Leaving work and possible financial charges...

Jimmy_Boy

Hi,

I would like to get some advice on where I stand legally regarding a recent communication via HR regarding charges upon leaving the company. I intend to leave the company by the end of the year and want to minimise the amount the company tries to charge me upon leaving.

I am a field engineer and provided with various items, such as stock, tools and a hire van.

We are told we are fully accountable (financially) for our stock, but have no say in how much we carry. We are 'Auto Replenished' with stock every 2 weeks, with stock quantities that are far too high, meaning we are carrying far too much stock on a day to day basis worth £1000's of pounds. Despite being told on many occasions we will have the vans kitted out with shelving to carry our stock this has not been done, meaning the cardboard boxes the stock is in gets 'damaged' (scuffed, scraped, dented etc...)
I have stock in the van that is over 4 years old and am told I cannot return it as this is stock I should be carrying, the boxes are a total mess (previous van had a leaky roof so the boxes got wet and soggy)

We have also recently switched to a new system and there have been issues with tracking stock, im getting messages from work now asking me about stock missing from jobs in May! There is no way for me to see what stock the system says I have so I can do an audit on myself for peace of mind. We are no longer being audited by our supervisors, and despite me asking to be audited, he will not do so due to 'system issues'.

HR have now issued correspondence regarding the leaver process and how missing items will be charged for etc, one line that caught my eye is the following ...
"In the event the leaver refuses to sign the audits which is completed in their presence by the Senior Operating Officer, the leaver agrees that all detail outlined on the audit is fully correct, with no challenge on the accuracy"
So... how am I meant to challenge this? If I disagree with the audit and dont sign, they are saying that by default I accept it?!

Further in the document it states...
"By reading and accepting this document, you are declaring that you have fully read & understood the above and accept the charges in full."
So... if I dont 'accept' it, where do I stand ?

Also, I have to travel to the office which is a 5 hour drive each way (unpaid), if I refused to do so, they they will charge me £13.94 per hour for supervisor to travel to my home, to do an audit, to travel to the office and for supervisor to travel back home, also having to pay for his mileage of 16p per mile. 

The company sucks, no relationship or loyalty and im paranoid that im potentially 'missing' thousands of pounds worth of stock due to system issues.
Is there a considered 'reasonable' amount a company can 're-charge' their staff ? (Im paid just above minimum wage). The company have already taken about £3,000 off me over the years for discrepancies I cannot prove, and damage to the van etc... (some my fault, some not).

Highland76

What exactly is "stock"? Can't you simply return the "stock" back to your employer upon leaving? Surely if they've payed for it, then any surplus is their property?

Jimmy_Boy

Stock is routers, tv boxes etc... and consumables such as telephone sockets, cable, etc... etc.. It wouldnt be feasible to return the stock as such because there is a van load of it.
The issue comes when an item has been consumed on a job, but the system has not accounted for this meaning the item is 'missing' and in turn chargeable to me. There is no way for me to see what the system says I have, so I am completely blind as to if any stock is 'missing'.

sharpe106

I think you need to seek professional help, as none of it seems very enforceable to me. Even CAB and ACAS probably can't help you to much with this. Except basically tell you that they should not. 

Your first quote from HR can't be enforceable at all. It basically says you agree even if you don't agree so how can that be enforceable.

The 2nd quote if they want you to go to the office for a stock take they need to pay you, or if they want to send somebody out you don't pay them as it is up to them.

oh_really

If the situation is so bad why haven't the guys became unionised long ago?

Jimmy_Boy

oh_really said:

If the situation is so bad why haven't the guys became unionised long ago?

im not sure what the process is ?

lincroft1710

Jimmy_Boy said:

oh_really said:

If the situation is so bad why haven't the guys became unionised long ago?

im not sure what the process is ?

This website should give you some useful info

https://www.tuc.org.uk/joinunion

Manxman_in_exile

Jimmy_Boy said:

Stock is routers, tv boxes etc... and consumables such as telephone sockets, cable, etc... etc..[1] It wouldnt be feasible to return the stock as such because there is a van load of it.
[2] The issue comes when an item has been consumed on a job, but the system has not accounted for this meaning the item is 'missing' and in turn chargeable to me. There is no way for me to see what the system says I have, so I am completely blind as to if any stock is 'missing'.

[1]  So there's a van full of it.  Why does that mean it can't be returned to the employer?  Surely you have to return it to them because it belongs to them.  If you can't be bothered to return it, why shouldn't they charge you for it?  I don't understand.

[2]  How can you use an item on a job and it not be accounted for?  How does your employer know to replenish your "stock" if there's no record any of it has been used?  Again, I don't understand.

If you don't know yourself whether an item of stock has been used on a job or not because you've got no record of it, how do you intend to challenge any audit anyway?  If they have a record they've supplied you with stock, but it's not there at the audit and there's no record of you using it on a job, they'll want reimbursing for it.

Tell them in writing that they cannot infer your consent to the result of any audit without your agreement and signature.

Jimmy_Boy

Manxman_in_exile said:

Jimmy_Boy said:

Stock is routers, tv boxes etc... and consumables such as telephone sockets, cable, etc... etc..[1] It wouldnt be feasible to return the stock as such because there is a van load of it.
[2] The issue comes when an item has been consumed on a job, but the system has not accounted for this meaning the item is 'missing' and in turn chargeable to me. There is no way for me to see what the system says I have, so I am completely blind as to if any stock is 'missing'.

[1]  So there's a van full of it.  Why does that mean it can't be returned to the employer?  Surely you have to return it to them because it belongs to them.  If you can't be bothered to return it, why shouldn't they charge you for it?  I don't understand.

[2]  How can you use an item on a job and it not be accounted for?  How does your employer know to replenish your "stock" if there's no record any of it has been used?  Again, I don't understand.

If you don't know yourself whether an item of stock has been used on a job or not because you've got no record of it, how do you intend to challenge any audit anyway?  If they have a record they've supplied you with stock, but it's not there at the audit and there's no record of you using it on a job, they'll want reimbursing for it.

Tell them in writing that they cannot infer your consent to the result of any audit without your agreement and signature.

So there's a van full of it.  Why does that mean it can't be returned to the employer?  Surely you have to return it to them because it belongs to them.  If you can't be bothered to return it, why shouldn't they charge you for it?  I don't understand.
I was trying to clarify to the previous poster that its not just a case of sending a few items through the post back to the office... the van and all items would need to be returned.

How can you use an item on a job and it not be accounted for?  How does your employer know to replenish your "stock" if there's no record any of it has been used?  Again, I don't understand.

Sometimes you add stock to the job and the system will say 'This product cannot be consumed', which then needs to be followed with an email for someone in the office to do it, but this doesnt always get done meaning an item has been installed on site but not accounted for on the system.

The 'Auto-Replenishment' has been put on hold since moving to the new system due to them not having accurate info about our 'on-hand' stock. 

I have always kept my own record of what I have installed (which has saved me from the company charging me a few times). I do this by emailing myself the details of the job and stock installed. However, a recent email change means I lost a bunch of these emails and have no record (bad timing - new system and email change).

Hope the clears a few things up.