I have been sacked one and a half weeks into a two-week trial period. The employer says that, because I only worked for a short period, he doesn't have to deduct tax and Ni from my wages. I was working a 37-hour week for which my pay (due at the end of March) was £7.50 per hour. My employer confirmed this in an email to me before I started work. I was directly employed (not through an agency) and was not self-employed.

My questions is this: Is the employer legally obliged to deduct tax and NI after such a short period and does he have to give me a P45? Also, what can I do if he doesn't do any of this?

I am from Eastern Europe and feel that the employer is deliberately attempting to recruit EU citizens for a short period and avoiding his legal obligations to pay tax and NI. There was nothing wrong with my work. I believe that it was all along his intention to sack me and that this is ongoing company policy towards temporary employees.

Your help on this would be much appreciated.

So how does the employer propose to pay you for work completed? Cash in hand?

There are certain circumstances where the employer can do this, so you will probably need to speak to HMRC to make sure that you pay the necessary tax, but more importantly you need to receive what is due to you from the employer - payment for all hours worked plus holiday pay for time worked.

Probably insufficient evidence to support your suspicions regarding the employer's recruitment practices

whether tax needs to be deducted will depend on you annual income for the tax year. NI contributions will be based on the pay for the week. as you were there such a short time i can see the attraction of paying someone in cash as it saves a lot of paperwork ( and also a few quid in employer NI contributions)

I do not believe that an employer will take someone on and then dismiss them after such a short time just to go through the problems of recruiting checking the credentials and employment history and right to work for someone every week. I suspect that it was not your work that made then decide against keeping you but that they felt you didnt "fit in", something no-one can really do anything about even though it is unfair..