Redundancy pay dispute

rob8781

Hi.
I was made redundant on 3rd August and given one months paid notice in writing and told I don't have to work it.
On 23 August I got my final wage slip and I've only been paid one weeks notice.
I've contacted the company and they said the letter giving one month was an error and I'm only entitled to one week according to my contract.
Do they have to honour the month they agreed to in writing?
Thanks.

getmore4less

How long had you worked there?

What does your contract say?

What does the written termination notice say?

rob8781

My start date was 2nd Jan 18.
I'm still in my probation period so my contract says only one weeks notice is required by either party.
The termination letter says I will be paid one months notice from 3rd August.

sangie595

To be honest, it could go either way in court. They should honor it BUT it could have been a mistake and so a court would have to decide which was the case. Do you want to go there? Can you afford to go there?

Undervalued

I agree with Sangie.

One further point. Have you taken all of your accrued holiday? If not they are obliged to pay you for that too.

However if you have taken more than you had accrued then they could reclaim any excess. So check this carefully before deciding whether to pursue this.

You worked there seven months so assuming you got the statutory minimum of 28 days holiday per year (if full time) then I make that 16.3 days. How much have you taken?

Masomnia

Personally I'd push it a bit, threaten with ACAS/small claims on the basis that they might decide it's not worth the cost/hassle to fight when it could go either way. But that's just me.

Probably was a mistake, but at the end of the day it was their f*ck up, not yours, might teach them to be a bit more careful in future, and if you're being made redundant you probably need all the money you can get.

lincroft1710

Masomnia wrote: »

Personally I'd push it a bit, threaten with ACAS/small claims on the basis that they might decide it's not worth the cost/hassle to fight when it could go either way. But that's just me.

There is a downside in that the employer may give a very negative reference in the future. They could claim OP was "confrontational and argumentative" which would be true if OP tried to pursue the matter.

Masomnia

lincroft1710 wrote: »

There is a downside in that the employer may give a very negative reference in the future. They could claim OP was "confrontational and argumentative" which would be true if OP tried to pursue the matter.

Depends on how they pursue the matter.

rob8781

Thanks for the advice. I will be in touch with ACAS next week to see what they recommend.
My main issue is that because I was given a full months notice I told my new employer I cant start work until the notice period is over so now I'm going to loose out on pay, if I'd have know it was only a week I would have started sooner.

Masomnia

If they're paying you the notice as pay in lieu of notice and you don't have to work it you can start right away!!

Or does it say it is garden leave?

Masomnia

If you've got a new job to go to that you can start right away it might be better just to leave it re the month and part on better terms. Up to you though.