Cash In Hand Employee Termination

Chazpez

Hi, apologies if this is in completely the wrong area, I am struggling to find some clear info on the internet and hope you guys can help.

So my mother works a couple of shifts a week at her local pub. It is paid cash in hand.
Last week some money went missing from the business over two shifts on a Friday and a Sunday. My mother was working a shift on the Friday, and there is footage of her changing a £20 note from her wages for two £5 and a £10. When she is finished doing this she stands up and looks around to see if there is anybody waiting - the bar itself is in the center of the building and you can walk around in a complete square.

The owners of the bar have decided this is enough evidence to sack her on the spot "pending investigations" She has been told not to come back into the pub until this is done.

She didn't do this. She's worked in pubs for over 20 years, and is well known in our town.

The owners are calling the police, but she doesn't know when. She's worried that somehow she might get charged for this, despite never actually being in the pub on the day of the second theft. If that happens she'll lose her other job (shes a concession manager in a department store) and so, because she's a cash in hand worker, she's not sure what her rights are.

Thanks everyone!

Browntoa

cash in hand I suspect none unless she has a contract in place


why did she not ask either the manager or another staff member to change the note , I agree with the owners that it does look suspicious

Chazpez

They weren't there. The staff are generally alone behind the bar. She doesn't even know how much is supposed to have gone missing in total, and she hasn't seen the footage either.
If they do decide to officially sack her, can she insist on seeing the 'evidence' they have against her? Or, because cash in hand, they technically don't need a reason to fire her?

Undervalued

Browntoa wrote: »

cash in hand I suspect none unless she has a contract in place


why did she not ask either the manager or another staff member to change the note , I agree with the owners that it does look suspicious

No she has exactly the same rights as any other employee providing, if it got that far, she could convince a tribunal she actually worked there.

Also she may have some additional leverage as most likely the employer has not been accounting for tax and national insurance. If she were to report this to HMRC it would be the employer they would pursue.

TELLIT01

Without knowing more about the situation it difficult to give any advice. I suspect though that she could be sacked for gross misconduct, even if it's accepted that she didn't steal the missing money. Most employers would take an extremely dim view of any staff member putting money from the till into their pocket or purse.

Alderbank

Chaz, you have posted this on the Redundancy board.

Why do you think your mother has been made redundant?

CKhalvashi

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Without knowing more about the situation it difficult to give any advice. I suspect though that she could be sacked for gross misconduct, even if it's accepted that she didn't steal the missing money. Most employers would take an extremely dim view of any staff member putting money from the till into their pocket or purse.

Completely agree with this.

Tax implications aside, it would have been much better to ask to swap money than just do it on your own.

When I was a lot younger, I did a few shifts a week (which was paid PAYE although not enough to pay tax. It was declared to HMRC though) in a business with a lot of cash floating around, and was paid in cash. I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing, and either asked the guy on days to back me up in writing, or the director if he was in first, to swap money. It was £50 for a 10 hour shift for over 24's (and within NMW, even though I was under 24), just to give you an idea of how long ago this was.

A lack of manners may have cost your mother her job, and IMO they're completely correct to be suspicious.

Altarf

Chazpez wrote: »

She has been told not to come back into the pub until this is done.

She didn't do this.

Well that was a bit silly wasn't it.

Chazpez wrote: »

she's not sure what her rights are.

In normal circumstances it would be to wait for her employer to complete their investigations and see if she still has a job.

Chazpez wrote: »

So my mother works a couple of shifts a week at her local pub. It is paid cash in hand.

But since the business (and your mother) has already demonstrated themselves to be dishonest by evading the tax due on the employment, I wouldn't hold your breath.

p00hsticks

Altarf wrote: »

But since the business (and your mother) has already demonstrated themselves to be dishonest by evading the tax due on the employment, I wouldn't hold your breath.

The fact that the mother is paid cash does not necessarily mean that tax is being evaded

Altarf

p00hsticks wrote: »

The fact that the mother is paid cash does not necessarily mean that tax is being evaded

The OP didn't say their mother was being paid in cash, they said their mother was paid "cash in hand". That phrase is commonly taken to mean that the payment is not official.

Since the mother has another job, it is hard to see how the "cash in hand" payment is not evading Income Tax and NI.

Samsung_Note2

Altarf wrote: »

The OP didn't say their mother was being paid in cash, they said their mother was paid "cash in hand". That phrase is commonly taken to mean that the payment is not official.

Since the mother has another job, it is hard to see how the "cash in hand" payment is not evading Income Tax and NI.

Paid cash and then pays her own tax and stamp...for all we know she might get a payslip.