Hi,

I work in McDonalds and a colleague of mine had £20 of his wages docked. He is a cashier and when his till was being counted at the end of his shift, the manager found an old £20 and told him that we don't accept them, so it would come out of his wages.

Nobody had told him this in the month or two he'd been there, he's only 17 and fresh out of school, so they can't reasonably have expected him to be savvy with these things (I didn't know they weren't accepted either). Another thing that bothers me is that they took his wage, but also kept the £20 that they "didn't accept". Surely if it was worth nothing they would let him have it? And if they kept it, were they not implicitly "accepting"? This does not seem right to me, so I wanted to know if anyone knew the employees rights in this case.

I am suspicious because McDonalds employees are always waging an ongoing battle to get their pay. Most of our managers will always find any excuse to dock us, and even fabricate them completely to the naive younger employees who don't know their rights (I have seen them intimidate/pressure the younger employees into signing away their wages with absolutely no evidence e.g. "Oh, your till was actually down £10 yesterday, sign pls").

I've even seen this particular employee lose over £50 in a week because of his till being down. Considering that the managers count the tills, without explaining how they arrive at their conclusions, I don't think anyone can be so bad as to lose £30 from a till in one shift.

Sorry, I realise I'm digressing - just to reiterate, my question is, can they dock his wages for accepting an old note, whilst keeping that old note (I have no idea if there is any bank that would exchange them?), and having never told him that they didn't accept it?

Thanks

It is a government promisory note and remains legal tender so can be taken to any bank and exchanged for a current one. They should know this. There is no demonetarisation of banknotes only withdrawl so you can take one that is from 1915 if it is offered, the bank of England will take it back from the bank you take it to.

Can they dock wages for accepting a note that is still legal tender? NO

If they argue this point get them to explain their legal reasoning for disagreeing with the bank of England (see their website)

They may not accept them, but a bank might well exchange it for a new one!

So if they have made him pay for it they should return it to him so he may possibly get it exchanged.

I would also recommend he contact the HR dept. and ask them if this was fair!

Also are these deductions taking the pay to below the NMW ?

Thanks for the replies - I've passed this info on to him Yes, the deductions are taking the pay below NMW. I have had my pay deducted on a few occasions when my till was down, which has also dropped it below NMW. Is this illegal as well? (As we all earn NMW, any deductions at all will take us below it).

When they want to deduct our wages, they do have us sign a form to give them permission to do so, so the act of deducting itself is legal, but I don't think the amount or the reasons are. I hadn't been aware of the 10% limit either - this will definitely be helpful for my friend, since he definitely did not earn £500 in 2 weeks when they docked him £50!

speak to acas on phone, they are very helpful.

This sometimes happens with McDonalds franchisees. Aggressive deductions don't usually happen in McDonalds owned restaurants, in my experience. It may well be illegal for the reasons already explained.

Just remember that as he will have less than 2 years' service, he will have very little protection against unfair dismissal - so he should raise the issue diplomatically. Unfair dismissal resulting from insisting on the NMW is exempt from the 2 years' requirement and would warrant taking them to Employment Tribunal, but wouldn't get him his job back.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/part/II/crossheading/cash-shortages-and-stock-deficiencies-in-retail-employment

read that section and when you do read it don't simply cherry pick one line which suits you, double and triple check the other parts to see they do not allow your employer to argue the law was followed as the one liner you pick does not count due to x,y or z. e.g if it starts "Subject to" then it mean unless the part it references is also satisfied the laws and requirments in that section are null and void.

There should be procedures in place. Before an employee goes onto the till, that employee counts out the float to validate the contents of the float whilst the manager is present, i.e. if the manager says there is £40 in the float then the employee has validated that there is £40 in the float by counting it.

At the end of the shift the employee again counts the float in the presence of the manager otherwise there is no accountability. The employee handbook should state the procedure for cash losses. If there are cash losses it should result in retraining, docking money makes it acceptable, it doesn't inprove the employees skills and abilities.

If it's a franchise, well they need to live up to the McDonalds ideals, one thing McDonalds cares about is it's name and reputation.

I would also consider contacting the franchisor Internal Audit Dept (or Standards). If the management are giving blind floats (counted singly) and then, in want of a better word, '[problem]ming' the odd 10 quid here and there...

You may find a dodgy manager is making another 50-100 quid a day...not saying it is, but not unheard of.

All floats as rebel says should be cashed up / taken out in the presence of two persons - ideally one being the user.

Read the handbook, contact HR. Follow the grievance procedure to the letter. You may find yourself looking for alternative part time employment, just be aware of this.

When you start a new job, it always helps to be inquisitive, don't always take it for granted that managers know what they are doing or are working towards a common goal. Ask to read the company manual, that way you know when you manager is doing something wrong, then you can escalate from there.

He has actually left his job, it turns out. This old note thing was the last straw for him. We didn't get any employee handbook or welcome pack or anything when we started - at this store they just throw us in at the deep end and have us shadow whoever is on shift at the time - I have been completely surprised sometimes by my manager coming up to me with a new recruit and they've just said "train her" (even when I was still on my probationary period as a crew member, and am not in a position or earning the wage of a crew trainer).

Basically, we get absolutely nothing from them I've already reported one of the managers for fraud for changing my timesheets and docking my wages without my knowledge.

Regarding the NMW thing, I read that they cannot deduct more than 10% from a pay check, but does that "debt" roll over to the next pay day etc. until its cleared, or is it meant to be written off?

I ask as I've read that the employer can deduct more than the 10% from the final pay check if the employee leaves the company.

Who should I contact about getting my sick pay too?

This information is all very helpful

There should be procedures in place. Before an employee goes onto the till, that employee counts out the float to validate the contents of the float whilst the manager is present, i.e. if the manager says there is £40 in the float then the employee has validated that there is £40 in the float by counting it.

 

 

 

At the end of the shift the employee again counts the float in the presence of the manager otherwise there is no accountability.

But this would make it impossible for the manager to have 2 Caribbean holidays a year!

Is it worth a letter before action explaining the full circumstances to company HR/management, asking them to refund the money on the grounds that the changing of timesheets/deduction of money was an unlawful deduction of wages contrary to s13 Employment Rights Act 1996, and stating that you will bring a small claim in the county courts if a satisfactory response is not receive?

There is a very good chance the company will pay up without a fight. It also reduces the chances of the manager from acting this way in future to other people.

Court action is not difficult or expensive for a claim like this.

If it is a franchise (many are) then receiveing the LBA will certainly get head office stirred up and I bet that the deducted wages will be forthcoming without further recouse to law. I would also bet you get a stuttering phone call saying that it was all a mistake and that your honesty wasnt being called into question.

similar thing happened to my son when he worked for them when at college and even a sniff of bad publicity will make them act swiftly.