who have had issues with the company before. One I believe is about to take them to an employment tribunal after the company refused to pay her outstanding wages which ACAS gave them a deadline to meet.

After reading a few posts online and coming across the term 'Phoenixism' it would make sense if this is true of my employer! As I was recently told they had to change the company they were trading under and 'revert' back to their old company... could this be another sign that they are trying to defraud me/HMRC of tax which I have paid?

My advice then is to:

1. Get that email to your boss tomorrow and print a copy for your records. Keep those records at home.
2. Bring all the pressure you possibly can to bear on them to pay you up-to-date. Be a pain in the butt as it's the squeaky hinge that gets oiled first. Don't lose your temper with anyone just keep pushing people to keep to their promises.
If they say they'll call on Monday, call them late on Monday afternoon 'just wanting an update as you said you'd call today and it's getting late'. Hold people to their word. You have every right to expect to be paid.
3. Get a new job

You've got 5(?) months experience in this job now which is a good start. Do you have an employment contract? You should get advice on whether you are best served by grassing them up to HMRC or not.

MsBlonde

I had a job exactly like this, infact with all the excuses it sounds like it's the same people. I left and still never got paid... they still owe me 3 weeks 4 years on.

TBagpuss

You can check what tax and NI should be paid here - http://www.uktaxcalculators.co.uk/ I agree however that they look to be guessing. I endorse the advice to confirm in writing what they have told you verbally - print and keep copies of all of the e-mails and forward them to your personal account as well.

Draw up your own summary of what you have been paid, when, and what you believe you are owed. Hand in your notice as soon as you have an alternative job in place.

As others have said, they are either incompetent or deliberately trying to avoid paying you properly, and either way, they are not people you want to work for any longer than you absolutely have to. However, short term, employment is better than not being employed, both in terms of getting another job, and in terms of covering you back if you get to a point where you have to claim benefits. Don't do anything to give them an excuse to claim you have broken your contract. Make sure you have a copy of that at home, too.

Lungboy

miss.j wrote: »

I will do that tomorrow!

Why wait? I'd do it today. I'd also be on the phone to HMRC to check that everything was above board today.

miss.j_2

Lungboy wrote: »

Why wait? I'd do it today. I'd also be on the phone to HMRC to check that everything was above board today.

Because I wrote that post at about 4 in the morning when I couldn't sleep!

I followed advice today though and wrote a formal email with everything in writing of what I am owed in terms of money and payslips, and also confirmed what I've been told verbally. Shock horror, I've had no reply today as of yet.

I also spoke to ACAS today who gave the same advice of putting everything in writing and giving them a reasonable amount of time to respond before re-visiting them to open early reconciliation talks.

As far as tax goes, I was told to speak to HMRC direct about this, however being stuck in the office today I will not get a chance to do so until tomorrow as it closes at 6.

Generali

Good luck OP. Let us know how it goes.