withheld wages and selling employers equipment

minimaldescision

Hi
i handed my notice in end of mid febuary giving 4 weeks notice, supposed to finish on 15th march, febuarys payment was not recieved so i held back some spares and told them i would be sending them back when i recieve my money , this was ignored , today i recieved an email that i will get my wages when the kit is sent back and that it is not their kit, have basically now told them if my money is not recieved by friday this week then i will be selling the kit to reinburse me for my wages they have illegally withheld.
from this wage they are also wanting to deduct £50 to valet vehicle and £120 returnable in 3 months in case they recieve any parking fines, these requirements were never shown to me nor did i sign to agree to them.
we have never been issued with a handbook and if you ask something you get something wrote and dated the same day with an excuse that it's being re written , same excuse multiple times over 5 years at least.
I feel like i am in the right to sell their property as past experience from old employees is that most of wages have never been recieved on leaving.

ohreally

The spares aren't yours to sell, in addition your ex-employer has informed you that the spares don't belong to them - tread carefully before doing anything rash.

CakeCrusader

I don't think you can do this, I'm sorry. You're better off returning the property and taking them to an employment tribunal (illegal deductions) or the small claims court (breach of contract). I'm sorry that you're going through this, you must be really hacked off

minimaldescision

i cant afford to take any other action against them as i have no money

sangie595

Just to reiterate the above points - it doesn't matter who the items belong to. They do not belong to you, and what you are proposing is theft. You could end up in court, and it won't be for claiming your wages. Theft will get you a criminal record.

minimaldescision

jail would be a good alternative at this point at least i wouldnt have bills mounting or be able to eat regular , i thank you all for sticking up for the employer who has mishandled everything

CakeCrusader

Try your household insurance policy, some of these have legal assistance. It costs to go to a tribunal but some solicitors work on a no win no fee basis and the tribunals can wave their fees if you're on a low income. The small claims court is £35 or something (I'm fairly sure you can claim this back if you win). ACAS is free, as is the CAB, so it's worth getting advice from there.

Please don't sell their property. You're at risk of being charged for theft, which is the last thing you need.

McKneff

minimaldescision wrote: »

jail would be a good alternative at this point at least i wouldnt have bills mounting or be able to eat regular , i thank you all for sticking up for the employer who has mishandled everything

Dont be such a drama queen. These kind people are trying to stop you getting a criminal record.

CakeCrusader

minimaldescision wrote: »

jail would be a good alternative at this point at least i wouldnt have bills mounting or be able to eat regular , i thank you all for sticking up for the employer who has mishandled everything

No one's sticking up for them. We're just trying to stop things from getting any worse for you. If you're struggling to eat then you need to get a referral to a food bank. Your life won't always be like this, it's just a crap bit. It'll get better.

Mersey_2

minimaldescision wrote: »

i cant afford to take any other action against them as i have no money

A Letter of Claim costs the price of a stamp (and this gets some employers to pay owed wages).


Issuing a Claim Form in the County Court costs from £35.


But best to return the goods otherwise the employer could file a Counter Claim with any Defence rather than just paying the amount sought.

bluenoseam

minimaldescision wrote: »

jail would be a good alternative at this point at least i wouldnt have bills mounting or be able to eat regular , i thank you all for sticking up for the employer who has mishandled everything

They're not sticking up for the employer, they're watching your back - there's a difference, sticking up for the employer would be looking for justification for their actions. Instead they're rather sensibly telling you that what you propose is dumb & likely to land you in trouble legally.

However I'm going to say this, there are ways & means of going about doing business & neither your employer nor yourself are covering yourselves in glory. What they're proposing (with regards to keeping a deposit in case of fines) is reasonable & if you don't like their valeting price, offer to do it yourself. After all, it wouldn't be the first time a disgruntled employee went rogue, ran up tickets like they were going out of fashion & disappeared without a trace.