Employer withholding pay

dalesanders28

very stuck here with no small print to refer too so after some guidance.
as from the 20th march the company I work for had to close following the instruction from the government. I was due to get paid yesterday for hours worked from 22nd February until 20th March however they have with held all our wages saying they are trying to claim 80% and back dating from the 1st March.
although it is great moving forward we will receive 80% of our pay, are they actually aloud to back date hours already worked? and not pay us especially when we was busy up until 20th March?

Would really appreciate some help and support on this as I have tried contacting citizens advice and acas with no knowledge on this matter.

General_Grant

The 80% is for when you are not working, not when you are.
Of course they should not be allowed to do what is suggested.  If they try it on by actually paying you 80%, tell HMRC via whatever fraudline they have. 
If they are contractually required to have paid you yesterday, write to them to request payment.

dalesanders28

Thank you for your reply,
my thoughts were correct. the only issues here is the contract is based on zero hours, however these are still worked hours and have a payslip dated 22nd March. They have notified us saying they will not be paying us and all wages will be paid following further advice from HMRC will receive 80% back dated from 1st March

Keruge

A zero hours contract counts as a contract of employment when you work, but then does not if you work zero hours.  General Grant is right, Furlough only applies when you are not working due to the Goverment Directive, up to now some employers were unsure but the PM's speech last night was pretty clear.
Inform the Employer they are breaking the law and that if they do not pay you what they owe for the period up to the point you were directed to stop work.
If you want to hear a barister say it, Get the Global Radio App, Choose schedule & Catch up, select 23rd March 2020, find Nick Ferrari and choose catchup, then slide to 2h-40. Listen to all the callers various issues.

LilElvis

It's a fair bet that at some point down the line, when the crisis is over, that HMRC will be turning a very beady eye on employer's claims for this assistance - auditing and fining those who have abused it.

LilElvis

It's a fair bet that at some point down the line, when the crisis is over, that HMRC will be turning a very beady eye on employer's claims for this assistance - auditing and fining those who have abused it.

dalesanders28

this helps my case.
is there anything in writing stating this does anyone know?

dalesanders28

Employer has gone quiet and not responding to our concerns with wages owed. I think he is hoping the government will bail him out from paying us for hours already worked.
I want to show him a statement that what he is doing is wrong however I cant find anything. HELP

Jeremy535897

If you have worked hours you are entitled to pay for those hours, as posters have said. It is nothing to do with the job retention scheme. I can't imagine he hasn't seen the gov.uk website advice, but here it is:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses#support-for-businesses-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

dalesanders28

Jeremy - thanks for your reply however this does not clearly show my issue.
my employer is not paying me for hours worked thinking they can back date our wages from 1st March and only giving us 80%
I fully appreciate moving forward the retention scheme and to achieve 80% however my employer thinks he can hold my wages which was due to be paid Monday, along with my colleagues to get the government to back date it from the 1st March when up until we closed on the 20th March we was busy. does this make sense? 

pramsay13

It is unlikely you will get anything in writing stating that your employer should pay you for hours worked because that should be so obvious to everyone.
The link given shows that if you are unable to work your employer can claim 80% of your wages when you are not working and that is fairly clear.