Temporary Contract - disadvantaged in initial and final pay calculations

GenX0212

My daughter has worked for Natural England on a temporary contract for a period of 9 months. Her contract states an annual salary of £X for 37 hours a week.

Her final pay (and as we have realised also her starting pay) has been calculated by NaturalEngland (they use a government shared service provider) based upon the number of days not employed in the month rather than the number of days worked.

Her pay is calculated as annual salary / 12 months which is fine for most months but for the starting and leaving months they calculate it as the full month salary less the number of day not worked. For March this means they have knocked off 2 days pay (pro-rata) even though those 2 days were a Saturday and Sunday. The same applied in her starting month as she started on a Monday part way through the month.

Surely their method of calculation is wrong? 

My argument is that she has worked all of her contracted hours, 29 weeks out of a maximum 52.29 weeks (2024 leap year) so should be paid 29/52.29 of her annual salary.

She has complained but the initial response has simply been that 'this is the way we do it' and they are closing the complaint.

The total loss is about £180.

I have told her to object to the complaint being closed and to ask for a copy of their complaints and dispute procedures. She could take it to tribunal but in the event she lost would be liable for the employers tribunal costs so that looks unlikely. She isn't in a union.


Any advice ?

tacpot12

Does she live at home with you? If not, does she have Legal Expenses cover as part of her home insurance? If she does live at home with you, do you have Legal Expenses cover as part of your home insurance. If she has access to Legal Expenses cover via either of these routes, she can call the Legal Helpline provided by the insurer for help. They will have a specialist who can review the contract for the basis on which she should be paid. 

I'm not sure they are calculating it incorrectly. You are treating this as though they are paying her for the hours she works. The employer sounds like they are paying her for the time she was employed, and thus averaging her working hours over her period of employment. (It's the difference between a salary and a wage). 

However, when I have been paid a salary, the calculations are done from the first day of work to the last day of work, but the daily or hourly rate reflects this. I wonder if, when the calcuations are done on the basis that NaturalEngland have used, it comes out at the same pay as if they had done it as I'm used to being paid, because the day/hourly rate is different.

I don't think she would be liable for her employers costs if she had a valid basis to go an employment tribunal. Has she spoken with ACAS yet? One of their expert on pay might be able to tell you what in normal, and they might also have experience dealing with NaturalEngland. BTW: She shouldn't speak to ACAS until she has spoken with any Legal Expenses cover provider.

GenX0212

Her permanent home is with us but working on the temporary contract she was staying in rented accomodation 

GenX0212

If you use their method of calculation you could have started work on Monday 2nd January and left on Friday 29th December having worked every available weekday and they would dock you 3 days pay from your annual salary - even though your worked the full year...

Marcon

GenX0212 said:

The total loss is about £180.

I have told her to object to the complaint being closed and to ask for a copy of their complaints and dispute procedures. She could take it to tribunal but in the event she lost would be liable for the employers tribunal costs so that looks unlikely. She isn't in a union.


Any advice ?

Yes. Get a sense of perspective - going to a tribunal with a claim for £180 is a massive overreaction and would cause her far more distress than her perceived loss of £180. It's not a pleasant or quick process.

You are wrong about costs, by the way. See https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/employment-tribunal/employment-tribunals/before-you-go-to-the-tribunal/check-what-it-might-cost-to-make-an-employment-tribunal-claim/#:~:text=If%20you%20lose%2C%20you%20don,reasonable%20case%20and%20act%20reasonably.

From what you've posted, there is no evidence they have done anything wrong - they are not the only employer to work on this sort of basis. A call to ACAS, as suggested above, might help to set her mind at rest (and do let her make the call, however tempting it is to charge into battle on behalf of your offspring!).

theoretica

Has she been paid minimum wage for all the hours she worked in her first and last months?

If she has, then my understanding is the employer can indeed calculate partial months to their own advantage. 

Savvy_Sue

There are two main ways of calculating salary for part of a month, and this is one of them. As long as an employer is consistently using one or the other, it's perfectly acceptable. 

theoretica said:

Has she been paid minimum wage for all the hours she worked in her first and last months?

If she has, then my understanding is the employer can indeed calculate partial months to their own advantage. 

And that's the only situation I can think of where there would be any challenge. 

LinLui

This is a common public sector payroll method, and entirely lawful. 

GenX0212

Thank you for all the comments.
Whilst I personally believe their method of calculation is flawed, it will always be to the advantage of the employer and penalise the employee, and is not in the spirit of the contract I will accept that it appears to be common practice.

theoretica

GenX0212 said:

Thank you for all the comments.
Whilst I personally believe their method of calculation is flawed, it will always be to the advantage of the employer and penalise the employee, and is not in the spirit of the contract I will accept that it appears to be common practice.

Not always to the advantage of the employer - if you know (from what happens when you start) they use this method it can work to your advantage choosing a Monday as your last day. 

GenX0212

Fixed term contract. Monday start, Friday finish. Employer wins. Employee loses.