I'm emailing in respect of Temp work problem.I have registered with an agency to work on during the weekends.

I joined the agency in May and I have been working for the agency ever since.I did not singed a contract with them and all I did I sent them my Security licence ,NI,British passport ,proof of address and bank details.

Everything was fine I used to receive my pay slips and get paid on Fridays.The agency hire me to work for a company to cover luxury shops and night clubs and bars in London.

on the 25th of August around 22:30,I was working in a bar in London, I got a call from from the company that hire the agency and asked me to go to work on an other site.,I said to them ,that was too late and there was no agreement between me and the agency to stand by and mobilize so,I did not go .The lady who was on the phone told me that I was not get paid. for refusing to go .

I phoned the person in charge on the following day and I told him what append.He told me that I was his employee and get paid by him NOT the hiring company, and if that company wanted me to be stand by they must tell at 20:00 to get myself ready.He asked to work normal on Saturday ,26th and Sunday,27 as agreed.On Saturday,26th around 22:00 I missed a call from the company that hired the agency because my phone was charging and I found a message asked me again to go work somewhere else.I found the message a round midnight and replied saying sorry the call was missed and message wasn't read because the phone was charging.

I had to get paid on Friday,the 1st of September ,but I was not,I phoned and texted the person in charge ,but no answer .I emailed the agency they ignored my message.

I would to mention that no holidays were paid since I joined the agency and NO contract was singed but, I have got the pay slips.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I am really not very clear about a lot of this. You say they haven't paid for your holiday - have you booked any holiday, and if so, why didn't you raised the issue of non-payment with the agency at the time? Who is the "person in charge" that you have been phoning and texting - the agency or the client? You emailed the agency - why haven't you been to see them? Did you work between 26th August and the 1st September?

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

Firstly: The agency provide the security companies with security officer when they suffer from shortage of staff due to sickness ,absence and so on.

Secondly:I did not apply for any holiday.

Thirdly:I did not work for the agency since they refused to pay me my wages and I did not do any shifts as no Payments were received.

Fourthly:I phoned the contact person who is in charge our shifts but he blocked my phone number so that I could not get in touch with him.I also sent emails to the administrator, but she did not reply.

Fifthly:The agency is out side London and I need to travel mile and miles to get there, the only to contact them is the phone or email..

Finally:I'm not the security company employee .I'm the Agency employee so I have no right to speak to the company.

Regards

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

 

Firstly: The agency provide the security companies with security officer when they suffer from shortage of staff due to sickness ,absence and so on.

 

Secondly:I did not apply for any holiday.

 

Thirdly:I did not work for the agency since they refused to pay me my wages and I did not do any shifts as no Payments were received.

 

Fourthly:I phoned the contact person who is in charge our shifts but he blocked my phone number so that I could not get in touch with him.I also sent emails to the administrator, but she did not reply.

 

Fifthly:The agency is out side London and I need to travel mile and miles to get there, the only to contact them is the phone or email..

 

Finally:I'm not the security company employee .I'm the Agency employee so I have no right to speak to the company.

 

Regards

(1) Yes, I understood the arrangement - what was not clear was who you were contacting (2) You didn't apply for holiday - or you didn't take any? Your statement was that no holidays were paid since starting with the agency. That isn't the same thing as not taking any holiday. Although it is not common practice any more, are you sure this wasn't included in your rate of pay? (3) The agency refused to pay your wages - actually refused? If so, did they explain why they refused? Whilst you should be paid for your work (unless there is a legal reason why not), if you failed to do something or failed to turn up for shifts without notice, then they may not be very happy. (4) He blocked your number before you phoned to ask for your wages? You didn't speak to him at all, or leave any messages? (5) You will need to contact the company to send a letter before action warning them that you will take legal action if they do not pay what is owed. Ideally this should be sent recorded delivery, not email - it is harder to prove receipt of an email if they deny it. Surely you have an address for your employer? There must have been more information surely - how did you get this job in the first place, because there must have been more contact details?

1/I contacted the person who is in charge of the security shifts by phone and sent him a text message and copied the same message and sent it to the administrator.

2/I did not apply for any holiday and the holiday was not included in the pay.

3/Actually,I went to the shift on time and while I was working I was informed by the security to go to an other site.The agency said to me on the following day .If they wanted you to be stand by they had to inform you at least at 20:00 to get yourself ready to move from a site to an other.The security company said you would not be get paid as I refused to go to an other site and I said I was not their employee and get paid by the agency that hired me.I reported the conversation to the Agency on the following day and they said to me that was correct.

4/ The agency refused to answer my calls and ignored my emails.I never missed any shift during my service at all.I'm always on time .

5/I The agency work under the security company and get paid by them ,then we get paid by the agency.

6/I put my CV on indeed.co.uk website .They saw my CV and asked me to send my papers and I did.

Please see below:

5. Pay

You’re entitled to the National Minimum Wage for all the hours you work, even if you haven’t recorded them on a timesheet.

After 12 weeks you can ask to be paid the same as a permanent employee doing the same job.

If your agency withholds your pay

Your agency can delay paying you while they get proof of the hours you worked, but only for a reasonable period of time.

Your agency can’t refuse to pay you because your hirer’s unhappy with your work - this is a contractual issue between your agency and the hirer.

You can make a claim to an employment tribunal if your agency is refusing to pay you.

‘Pay between assignments’ contracts

If your agency offers you a ‘pay between assignments’ contract you’ll be an employee of the agency, not an agency worker.

You’ll get paid even when you’re not working. You must get an employment contract.

You’re not entitled to equal pay under a pay between assignments contract. The rest of your rights will stay the same.

You must get 50% of your previous pay, calculated at the highest rate of pay received during any one week.

The agency must give you a contract stating:

the type of work

that you’re giving up the right to equal pay

minimum pay rates and how they’re calculated

where you’re expected to work (your agency can’t offer you work outside a reasonable travel time unless you agree)

minimum and maximum working hours (the minimum must be at least one hour)

The agency can’t ask you to come into its office for an hour to avoid paying you between jobs.

You’ll only get ‘pay between assignments’ for full weeks when you don’t have any work.

If the agency ends the contract:

it must give you 4 weeks’ pay between assignments

you may be entitled to certain rights, such as notice pay and redundancy pay

Thanks. I'm aware of what the law says. But, as you have found out, what the law says an employer must do and what they actually do are not always the same thing. What I am saying is that they haven't refused to pay you - that requires them to actually speak to you.

But what I am concerned about is whether this agency actually exists. You've never visited them, had no interview, and it doesn't appear that you know anything much about them. If you don't know how to contact them, then how will you launch legal proceedings against them? You must give their address and details - an email address isn't sufficient. And [problem] agencies abound on some of these sites. So it's too late to be coy about it. Who are this agency? We might be able to find them, if they exist and if we know. If not, sorry, but you can't take legal action against a phone number or email address - you'll have to give it up as a lesson learned.

PS Honeybee - the **** said s-c-a-m. Surely that isn't a banned word!!!!

Hi Sangie. Yes the filter does alter that word.

HB

how were you paid for previous work? If the agency paid you via bank transfer or similar then you should be able to do a reverse search by geting the full references from the bank.

Hi,

I was paid for the previous work via a bank transfer .I'm going to the bank in a minute to get the reference .

Hi,

I have got their physical address and telephone number.I have already sent them an email .I sneaked to the sites ,where I worked yesterday and managed to copy all documents that proved my working hours .I have sent the copies with a warning to the agency .

Non-payment is a regular occurrence in the Security industry.

Especially, the weekend shift.

The employers believe that people who do such shift don't pay tax (or declare such jobs)

What you need to do is to persist.

Keep at it and stick to emails.

According to the Law, you shouldn't suffer detriments for insisting on your rights under the Nationa Minimum Wage Act.

So keep your emails.

I believe they will pay you when they see that you are serious.

I once worked in that industry and suffered non-payment for some jobs until I was brave enough to insist.

Wish you all the best.

Hi ,

Finally,the agency forwarded my warning letter to the security company and the security company said that lady in the accounts was on holidays since September and no one confirmed or checked my timesheets. She also promised to pay me by tomorrow

She is the same same lady who threatened by not getting paid for the shifts . Here what the agency said :

Hours have now been confirmed and we will process your payment to clear tomorrow.

Apologies for the delay.

I will update you tomorrow when the money is transferred to my account.

Thank you again for your support.

Hi ALL,

Thank you all for your support and assistance .

The agency has paid me my wages. in full .They transferred the money onto my bank account.

This website is really helpful .I wounder how Can I contribute money to keep this web site going?

Best regards