Advice on Wages/Furlough for variable hours employee

lindos90

I have a variable hour/zero hour type contract and was initially furloughed (to my relief) as the majority (but not all) of my work is late spring/early summer, which was during the first lockdown, but I'm usually offered at least a few hours work most months throughout the year. I always get paid in arrears at the end of the month after I work it. Annually I do not get paid enough to pay NI or Tax, I'm not in a union.

In September I was asked back to do some hours, and was paid for that by my employer, along with (I think) some furlough payment as a top up at the end of October.

Ive now had access to my wage slips since the start of lockdown, so I was hoping to fathom out the furlough payments I had been getting. However none of them give any breakdown of how the payments have been calculated. They are all different amounts, and just state 'miscellaneous payment'. It doesn't even say how many hours work the payment includes. 

Although I worked several hours in October, I have just found out that I have not been paid for those hours at the end of November.
I've queried this with my line manager, as I thought maybe they had forgotten to pay me but this is their reply:

"The current month furlough payment you received in October was greater than the value of hours worked in October therefore no payment is due"

But the payment I received in October to which they refer, was for Septembers hours worked (money from my employer), plus I assume, some furlough payment (from the gov as a top up).
I can't see how they can 'withold' payment for the hours that I worked in October. It's not a case of a previous overpayment?

My dilemma is that maybe I should just be grateful that they agreed to furlough me through the point where I would have missed the majority of my wages.
But now I'm worried that I will continue to be working, and will somehow continue to not get paid. 

Furlough is just so complicated, especially with working variable hours. Is it right that they have withed wages for hours I have actually worked? Hope someone can help.


 


 

General_Grant

I think you will have to ask for detailed calculations for what you have been paid as the payslips are not giving you sufficient information.

(An aside but I really think they should have provided you with payslips during your furlough time.  If they were available somewhere, I assume on a workplace intranet, which you could not access then they didn't meet their obligation to provide payslips at or before the time of payment.  But businesses were facing some logistical problems during lockdown.) 

lindos90

General_Grant said:

I think you will have to ask for detailed calculations for what you have been paid as the payslips are not giving you sufficient information.

(An aside but I really think they should have provided you with payslips during your furlough time.  If they were available somewhere, I assume on a workplace intranet, which you could not access then they didn't meet their obligation to provide payslips at or before the time of payment.  But businesses were facing some logistical problems during lockdown.) 

Thank you, yes wage slips were on the intranet and inaccessible from home. I think if they are able to give a breakdown maybe we would understand whats gone on a bit more. Totally understand that sending our slips manually was probably the last thing on their minds, it must have (and still be) a nightmare to work in HR and payrol right now.  

I've been pondering it today, and I 'think' part of the problem is that the furlough element of the pay would be for the actual month it was paid in, and the hours element would be for the hours worked in the preceding month, so it would have clashed every month. 

All the employees doing the same job as myself are in the same situation, so hopefully we are going to try and approach it together. 
I certainly don't want anything I'm not entitled to, but it's certainly come as a bit of a shock to not receive any wages this month, when I've worked hours this month and last month and September. I thought maybe it had been an oversight at the end of the furlough scheme, and we would eventually get it back, but they are saying theres no mistake!

Savvy_Sue

lindos90 said:

All the employees doing the same job as myself are in the same situation, so hopefully we are going to try and approach it together. 
I certainly don't want anything I'm not entitled to, but it's certainly come as a bit of a shock to not receive any wages this month, when I've worked hours this month and last month and September. I thought maybe it had been an oversight at the end of the furlough scheme, and we would eventually get it back, but they are saying theres no mistake!

That's definitely worth doing, and I'd also encourage each of you to join a union if not already in one. 

I'd have thought that if you know your hourly rate, it shouldn't be too difficult to demonstrate that what you have been paid does not cover both hours worked and furlough. 

lindos90

Savvy_Sue said:

That's definitely worth doing, and I'd also encourage each of you to join a union if not already in one. 

I'd have thought that if you know your hourly rate, it shouldn't be too difficult to demonstrate that what you have been paid does not cover both hours worked and furlough. 

I do know my hourly rate, but as some months can include a 'holiday pay' supplement per hours worked, it would be like playing battleships to try and reverse calculate the payments. Chatting to another worker, they have been told that some of the payments were miscalculated and adjusted with extra payments on other months (none of which are referred to on my payslips, from April all they say is 'miscellaneous payment'.
I'll look into joining a union, but have been told that I can get ACAS involved even without union membership if they don't provide information or review the fact that we think they have miscalculated.

Savvy_Sue

ACAS involvement isn't nearly as useful as a union. They are a call centre: they'll answer questions, they'll point you to guidance, they won't AFAIK speak to the employer, even to tell them what they've told you. 

lindos90

Savvy_Sue said:

ACAS involvement isn't nearly as useful as a union. They are a call centre: they'll answer questions, they'll point you to guidance, they won't AFAIK speak to the employer, even to tell them what they've told you. 

Oh gosh really? I'll have a chat to my colleagues then, we work such variable (and often very few) hours to start with, hopefully a union subscription would be pro-rata. My husbands monthly teaching union subs are more than I sometimes earn in a month!

Savvy_Sue

lindos90 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

ACAS involvement isn't nearly as useful as a union. They are a call centre: they'll answer questions, they'll point you to guidance, they won't AFAIK speak to the employer, even to tell them what they've told you. 

Oh gosh really? I'll have a chat to my colleagues then, we work such variable (and often very few) hours to start with, hopefully a union subscription would be pro-rata. My husbands monthly teaching union subs are more than I sometimes earn in a month!

I think the union would take your earnings over the year into account rather than adjusting them on a pro rata basis each month. Incidentally, I've always paid my fees direct rather than through my employer, and phoned to change my earnings when necessary. 

lindos90

Savvy_Sue said:

I think the union would take your earnings over the year into account rather than adjusting them on a pro rata basis each month. Incidentally, I've always paid my fees direct rather than through my employer, and phoned to change my earnings when necessary. 

Oh yes of course, I meant pro-rata for the year, not expecting it to change per month. I was just comparing my OHs DD for his union membership, and the fact some months I don't make much, some I dont even work at all  

I have now requested they provide me with a breakdown of the monthly wages, to see if I can make sense of it, and  If I do get anywhere with sorting the wages out I'll post back here, which will hopefully help others who might be coming of FlexiFurlough later, on a variable hours contract.

Savvy_Sue

Your union fees are likely to be substantially less than your DH's. AFAIK they are always based on someone's earnings, with several tiers. (Which reminds me, DH should probably phone and get his put down to Retired status. He probably doesn't 'need' membership any more, but it's a small enough cost, he was only part-time when he joined.)