Employee dismissal pay claim

hughie2020

Hello 

My partner has taken over a limited company and is in the process of dismissing an employee. 

The employee is claiming she is owed a week in hand pay from when she started, there is nothing in her employment contract about this and has not provided proof of this agreement with the previous owner, where do I stand? 

She is also claiming she is owed 13 days holiday pay, however I have not been given an annual leave record from the previous owner and she has not shared one with me. I am aware she went abroad for a week, but there may or may not have been other leave dates. 

She is now threatening ACAS and employment law quotes. All very frustrating when her incompetence has cost the business thousands! 

YBR

How much does this pay add up to? Would it be pragmatic to pay, or pay a proportion to be able to move on without this liability?

Flugelhorn

YBR said:

How much does this pay add up to? Would it be pragmatic to pay, or pay a proportion to be able to move on without this liability?

exactly what I would suggest - whole thing could cost a lot more than that amount to sort out otherwise

hughie2020

YBR said:

How much does this pay add up to? Would it be pragmatic to pay, or pay a proportion to be able to move on without this liability?

Thanks for your response! 

She works 6hr days at £15p/h, 4 days per week.

week in leu £360 before tax 
hols £1170 before tax 

hughie2020

Flugelhorn said:

YBR said:

How much does this pay add up to? Would it be pragmatic to pay, or pay a proportion to be able to move on without this liability?

exactly what I would suggest - whole thing could cost a lot more than that amount to sort out otherwise

Thanks for your response! 

She works 6hr days at £15p/h, 4 days per week.

week in leu £360 before tax 
hols £1170 before tax 

paying this in the near future would be a stretch for the business after uncovering a number of unpaid invoices and accounts she had hidden, which we have had to set up payment plans for. 

Undervalued

hughie2020 said:

Hello 

My partner has taken over a limited company and is in the process of dismissing an employee. 

The employee is claiming she is owed a week in hand pay from when she started, there is nothing in her employment contract about this and has not provided proof of this agreement with the previous owner, where do I stand? 

She is also claiming she is owed 13 days holiday pay, however I have not been given an annual leave record from the previous owner and she has not shared one with me. I am aware she went abroad for a week, but there may or may not have been other leave dates. 

She is now threatening ACAS and employment law quotes. All very frustrating when her incompetence has cost the business thousands! 

Maybe so but she is legally entitled to be either allowed to take unused accrued holiday or be paid in lieu.

She is also entitled to notice (or pay in lieu) and any unpaid wages.

Even if this employee's behaviour amounts to gross misconduct she is still entitled to all of the above except (possibly) notice pay. However if your partner is still "in the process of dismissing" that bird has flown.

If your partner has taken over this business, they presumably have access to its financial records for at least the past six years and to other documents such as contracts of employment etc? What due diligence was done before taking over this business? Little or none by the sound of it. 

As others have suggested, unless your partner has hard evidence to disprove any of the employee's claims it would be best to reach some kind of settlement.

Hoenir

hughie2020 said:

She is also claiming she is owed 13 days holiday pay, however I have not been given an annual leave record from the previous owner 

That's entirely in your court. Due diligence when it comes to employees records is essential. 

TELLIT01

Given the amount of information apparently not passed on by the previous owner I would be inclined to believe what the employee is saying.  The lack of record keeping by the previous employer should not impact on employees.

I may be wrong, but there would seem to have been a lack of 'due diligence' before taking over the company.  Maybe the OP's partner needs to have a word with whoever was responsible that area of work.

Marcon

hughie2020 said:

Hello 

My partner has taken over a limited company and is in the process of dismissing an employee. 

The employee is claiming she is owed a week in hand pay from when she started, there is nothing in her employment contract about this and has not provided proof of this agreement with the previous owner, where do I stand? 

She is also claiming she is owed 13 days holiday pay, however I have not been given an annual leave record from the previous owner and she has not shared one with me. I am aware she went abroad for a week, but there may or may not have been other leave dates. 

She is now threatening ACAS and employment law quotes. All very frustrating when her incompetence has cost the business thousands! 

What's in the sale/purchase agreement - in particular what undertakings were given about completeness of employee records?

Purplelady65

If you are unable to prove she is not entitled to the week’s pay or annual leave I’m not sure how you could defend the case in an employment tribunal. The onus will be on the employer to provide proof not the employee. 

DullGreyGuy

Did you have proper legal advice when buying the business and drawing up the contract? What warranties are there from the former owners? Were any funds withheld/deferred for the validation of the information provided? How was the DD conducted? 

Without records to the contrary you may have difficulty defending against the claim and given the distraction it would be I might be tempted to settle the relatively modest sum than roll the dice with the courts. Obv if your contract of purchase does have protections in it then you need to ensure you follow its processes on issues to ensure the cost is transferred.