What can my daughter do if she hasn't been paid?

KPM2019

Hello, my daughter is 22 and is a student in Bristol. She has a part time job but her employer hasn't paid her. She was due her wages on 16th but nothing yet. It is a small independent shop and the employer has told her she needs to wait for more sales before having enough money to pay her wages. The employer has also told her to use her own mobile phone as a data hotspot for work as she had been using next door's wi-fi (without their knowledge) but they've closed for Christmas so have turned off their wi-fi! My daughter has asked for her wages but is scared to push it in case she is fired. I have advised her to send an email requesting her wages are paid so there's a paper trail of her request but is there anything else she can do or is it time to contact ACAS? 
Many thanks in advance!

Devongardener

Definitely put her request in writing, the employer is acting illegally withholding wages.  I would contact ACAS  for advice too.
she shouldn’t worry about being fired, as it’s a situation that’s likely to reoccur if the trader can’t pay their staff until they get sales, it looks like a very unstable business!  She’d be better looking for another job.

teaselMay

As above, I'd strongly advise her to start looking elsewhere as well as chasing the wages. It doesn't sound a sustainable business.

KPM2019

Devongardener said:

Definitely put her request in writing, the employer is acting illegally withholding wages.  I would contact ACAS  for advice too.
she shouldn’t worry about being fired, as it’s a situation that’s likely to reoccur if the trader can’t pay their staff until they get sales, it looks like a very unstable business!  She’d be better looking for another job.

It's a shame as it's gone from being "a great job with an understanding boss" to "she buys tat from China and sells it for a huge mark up yet claims to be ethical" 
Should I be worried if Companies House tells me the business has submitted 4 Compulsory Strike Off notices since October 2022 and then suspended them with the most recent being October 2024?

LightFlare

Aside from the above - personally, I would be reluctant to undertake anymore work. Unless she enjoys working for free.
Better to use the time looking for something else - should be plenty of casual jobs in Bristol

Peter999_2

Sadly, the same thing happened to my daughter.   She was only 18 and she stopped getting paid by her employer or getting less than she was owed.    When she spoke to her colleagues they were all being treated the same - with one of the full time workers not being paid for 2 months.

The owner did the same thing - they are supposed to be an ethical chocolate seller but ended up forgetting all of that and importing for anywhere while still pretending it was direct from farmers.

She asked for advice, and the only I could give her really was that she should just leave which she did.   She strongly didn't want me to go in and speak to the owner so I didn't.

A couple of weeks later she told me she'd got the money.   She'd gone in on a Saturday when it was busy and just stood there until the owner gave her the money - she talked quite loud and was very assertive. 

We always try to take positives from everything, and the poisitive thing about this was that she will probably never have such a poor employer again and now she had experience of how bad it could be.   She's now in Uni and has never worked for anyone as bad again.

I hope your daughter gets paid, but if I were her I'd definitely leave and find somewhere else where they do appreciate her.     Have you checked her income tax online at Personal tax account: sign in or set up - GOV.UK.     When my daughter logged on, she could see that the owner was still submitting her tax as if she was being paid - it's just she wasn't giving her the money.

TELLIT01

If the employer genuinely doesn't have enough money to pay her, the last thing she needs to worry about is losing the job.  It looks likely to happen anyway.  She needs to keep pressing for her outstanding wages.

Marcon

KPM2019 said:

Devongardener said:

Definitely put her request in writing, the employer is acting illegally withholding wages.  I would contact ACAS  for advice too.
she shouldn’t worry about being fired, as it’s a situation that’s likely to reoccur if the trader can’t pay their staff until they get sales, it looks like a very unstable business!  She’d be better looking for another job.

It's a shame as it's gone from being "a great job with an understanding boss" to "she buys tat from China and sells it for a huge mark up yet claims to be ethical" 
Should I be worried if Companies House tells me the business has submitted 4 Compulsory Strike Off notices since October 2022 and then suspended them with the most recent being October 2024?

Your daughter is 22. Natural as it is for parents to want to rush the defence of their chicks (thank goodness!), maybe it's one for your daughter to deal with? She'll learn far more by posting on this forum herself, or doing the necessary googling, than by letting mum or dad do the legwork.

Marcon

Peter999_2 said:

I hope your daughter gets paid, but if I were her I'd definitely leave and find somewhere else where they do appreciate her.     Have you checked her income tax online at Personal tax account: sign in or set up - GOV.UK.     When my daughter logged on, she could see that the owner was still submitting her tax as if she was being paid - it's just she wasn't giving her the money.

...or maybe has she checked her income tax online....

pinkshoes

KPM2019 said:

It's a shame as it's gone from being "a great job with an understanding boss" to "she buys tat from China and sells it for a huge mark up yet claims to be ethical" 
Should I be worried if Companies House tells me the business has submitted 4 Compulsory Strike Off notices since October 2022 and then suspended them with the most recent being October 2024?

This show sounds very dodgy.

How much is she owed? By the sounds of it, she isn't likely to get paid again, and it could be one of these tricky situations where she might not get money owed, especially as the manager seems rather unethical.

Firstly, she needs a written trail stating how much is owed, when she should have been paid etc... She can send this in an email and state she "really needs the money" with a few innocent tugging on heart phrases - the shop owner replying will then have the debt acknowledged in writing. I'd keep it nice and friendly until she receives a reply confirming the money owed. 

If she then feels confident, she could then confront the owner in person in the store and insist on being paid. How much stock does the shop have? Is it likely she is going to get enough sales to pay any outstanding wages?? Probably not...

Ask the shop next door for a job and tell takes that their WIFI is being used and tell them to change the password!! (I'm joking, this is rather vindictive, but I suppose it is an option...)

KPM2019

pinkshoes said:

KPM2019 said:

It's a shame as it's gone from being "a great job with an understanding boss" to "she buys tat from China and sells it for a huge mark up yet claims to be ethical" 
Should I be worried if Companies House tells me the business has submitted 4 Compulsory Strike Off notices since October 2022 and then suspended them with the most recent being October 2024?

This show sounds very dodgy.

How much is she owed? By the sounds of it, she isn't likely to get paid again, and it could be one of these tricky situations where she might not get money owed, especially as the manager seems rather unethical.

Firstly, she needs a written trail stating how much is owed, when she should have been paid etc... She can send this in an email and state she "really needs the money" with a few innocent tugging on heart phrases - the shop owner replying will then have the debt acknowledged in writing. I'd keep it nice and friendly until she receives a reply confirming the money owed. 

If she then feels confident, she could then confront the owner in person in the store and insist on being paid. How much stock does the shop have? Is it likely she is going to get enough sales to pay any outstanding wages?? Probably not...

Ask the shop next door for a job and tell takes that their WIFI is being used and tell them to change the password!! (I'm joking, this is rather vindictive, but I suppose it is an option...)

Thanks for the reply. She's taken screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations with the boss about her wages. She's been up to a week late in paying in the past but never more than 2. 
My daughter is continuing to go into work because she's scared she'll get a bad reference if she doesn't. The boss knows everyone in the area etc 
Not a nice situation for her to be in.
Apparently, the owner has recently bought a 2nd home and floats into the shop with shopping bags of new clothes, yet she can't pay her staff. Probably because she took out £20k on a Directors loan.