Work and pay

ConfusedSC

Hey all, 

this may be a bit long winded but I’ll try and keep it brief. Also, please note I’m paid in arrears so if it doesn’t make sense, I apologise. I’m just so angry. 

I work in education as a catering assistant. In May the company I worked for lost the contract and it went up for tender, with the new company taking over in June but not officially until September. When they tupee’d us over we were on skeleton staff (4) so they promised us new staff and said they would pay us overtime as we would need to come in for a training day (31st Aug, they still haven’t paid us) the day before they officially took the company over (1st Sept).

 From the 4th Sept - 21st Oct I was asked to work overtime - starting 2 hours before my start time. We also had to work through our (unpaid) lunch break and well after the time we were supposed to finish as they wanted us to do so much, so they employed agency staff. They verbally told us ALL overtime was agreed and would be paid. 

For Septembers wage (paid in October)  I was only paid 15 hours (total) overtime on top of my normal wage although I was doing around 15 hours OT a WEEK!  

On the 21st Oct my contracted hours changed to 30 hours instead of 25 and they’ve paid that for the whole of Oct and only paid me 7 hours OT yet I was still doing an extra 10 hours a week until the 21st. The first excuse for the lack of paid ot was the agency staff but now it’s profits. I don’t want to leave but I can’t afford to work somewhere that won’t pay what I’m owed. Where do I stand on challenging for my overtime? Upper management and HR are useless. 

Thanks, and apologies if this doesn’t make sense. 

theoretica

Counting all the hours you actually worked, does your pay work out above or below minimum wage?  If below, they have handed you a big stick to use...

Savvy_Sue

Join a union. If already a member, take their advice. 

ConfusedSC

Thank you both for your comments, 

at the moment I’m waiting for someone to send me a breakdown of my wages as it doesn’t add up. I’ve also asked how much they take for the half term as our pay it spread over the year to cover half terms (I can’t think of the word)! 

As for joining a union, I’m going to look into it as something our manager said earlier about us not being in a union struck a chord with me so it’s funny that was mentioned. I just want out of this job now. 

Savvy_Sue

ConfusedSC said:

As for joining a union, I’m going to look into it as something our manager said earlier about us not being in a union struck a chord with me so it’s funny that was mentioned. I just want out of this job now. 

Note that the employer doesn't have to recognise any particular union for you (and others) to benefit from membership. 

I would never work in a client-facing environment (with children / vulnerable adults / healthcare etc) without being in a union. 

https://www.tuc.org.uk/join-a-union

Helps you work out which one's the best for you - there may be more than one which 'works' in your field. 

Undervalued

ConfusedSC said:

Thank you both for your comments, 

at the moment I’m waiting for someone to send me a breakdown of my wages as it doesn’t add up. I’ve also asked how much they take for the half term as our pay it spread over the year to cover half terms (I can’t think of the word)! 

As for joining a union, I’m going to look into it as something our manager said earlier about us not being in a union struck a chord with me so it’s funny that was mentioned. I just want out of this job now. 

That is a good idea but be aware that the union is unlikely to provide anything more than general advice regarding a problem that occurred before you were a member. They almost certainly won't fight the issue for you. The only exception would normally be if the union felt the issue was of wide importance to other members.