Hi, I need some advice please. I joined this new company last Monday. The company itself is only a month and a half old. I asked today for my contract of employment becuase I have not been told what holidays, sick etc entitlements I am allowed and they said I wont get one until I pass my 12 week probation! Is this legal? What if I left and they decided to not pay me? My assumption is, I wouldnt be able to do anything because I dont have a contract to prove I even worked there. Any advice would be great. Thank you

Thats the way its always been done, The previous cheque I paid in said the exact same. Counter cash crd. The cheque does not clear after 2 days however the fund are made avalible and you can draw upon it after 2 days becuase the law was change that you now have to earn interest on it etc. Its T+2 Wroking day. Either way, The account balance should show at minium £6070 but it doesnt, It doesnt show. The day it was paid in, it said account balance x amount and avalaible x amount, The next day it was showing was over drewn by £6k and today its completely disappeared. Very strange, there must be a reason for it as it was paid in the same way as all my previous cheques and its showed up the same as all the others, only difference is, someone has adjusted the account and withdrewn the £6070 out so it balanced out meaning no sign. If it was a mistake, they should have already re-credited the account with the cheque amount and it should be avaliable for me to take out if I wished to at my own preval if you get what I mean. EDIT: Sorry just realised, Its not counter cash crd, Its counter card crd. Thats what all the previous cheque deposits say as well. I think it may be that the cheque is in the same name as myself. Its from my father. We have the same name and our signatures are very similar even sometimes look the same if we have done them sloppy.Suppose its the joys of having the same name and clearly decided to scrbble it in similar ways. I did ask if this would be a problem and they said it wouldnt as long as the cheque was coming from a different account. Does anyone think this could be the issue? I cant see it being as there is no funds in the other account as my dad should deffo have the cash and I dont think he would have written me a cheque that would bounce. Could the bank of done some checks or something/ Like you can pay the £20 for faster clearing? Im just worried they think there is some sort of fraud going on! If this is the case, it really upsets me to the fact that they never called me to see if I could shed any light on the matter! If they have compeltely removed the transaction and it dosnt re-appear by Tuesday could I put a complaint in for them making assumptions or something and causing me problems. as I promised a payment to a overdue loan on Thursday thinking I would have the cash and now it would seem thats unlikly if they have removed the transaction. This is going to cause me to get another late payment fee as I was lucky they held it upto Thursday for me. I assume they have because I told them I had just put my inheritance cheque into the bank and it will be cleared by Thursday. Sorry for blabbing on, I just thought I would give you more details info just incase someone might now know what they hell they have done to me. As you can tell I cant sleep as its doing my head in. Thank you

I cant, I simply dont have enough credit on my phone to allow me enough time to speak to them as I am going to have a few choice words for them (Not nasty) You know what I mean. I was hoping someone on here would know if this is common practice or if somehow I have a red flag that basiclly says to not clear my cheques or something? If it was a few days later, I would have assumed something had happened and it bounced but the next day really says to me that something not good has happened.

Hello everyone, I have a problem I have just discovered on my cash minder account. I paid in a cheque for £6070 on the 22/05/13 yesterday I went to the bank to take some money out, When I did this I checked my balance as always and it said it was £59100DR! I was gob smacked and then I remembered that the co-op debit before credit so thought nothing of it as I could still take out the money that was cleared. Tonight I went to the cash machine again and my balance was £160 and that was it, no sign of the cheque waiting to clear. Just said, Accout balance £160, available balance £160. I got worried at this stage as it should have been showing available to take out if I so wished too (I wouldnt im not that stupid) I only discovered you could do this last month when I paid in another cheque and see I could take it out 2 days later. I went and asked if the cheque had cleared early because it was from a big company (Vodafone) And thats when they explained that it hasnt cleared yet but becomes avalaible, something to do with interest or something. I just got back and logged straight onto my internet banking and am shocked at what I have seen and im now worried something has happened. On my statement is shows 22/05/13 counter cash crd £6070 23/05/13 ADJUSTMENT £6070 Withdrawal What has happened here? Why would they adjust my account? Im thinking maybe its the amount as its a lot bigger then any of my previous deposits etc but then I have never drawn on uncleared cheques before apart from last month when I genuinely thiught it had cleared but even though I took it out. When I was told I really shouldnt have, I put it back in and waited for the cheque to clear just incase, So im wondering if this has triggered something on my account? I dont mind the funds not being made available just aslong as it will clear when it should but now its not even showing. I was relying on this money for next week and now if they have done something its means I am going to have to wait even longer. Anyone know what could have happened? I would phone them but I dont have a home phone atm and im not calling on my mobile and im trying to get some advice so I dont sit up all night worrying what it could be before I can get to a branch tomorrow. Hope this all makes sense and I thank anyone who can advice in advance.

I agree with you qpips, Every single member of staff should be treated equally unless there has been prior "special" arrangments made. It would upset me, If I had, had less sickness abcesses and got a wanring etc and another member of staff had more and got a stage one report. I would wait for the appeal, If at the appeal they do not take into account the new evidence from OVH ( Wich they most certainly will) I would put in a grievance stating the reasons and this the whole thing would have to be investiaged from both ends. Good luck and I hope your condition dosnt give you to much hassle.

If you have 3 weeks left on your contract I would be looking for other employment. They may actually believe you have done said things, Becuase if they want you out the door they would simply wait until your contract ended and not renew it, It would save them a lot of time and effort. Also a bit of cash as they should be paying you while you are suspended. You should receive the exact amount you normally recieve. So if I was in your boots, I would take this free time off and look for other employment. Getting paid to look for a job cant be a bad thing. If you want to fight this so you can apply for your contract to be renewed, go along with the process and just answers all the questions with the truth. As like I said, I beleive they are doing things by the book and maybe you have an incompetent manager who is not looking at it the way it should be. This is suggested by the things he is saying to you ie "Our Hr lawyers" and his blatant lies. Remember I am in no way qualified in theses sort of things, Im just giving you advice to what I would do myself. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours whatever that may be

Hello I have a cash minder account. I paid in a cheque on Wednesday 22 for £670, I aklready had £10 in the account, Today I went to the cash machine checked my balance and it said £660 overdrawn. The top said account balance £10 below it "avaliable balance £660DR" What the hell has happened? How can I be overdrawn? Surly it should say account balance £680 avalaible balance £10. Help please, I dont have a phone to call them and im going to panic about it all night if someone cant help me. I ask because I read someone that they debit before they credit the account so im hopng this is the reason? If it is, when will it show as a credit and will I be charged for being overdrawn even though I shouldnt be? Thank you

You can still make an offer, When I worked in a local prison there was several people who took a very generous cash settlement to leave. One couple was caught doing the naughty on a wing so they went off sick, they stayed off on the sick until the time had run out for the disciplinary ( This is from memory there could have been other circumstances invloved) When they came back they offered the prison the same thing we are suggesting to you and the prison took them up on it and after a week of to and throwing they ended up with a years salary each! That was £22k each! Obviously this was an exceptional case and must have had other things involved but you never know unless you ask. I personally think its disgusting what your boss has done. I would get a written statement off your husband. Get him to write down indetail as much of the conversation as possible and put a grievance in. They will have to take it seriously and if you are wanting a cash settlement I "Assume" they would snap your hand off and offer you something worth while becuase they wont want to risk you taking it further if prove can gathered. I will say though this is just my assumption and I could be completely wrong but if I was in your situation this is what I would do, Your boss has broke rules and I would play on that fact and milk it for as much as I can get. Dont feel bad for milking something either, they have made your life hell so take it as compensation. I may be throwned apon for saying it but I know many others would as well! Good look and I hope you get better real soon, I have had sever depression before (Even tried to take my own life) So I can relate and take it from someone who has been at the lowest of the lows, Life does get better as long as you try and I know its a cliche but time is a great healer always remember that

Sorry to jump onto this thread just thought it was better then starting a new one. My work says my holidays are accrued through the year so if one week I work 30 hours and the next I work 20 hours will I get a different holiday allowance for each week? All I know is I get 2. something days holiday a month. If this is the case then I only get 2. something x my daily contracted hours? So all the extra hours I work I get nothing for? I ask becuase I work at minimum an extra hour a day so at minimum an extra 260 hours a year so if I dont get anything I loose around 26 hours of holiday a year! Could I put a argument across after 10 months saying I should be given entitlement for 25 hours a week and not 20 as I have worked at minium 25 a week for most of the year? I aks because I have read that it can count as contractual change or something, same thing works for the other way round for the employer. Sorry for stealing the thread.

You dont want to be seen as working for 2 seperate companies. Im sure you get taxed more? I could be wrong but thats what iv been told. My partner got a letter from the tax man this year asking for £900 because she was working for 2 companies at the same time which they didnt know about until the angency she did a bit of part time work for finaly sent them earnings 2 years later!

Please dont take this the wrong way but you can come across very strong and rude sometimes. Remember this is very foreign to a lot of people and just the word Disciplinary can make someone really scared and dont know what is going on. Me personally would be very shaken if my employer took me in a room and said theses things. This would imply they have already made there conclusion as how could they loose confidence if they have not yet investigated the matter? I know sometimes you have to be blunt to get it through to people but this should only be done after someone is not listening to reason or they are asking very obvious questions like "Do I have to pay back the overpayment I received" Im not being nasty but theses people are coming for help, not to be made looked stupid

I also strongly agree to keep things basic. Dont say anything that is not relevant to the case. Just hope that the manager didnt take notice to your "story" It may be true but thats how it will be looked at. Tit for tat and thats never going to look good. Just reply to the specific allegation and nothing more. Getting personal about her is just going to show immaturity and even though she may be doing it, you need to show you are not that person she is making you out to be. If I was the manager and you started getting a bit vocal it would probably make me beleive that this happened when you spoke to the the girl. A old work mate at a old job accused me of stealing something that she had stolen herself ( I knew about it but didnt want to get dragged into it) Obviously once the allegations came to me I wasnt best please but I maintained my cool and made sure I thought about each of my replies before replying. Dont worry about taking a few moments before answering questions. In the end I managed to prove I was innocent and she resigned before being sacked. I did however get a warning for not reporting what she had done first. So a lesson to be learned. I also thought she was my friend, Friendly texts and even met for a few drinks once. So in future never leave something because you feel you have a obligation of being a friend not to do it. Im now only work friend with my work colleagues to avoid this if ever an event like this happens again. I cant really advice much more as I dont know my law as well as the others do but remeber keep your calm and always think about your answers before answering them. Even right down some quesions you think could be fired at you and sit and work out some good answers for them. I do this for interviews and its always proved to be a useful tool because I can answer a question quickly making it look like its my natural answer if that makes sense. Take theses 10 free days off to build your defence many people see it as punishment but you can really use it to your advantage. You have the bonus that you know what its about and even the report many people dont know this until they have been called to a GM meeting. Use it wisely

From what I have read around the forums. Yes if a company has overpaid you, you should have to pay it back plus its the honest thing to do. However they cannot take or withhold money from your wages without you first giving them your permission to do so. I would ask for a simple break down. Ie first payments was supposed to be x amount but you was paid x amount meaning you was over paid by x amount and so forth so at the end of each collum it would have a figure for each month and then at the bottom will have a total. Very easy to understand. I believe a lot of company send you the crazy spread sheets on purpose knowing you wont understand them. I had a underpayment problem from my previous employer and had to do the same. The complicated one looked like my pay was correct but I got ahold of all my time sheets and took it back to basics. Added up every single hour I worked even to the minute for my entire time working there and multiplied that by my basic hourly rate. Gave me a figure which showed I was underpaid by the amount I suspected. It took me 3 months of being told I was wrong to finally prove I was right after going in and showing them. I will warn it can be a long slog and can be very frstrating becuase a lot of companies play on the fact that they know a good portion of there work force will not know there legal rights. I would write out a letter asking for exactly want you want them to do and also explain that you do not give them permission to take any money from your wages until you have seen the complete dsimple break down. Make sure you keep the letter very percise and to the point. Im sure someone with a lot more knowledge then myself will be along soon to give you better advice

I understand the point and I would agree be it 5:57 however he has already forced us to stay behind and he purposely makes us clock out at that time. We could easily do another few minutes work. My main frustration is, he is asking the earth off of us. Making us stay behind without notice etc and then dont have the decency to allow us to work until the full hour. Todays wage slip was wrong once again. I worked 26 1/2 hours but my wage slip showed 24.57 I told the manager that it was incorrect and he checked and said no its correct. saying "you are paid in 15 minute intervals so if you clock out a few mins before each one has elapsed im afraid you loose that time" I replied saying no, The hours should be accrued through the week not on a day to day basis, so for instance if I signed out 5 minutes before the whole 15 mins each day I should accrue all them 10 mins so 50 mins at the end of the week so I should get that 45 mins pay and only loose 5 mins. He replied saying "thats not the way its done" I replied saying "im sure its law" he just said "your wrong" and walked away. I will write down all my points and try and construct it in a very precise way. Should I copy it here so you guys can go over it first to give me your opinions? Thank you

Okies, What should I say and how should I construct it? Im not very good at this stuff. I would sound like im moaning and groaning about being flexible. Im sure you get what I mean. A guidline to work from would be great from the information I have told you. If you have any questions etc to get a better grasp of it please ask and I will happily tell you