Employer Withholding Wages

dropdude

Hi everyone, just left a national company, which I worked for as a field rep, when I left I returned the company vehicle to the hire company it was hired from, and any tools I had that belonged to the company I gave to another representative to pass on to my regional manager,, there is no question all tools have been returned, my contract and terms state I only have to return these to the company, no office or geographical location is mentioned, just the need to return them to the company.
The company is now refusing to release my final pay, final wage slip and P45 until these tools are back at head office and checked for damage, that damage has to be caused through negligence or vandalism, again none of this is stated in my contract or terms, just that I have to return them, they have been returned in working order with no damage as stated above.
Can the company continue legally to hold my wages until the tools are at head office, as stated they are in the possession of the company and have been for over a week now.
I have met all the responsibilities laid out in my contract and terms regarding the return of my personal company equipment

xylophone

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Documents/Advice%20factsheets/Employment/e-employer-withholds-your-pay.pdf

Page 3 may be worth a look.

parkrunner

Technically I'd say they aren't in possession of the tools, an individual who happens to be employed by the company has possession, it's a difficult one. What did they say when you told them who you gave the tools to and what does he/she say?

Marktheshark

parkrunner wrote: »

Technically I'd say they aren't in possession of the tools, an individual who happens to be employed by the company has possession, it's a difficult one. What did they say when you told them who you gave the tools to and what does he/she say?

They are one, the clue is in the name.
Company.

Issue a 14 day letter before action making it clear court case will be filed on day 14.

sangie595

Giving them to someone else who works there is not the same thing as returning them to the company - that person may not have returned them, may have damaged them, or whatever, and they would have remained your responsibility. And on a practical level, it will take you longer to extract the money from them than it does to get them to be checked at head office. You cannot force them to pay up on the spot, immediately. It would take some weeks to take legal action, by which time you would have been paid. So if you want to use your time on sending letters, then I see no reason why you shouldn't, but it won't get you your money any faster, and it may actually get it slower - I've seen employers deliberately drag out payments when someone annoys them enough!

For future reference, it is never a good idea to return any company equipment in this way. You should return it to your manager or another manager and get a signed receipt that it has been returned and the state in which it has been returned. Otherwise the employer can claim just about anything has been damaged and you can't prove otherwise.