Go home ill an hour early - lose a whole day's pay?

HurdyGurdy

This is my son's first job, and I've never experience this, but I don't know if this is a standard thing.

He has been there 5 months. On Friday, he works from 9.30am until 8pm. At 7pm he felt very unwell and asked if he could go home early. His manager agreed.

On the Saturday, he worked an hour extra, thinking it would go towards making up for him leaving early on Friday. His manager informed him that because he went home early on Friday, he wouldn't be paid for the whole day.

I just think this seems a bit harsh.

My son doesn't know I'm asking about this - I'm not "fighting his battles for him" etc, and I don't know what his contract says. He just shrugged and accepted it, albeit a bit disappointed.

I just am wondering if this is now standard practice.

Marktheshark

Tory Britain 2014 I'm afraid.

getmore4less

What rate of pay, if close to minimum wage they would be breaking the regulations if it took the average rate in the pay period below NMW.

HurdyGurdy

getmore4less - I have no clue, to be honest. I think his annual salary is £13,500? Is that near to MW?

getmore4less

work it out based on his hours and age

Owain_Moneysaver

National Minimum wage rates are here
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

£13500 is just about NMW for a 40 hour week (age 21+ rate)

There's a checker which takes into account pay frequency etc linked from the above page

JReacher1

If he's not being paid for the whole day then it sounds like he's only being paid for the hours he worked (not th whole day). Has he misunderstood?

It doesn't sound like he's not being paid for Friday, just not a full day.

It also seems strange that he suddenly becomes too ill too work after almost a full days work with only one hour to go, then the following day he is well enough to do an extra hour.

Peter333

So is the boss saying that he is not being paid for the whole day at ALL?

Or does he mean that he is not being paid for the whole day because it will be an hour short?

Does seem a bit strange (as the above poster said) to leave when he had only an hour left.

MikeMouse

It looks like they suspect the young lad and relatively new employee of wanting to meet his pals in the pub on a Friday night rather than been ill. To be clear, I am not saying he wasn't ill, just that it seems very harsh to do it without a reason. Especially as he worked an extra hour on Saturday.Would they do this to say a 50 year old woman with 20 years service. Possibly not.

What kind of business is it? Would they be exceptionally busy on Friday evening? Or quiet and he was the only person at this time so they felt he let them down?

If they think badly of him and have decided to come down hard that would be a concern. On the other hand if they think he is a good employee and react like this to an hours illness then they are not very nice people to work for. Either way its not good for your lad.

Does he have a contract of employment? There is normally a paragraph on sick pay. The company should have a sick pay policy as well that he has been briefed on. If its a small business then it may be less formal and just what ever the boss says goes.

MikeMouse

Just reread your post.

Are you saying that he worked from 09:30 - 19:00 and then went home ill from 19:00 - 20:00 and he has been told he will receive no pay for the day? That cant be right ...... ?????

HurdyGurdy

Yes, as far as I know, as he understands it, because he went home an hour early, he is not being paid for any of the hours he did on Friday. We have all (me, his dad, his sister and brother) said that surely that can't be right, but he is adamant that he's not getting paid for any hours on Friday. He's not going to make any fuss about it, because of only working there 5 months, and not wanting to make any waves etc, but it does seem very unfair.

I don't know what was wrong with him. He is NEVER ill. I genuinely cannot remember the last time he was poorly. Since lower school, I can't remember him being off school unwell. But he called me on Friday and asked me to pick him up, and oh my goodness, he looked and sounded dog-rough. He said that for the past two hours he felt like his body was just shutting down. Everything ached, no energy, etc. I had just got over the flu-type virus that is going around at the moment, so I thought he had picked that up.

He went straight to bed when he got in. Took some flu medicine and a hot toddy, and woke up feeling much better on the Saturday. Not 100% by any means, but well enough to go to work. He finishes at 5.30pm on Saturdays, but stayed until 6.30pm. He went straight to bed when he got home again (and missed the works Christmas party that he'd been looking forward to), and hasn't been up and about much today at all.

I understand what you're saying, MikeMouse, about his employers possibly thinking he was wanting to meet his mates in the pub. But actually, the majority of his mates work there too. It is quite bizarre how it has all worked out. Since he started there (having been told about the job opening by one of his mates), there have been 5 of his friends, or ex-college friends, started there too. Going to work is like a social gathering for them!

I don't think Fridays are any busier (or quieter) than any other day for them. He works in a laboratory preparing samples for testing and the influx of work seems pretty steady from what he's said so far.