Underpaid for 6 months/ night shift allowance

clara_b

Hi, 
my son is on the autism spectrum.  Without being over intrusive we have tried to guide through his work path.  

He works night shift for a food company.  At one point he did receive a night shift allowance.  He has just become aware that he has been missing this payment for the past 6 months although should have been receiving this.  

Prior to this( 3months ago) he asked a supervisor to look at his wage and he said all was ok. Apparently not…
The work placement are unaware of his autism but knowing him would deduce he struggles with certain tasks and masks a lot.  How do I make sure this is being sorted and he receives payment.  Surely this will get taxed massively if it is all paid in his next wage.  

DE_612183

Tax shouldn't be an issue - unless it pushed him into another tax bracket.

lincroft1710

Does his contract say a night shift allowance is payable and are there any conditions attached? If so has the company since announced to its employees the allowance will no longer be paid?

clara_b

Thanks for the reply’s
There’s been no change to the contract for night shift allowance, just wondering how this happened and why it wasn’t noticed when he asked a supervisor to look at his earnings… 

lincroft1710

It may be just an administrative error. Your son really needs to speak to HR or whoever is responsible for the payroll to find out exactly what has happened.

cr1mson

clara_b said:

Thanks for the reply’s
There’s been no change to the contract for night shift allowance, just wondering how this happened and why it wasn’t noticed when he asked a supervisor to look at his earnings… 

It is a lot to ask a supervisor to check his earnings. They don't know all the details to be able to give a definitive answer.

Can you help by setting up a checklist or spreadsheet for your son do it himself?

Something like 

Is the hourly rate correct?
Is the number of hours correct?
Is the tax code correct?
Are any agreed allowances added?
Are there any deductions besides NI and Tax?
Are any pensions contributions deducted and are they correct?

Savvy_Sue

Having done the above, I'd help him put something in writing. "When I started, I was being paid a night shift allowance but I have not received this since ... I do not believe this should have been removed, so please could this be put right."

The other thing is that the employer can't make reasonable adjustments for the things your son struggles with if they haven't been made aware of his needs. Was any support organisation involved in finding him work? If not, you might get good advice from the National Autistic Society, https://www.autism.org.uk/ - they have a section on employment support.