Hi all i would like some help, advice or info regarding over payments from an employer my wife worked for the local council at a school for 13hrs a week for 4 and a bit years, Last year she become pregnant and continued to work till april 2014 when she took maternity leave she was told she didnt earn enough money so she wouldnt qualify to be paid materntaiy pay, instead she was paid from the local job center, in august 2014 her employer paid wages into her account because she works for a school and it was during the 6 weeks holidays she thought the money was hers as how could the council make a mistake they paid her till march 2015, In march when her maternity leave was up she decided to not to return to work and handed her notice in which she then received a letter from her employer accepting her resignation and a final pay of what was owed to her. We have now received a letter from her old employer this week stating that in august 2014 the employer transferred there payroll over which resulted in my wife being paid and as it was a mistake they are now asking for the money back within 21 days and also the payments started august 2014 its now august 2015 why has it taken them so long to see this as this was clearly there mistake which they say in the letter. Now my wife is out of work and i have just started a new job we clearly can not pay the debt all in one go like there asking. Where do we stand on this issue? Many thanks for your help

Good Afternoon, I'm beginning a small claims court claim against my former employer, for money due to me in unpaid wages. Rough situation is that during the time I was employed, my hourly rate was NMW, however I was required to work for 9 hours each day and only paid for 8.5 hours. As the wages received did not amount to the NMW for the hours worked, I reported the matter to HMRC. They have provided me with a determination of money due, which amounts to approximately £350, however they are no pursuing enforcement action. As my employer was a franchised store, it is my intention to list both his operating company, him personally and also the franshisor as defendants to the claim. Would anybody be able to help me with the wording of the POC, please? Many thanks

I made an agreement with Scott and Co for Council Tax arrears and it started in Dec 2014. I paid each month, but they lost the payments in their system somewhere the only payment that reached my account with them was Feb's. The others are in their "big" system somewhere. Because of missed payments they say I broke the arrangement and they are arresting the wages now. They sent a letter (never received) and phoned. Now they may have phoned but they say they are not allowed due to Data Protection to say who they are, so just just say an urgent matter. Have just checked the schedule and the amount they want to take is 5 times more than we had arranged, we had just started to get ourselves sorted out with repayment plans and clearing debt but money is still very tight, this now means other debts wont be paid. I spoke to 2 people from Scott and Co, first one was useless and I hung up on her, second one was helpful and explained things but the dept that deals with that says nothing can be done, arrestment stands. Can they do this, I didn't break the agreement, the money left my account and their system shows this a they got a payment in Feb.

Hello, I have been subject to a wages arrestment since March last year. I have lost all documentation relating to this. Who do I contact to see how long I have to go before this stops? From my rough calculations I am anticipating May of this year but I am unsure. Would it be Scott & Co? The Council itself? Any help much appreciated. Many thanks.

Hi there all. Some advice will be very advantageous right about now. For the last couple of months I have been driving for a well known (and very recently festively defunct parcel delivery firm) through an agency. I am owed 2.5 days pay by the agency for hours worked 22-24 December 2014. This was due to be paid today (2.1.15) but it has not been. The agency stated that this is because the now defunct client are no longer processing the agency staffs clock cards and sending the details to the specific agencies and therefore because THEY haven't been paid by THEIR client they cannot honour my wages. The lady from the Agency also said that it's not likely they will EVER receive any monies at all from the ex parcel delivery firm for the entire time I was there. Where do I stand with this? My point of view is this. I sympathise that they haven't been paid but that is (I'm sorry to say) their issue with their client which they need to pursue. I wasn't employed by the parcel company I was employed by the agency and as my agency is still very much in business they should pay me for all worked carried out on their behalf. Their lack of payment from their client themselves is a private internal issue and is no affair of mine in no other way than my wishing them the best of British luck with it. Am I correct both morally and legally in my stance or is perfectly legitimate for an agency under such circumstances to withhold wages? If so what procedure do I need to gollow to receive monies owed and if there are such procedures am I looking to spend more on Admin and fees pursuing this than I will potentially get back. Please help. Thanks.

Hi, I'm wanting to bring a claim against a former employer for wages which were not paid - this relates to a very brief period of employment (1 month) between April and May 2014. As I am now a full time student with a limited income, I believe I would qualify for fee remission if I file the claim on a paper form at my local CC. However, I also understand that if I file the claim using MCOL and pay the court fee, I can claim this back from the defendant as part of the claim (assuming, of course, I'm successful). Just wondering really which is the best option? Part of me really wants to make the former employer cover this cost on top of what they owe me, however at the same time it is a gamble in case the claim isn't successful, or as I suspect may be the case the director does some jiggery pokery and winds up the company to avoid payment - and being honest I could do without being £105 out of pocket whilst I wait for it to be heard etc. Cheers,

Hi , Wondered if anyone can help me , my dad has been over paid for the last 3 months in error but he genuinely didnt realise , anyway the company he works for has decided to take the overpayment back giving him less than 7 days notice and leaving him with nothing for the next month , they have taken approx 75% of his wages are the allowed to do this ? any advise would be appreciated , thanks

HI guys/girls My daughter's 8 month daughter is in GOSH waiting cancer treatment,her work is NOT going to pay for the time she needs off to deal with this. what is her rights to benefits (she has worked fulltime all of life and for this company for the last 5 yrs )she has 2 weeks holiday which she is using at the min,they have said she can have time off but unpaid any advice would be helpfull Thankyou

Hello I would like to ask for some advice on behalf of my nephew. End of December 2013 my nephew was sacked by his company due to their strict "time off rules". Since being made unemployed my nephew has not received wages that's owed to him. Before i go on, i must say the account he had with the Leeds Building Society, there must be the minimum £100 in the account at all times. Because of this rule and being unemployed he withdrew the full amount and closed the account. He had contacted his x employers on several occasions, letter,phone then out of the blue, a couple of months later they decied to pay what was owed to him into his building society. But by the time they decide to do this there was no bank account to pay wages into. He knew nothing of this payment until he contacted his x employers once again, only to be told his money had now been payed to LBC. He contacted LBC + they sent him a letter, saying they had received a payment from his x employers but was unable to accept it due to account being closed and payment was returned. On the back of this, his x employers had his details so why did they not send a cheque or contact him. His x employers denided that the payment was returned by LBC and to sort it out with them. But LBC have been very cooperative with him, where x employers have not. Can someone advise on the best plan of action next in retrieving wages unpaid from his ex employers. Thank you for your time to all that respond. Daniel

I worked for a uk based small security company for two months and did'nt get any pay! I had a verbal contract I filled in all printed / headed logbook entries submitted all my paperwork ID etc p45 NInb etc.( I also photographed every logbook entry).no timesheets when I asked why I had'nt been paid, was led along to be told I needed 'vetting' for the job and could'nt be paid until I had clearance ( dbs check credit employment etc) Yes I know this is rubbish and 'unlawful' I checked with hmrc and sia (governing body)security. I also checked :dbs had no requests for my crb and x employers were never approached. I also found out that the same business has done a similar thing to at least 3 other workers within the last 12 months, you dont get paid after the 1st months work. ..you complain. ..the guy argues with you .. .results in you leaving the job somewhat fedup ...he employs another sia 'muppet'(his words not mine). you're then left to attempt to claim back cash through county court ...noone is given a contract / payslip. ..I feel this is a CON! I have done all letters / court papers etc.but would like advice from those in similar situation. SURELY THIS COMPANY CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH IT! It seems that everyother person in security knows someone whos been ripped off by SIMILAR licensed conmen somewhere around the uk.any thoughts please!!!!

I have worked in various clubs over the time I have worked as a lap dancer. Most clubs (here and abroad) don't have a contract in place, you just get given your rota, and pay 20-50% (depending on the night) of what you earn, to the club. You are self employed. There has never been much paperwork, but I do mock invoices for my tax return. I have started working at a new club in Manchester now I have started back at Uni, and they want to pay me £10 per hour as an employee (including employment contract!) and the cash from stage and private dancers is pooled and allegedly split. Obviously I am worried about my earnings etc and how my dance money will be paid. Would it be considered a 'bonus' - and is that taxable? I suppose this way I won't have to do my own books and pay tax?

I forgot to tell my employer I have changed my bank.my original bank closed my account due to me oweing overdraft and loan.my wages has since been paid into original account. Will bank keep it to put towards money I owe them or will it get sent back to my employer.thanks.

Hi all, I am about to send a letter before action to my previous employer for wages and fuel allowance owed to me. These monies should have been paid to me in my last wage which I received before I left them. I only worked for the company for 5 weeks, I enjoy the work but the workload and pressure they put on their staff was too much for me to handle, when they expected me to work 25 hours over 2 days with no time for breaks or travelling I finally snapped and found another job. The cut off date for the wage I received was Sunday 17th August and I receive my pay on 22nd August. I told them I wouldn't be going back to work for them on 23rd August. I received my pay slip after I was paid and noticed that I had not been paid for 2 training courses I had been on, they have paid me the hourly rate for an unqualified worker when they have my certificates to prove that I am qualified and the big part is they have paid my mileage short by over 300 miles. Looking on the government website, it states that I should be paid for all hours worked even if I didn't work my notice (I was not expecting to be paid for the work I had done after 17th August). I have been trying to contact the person who is dealing with my wage issue all week, other than a call from her Tuesday morning to ask me to reconsider leaving I can not get hold of her. I have rang daily and keep getting told she will call me back but to date she has not. I sent an email yesterday afternoon with a tracking code in it and the email was opened at 11.05pm last night from an Iphone, but as yet I have had no response to my email. I think my only option now is to send the letter before action. Is there a set time I have to persue this matter before I can send the LBA? How long should I give them to respond before using the small claims system? Should I tell them that I will be adding interest and charges etc onto the monies owed at this point? Not getting paid the full amount has left me really struggling this month and they know this. It wouldn't be too bad if somebody would turn round and say "yes we are looking into it", but I am getting no response at all. I am hoping the LBA will give them the kick up the behind they need to look into this. Any advice will be really appreciated.

Following long term sick I reached the end of my contractual sick pay period last month. As I knew this was ending and I had received no written or verbal confirmation of how the process worked I directly asked the management what pay I would receive in May and June. I was verbally informed my pay ended a few days before the end of May but I would receive a full months pay in May but nothing in June. May payday arrived and I received a normal months pay and a payslip to confirm this. Knowing I had no income for June I requested payment of a considerable amount of outstanding holiday pay from the prior working year. It was agreed this would be paid in my June pay. On receiving my pay for June I discovered that a significant amount had been deducted from my wages. On querying this with payroll I was advised they had overpaid me in May so they decided to recover the wages this month. Payroll stated that my manager should have discussed the overpayment and deduction with me but the manager had made no attempt to do so. I have now been told by payroll it was this manager who authorised the deduction. The manager is well aware that the holiday pay was to be used to cover essential bills and my mortgage so I am very surprised that the manager failed to mention this. My first question is do my employers have a right to make a deduction after telling me I would receive a full months pay for May. The second question is can my employer make a deduction for overpayment without first notifying me or considering my circumstances. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Good afternoon Hope someone can help. I am new on here. Currently working for my current employer for nearly 4 years, been a good worker however I have been signed off for stress at work for 4 weeks now due to what I would view as bullying from my line manager. This is an ongoing issue that HR are well aware (and witnessed once) of and I am very anxious about returning to work and am actually considering leaving for another job. Anyway last month I was off for 2 weeks of my monthly pay period backed up with sick notes and I'm 2 weeks into being off this month. Last month my wage was paid as normal. I assumed that this was normal policy and maybe because of being off with stress at work the ssp threshold did not apply to me. Today I was meant to be paid, logged on to my bank and no wages but all my DDs are showing as taking me into an unauthorised overdraft. I spoke to HR and they said that the woman in charge or salaries is off but as I was overpaid last month, I should have been on SSP for 2 weeks they have paid me SSP this month but as I was overpaid it means I don't get a wage this month. This wasn't communicated to me, its not that i want money for nothing but I now have a full month and rent bills etc to pay and no money. I do t even have the money to go to work and I'm not sure what to do. Is there any agencies who can help me with some money until I'm back at work or would I be better leaving and making a claim for ESA whilst I'm off sick? Never been on benefits so I don't know what to do. As I say if I've been paid too much it wasn't explained to me how for this month and potentially next month I won't get a wage.

Hi, I am having some issues with a company I worked for in 2012, and know that other people are having the same issues. I worked for them from May to September in 2012, although from May to the end of July this was with an agency, then I got transferred to the main company. They are claiming that I owe them money for 'unpaid leave' which they for some reason paid me for apparently. I am however disputing this as they claim that I finished work one week earlier than I was supposed to. However, despite the place being a call centre they did not call me during this extra week that I did not work asking why I was not working, which is most unusual for this call centre. They have not given me any evidence that I owe this money despite me trying several times. They claim that they sent me several letters from November 2012 onwards yet funnily enough I got none of them. They sent a debt collector after me straight away to demand the money back and I am disputing the amount owed through them. Despite this having gone on for over a month now, I still have no evidence from them proving this. My question is do I have to pay it back if they offer no evidence and continue to ask for the money? I believe that they have messed up and did not record my leaving date correctly. I am going to be filing a complaint against the debt collector company anyway as when I phoned once to find out if there was any new information and despite still being in a dispute with the company demanding payment, they asked me how I was going to start paying them back which they are not allowed to do. Thanks for any information.

My husband and I had joint wages arrestment put in place for Council tax arrears my employer has stopped deducting my wages a few months ago but my husband is still having the money taken off of him. I assumed they would stop at the same time is there any reason that this would happen? Thanks

I am currently paying a wages arrestment to Charles Anderson - at least its getting paid every month and as I am currently a full time student working part time I am excuded from paying council tax at the moment so hopefully by time I finish college I will be council tax debt free and can start paying normally again. I have paid 2 months of the amount they say I owe but I have also just received a bank account arrestment order from an old bank account that I no longer use - stating that the bank couldnt give them anything as I obviously had no funds in that account as its not in use. I havent had a chance to speak to them yet as its the weekend but can they arrest your bank account on top of an existing wages arrestment?? I thought they were only legally allowed to take so much a month? I have moved all my funds from my existing account in the meantime in case I get any surprises in the next few days until I speak to them.

Hello all, I have worked since beginning of december for the oil Company X through the employment agency, let's call it Company Y. The problem is that the agency I worked for went into bankruptcy in the beginning of january and they are not able to pay me the money that they owed me since the end of december. Three weeks ago, I went to ask Company X about the money but they said that Company Y was not solvent anymore, and the company X would pay me the money outstanding as soon as possible. They promised to get my money settled the week after which was 2 weeks ago. I keep asking Company X for the money every week but they keep telling me that they can't do nothing. I am fed up waiting. Could anyone help me with my problem please. Is there any legal way I could take to resolve this? Is it possible to hire a lawyer to speed up things?

Hi Everyone, I shall do this the proper way and introduce myself first since this is my first post My name is Dan and I am from Leeds! Moving on.... I'm having some difficulties with my employment. The company I currently work for employ 200+ staff, but they are a family run business if that makes a difference. The business grew extremely fast over the last 4 years, 4 years ago they only had 30+ staff. However in terms of management, they still act like they are running a small business. From 2012 I was working for this company as a sub-contractor, since I was working for them 40+ hours per week they later decided to offer me full time employment on the books in Feb 2013 to which I accepted. I signed a 'offer letter' which was a very basic contract in a sense with a 6 month probationary period. After the 6 month probationary period ended I asked if I could now sign onto a new permanent employment contract, I was told I wouldn't need to as my 'offer letter' remains as my permanent employment contract after the 6 month probationary has expired. Me not knowing too much on employment just acknowledged what I was told and left it as that. 7 months into my employment, the company was starting to show signs that it was struggling with its bills. Suppliers started holding accounts every couple of weeks, subcontractors payments were becoming more and more late. My wages were unaffected at the time. The company was busy, it was a game of politics between the company and its clients to which payments to our company were withheld, usually because of incorrect specification and jobs running late etc. Subcontractors and suppliers not being paid started to cause a downward spiral in effect. 9 months into my employment, I had been asked to start working away and work overtime to try push these jobs to completion. I didn't really fancy it but I thought for the sake of my job I better do it. Biggest regret I have now. I was pretty much spending my entire time working 300 miles away from home, I would set off home on a Saturday morning and then I would return back to my hotel Sunday night. Not much of a life! and my partner at the time was not best pleased either. It comes to pay day, I only got paid a basic wage. No overtime, no driving time or working away bonus that I was promised. My payroll manager had conveniently gone on holiday for 2 weeks from the pay day, the temporary person covering payroll couldn't help me and advised me to wait until she returns from holiday. I raised the issue with my department head and he said pretty much the same and it was out of his control. So I carried on working away hoping I could sort it when the payroll manager returns. When she finally did I went to see her, apparently I had been filling in my timesheets wrong and that's why I was only paid basic? So my immediate reply was "I have been filling in these time sheets exactly the same as I have for the past 9 months, nobody has raised any issues with them before". I was told I would have to have a meeting with my department head, HR and payroll the next week to review my timesheets. The meeting got postponed the day before I was due to go in, and again and again. I was concerned by this point to which I managed to have a sit down with my department head. We went over the timesheets, there was very little mistakes if any. He said he would deal with payroll immediately and I would have the moneys owed in my next pay (which was due in a few days). Payday came which was on Christmas Eve! surprise surprise, basic wage again. No overtime from the last month or the month in arrears. At that point our office was closed until after the new year, so nothing I could do. After the new year on the first week back to work, I refused to work away until I had the money. Again everyone gave me their assurances that I would get paid but they just kept fobbing me off. As well as problems with pay I still had other issues with them which I have not mentioned. The organisation skills, getting chucked onto jobs with the wrong information, Our HR department is completely useless, they just feed you with crap and don't help like they should do. I could go on forever how bad things were getting. The second day I found out 35 workers had just been made redundant, so alarm bells were ringing. After a hell of a lot of hassle with money, jobs, staff. I was no longer my self. I was starting to argue with my partner a lot, we shortly split up over it. I started having money troubles and I just had no fight left in me, I just became isolated. I saw my doctor, went through with him everything that had happened and how I felt. He prescribed me some tablets to try gain sleep and pick myself back up, but he signed me off work for 2 weeks as he determined I was not well enough to go due to occupational stress. So as of the 20th of this month I have been off on sick leave. I am due to return on Monday 3rd of Feb to which I will be having a meeting regarding the stress caused by work. Today, I received my payslip in the post! They have paid me basic yet again! But not only that... It shows on my wage slip my standard full month wage, then my national insurance and payee tax has been deducted calculated from my full months wage. Then, they have deducted sick leave of £960 after I have paid tax's on a full months wage! But shouldn't they have deducted sick leave the next following month?? I have only been off sick by 8 working days so far and they have taken 70% of my wage from me?? Please, I really need some help with this as I feel I am becoming even more stressed about it all now. I need to really know, A - Can they take sick leave off my wage in advance? B - Would I be doing wrong by demanding for a cheque for all moneys owed in this meeting before I return to work? C - Should I have signed a new contract after my 6 month probationary expired? D - Are they allowed to make deductions from my wage without notifying me? E - Is sick pay immediate from the day you don't come into work? Please if you have read my story, and there is other ammunition for my meeting on Monday please let me know. I know this is one hell of a post, but to those who have read it thoroughly. Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate your help. Dan

Hi there, I've worked as a sales assistant for a small family firm for ten years. Last Friday my boss said he could not pay my full wages as he was having financial problems, i.e. paying suppliers for goods received. I'd like to know if he is within his rights to do this without my consent.

Can anybody advise me as to what to do? I found a job advertisement on the 'jobsearch' website, and sent off my CV to which I was asked to attend an interview. During the interview I was at no point advised that the position was one of self employment or that I would have to supply the business with a self employment number and invoice for my wages. I was told I would be paid straight into my bank account on a weekly basis and never advised that I would have to do anything in order to receive my wages. However a month passed and I didn't receive payment, I was told various excuses on different occasions and even advised that payment had been made when in fact it hadn't. When I said I would be taking the matter further in order to receive payment I was advised that I can not legally be paid without a self employment number and that "I was being given a favour by not doing this previously" when I had never previously been advised of this. I have sent a letter to the company advising that they have committed an act of 100% deduction of wages but have not heard back. I received a text this evening saying that payment would not be made until they receive an invoice and my self employment number. What do you advise I do? As I am unsure where I stand legally for the money I am owed.

Please can somebody advise? Friend was employed by Company A from November 2010 till November 2012. Employment contract said company had right to take back any overpaid wages. Company A has now written to friend saying that they want overpaid wages back - they aren't saying which hours were overpaid merely giving a lump sum amount to be in full settlement. They have said that if friend does not pay up soon they will go to the small claims court - and bankrupt friend if necessary. We know that Company A is of the opinion that friend claimed meal breaks and travelling time when he shouldn't have done. Apparently, they think, he was entitled to claim this ONLY for the first few weeks that he worked there but he was not told this and claimed all the time he was there. His timesheets were seen by the MD (small company) and approved by him before being passed to outside payroll bureau. The timesheets quite clearly show that meal breaks and travel time were being claimed, it is not just buried in the figures but separately shown. As the timesheets do not give a total number of hours - or allow you to show the overtime rate (time and a half or double time) the MD would have had no choice but to read what was on the timesheet. Friend's previous job and current job are in the same industry as Company A and they both paid meal breaks and travel time. Assuming that Company A does go to the Small Claims Court and they ask for a lump sum rather than an amount linked to specific hours that they identify, will the Court allow this? If the Court requires them to identify specific hours then how far can they go back? All the way to November 2010? Lastly, what happens to the amount they ask for as it has already been subjected to PAYE and NI and presumably one cannot get this back from HMRC. Does the Net amount get worked out? Obviously, all this is a bit of a new experience for us. If anybody notices anything that we have missed I would appreciate it if you assume its because I don't understand what goes on. Thanks

Hi folks , another family issue . My son took a payday loan out to cover his mortgage, as he was in court over it a few weeks ago and wanted to be up to date with his repayments. The loan was due to be paid last week and wasnt . On wed 23rd oct emailed his payday loan company , providing them with an expenditure form and an offer of repayment of £10 per month . their reply is below Thank you for your email. You currently have an outstanding balance of xxxxxx We would like to offer you 2 repayment plan options. 1)Balance over 2 months -£xxxxx per month 2) Balance over 3 months – £xxxxx per month Please note whilst your account is not in a repayment plan status further interest will be incurred and our system will try to recoup the full outstanding balance at any given time. Finally, we will also look to sell your account to a doorstep collection agency. Please confirm which option you would like to go for should you want to set up a repayment plan with us. His reply Sorry but I can't afford that much. I was told to stop all non piortirty debts and focus on my mortgage and rates r else I will lose my home. I went to court last week and unless I keep to my payments the mortgage company will be granted repossion straight away. As for rates they were granted a order by the court already and I need to get it up to date by April. Their reply Thank you for your response. Taking into account that you only recently opened your account with us last month and we have received no payments to date back, there is little in terms of a repayment plan we can offer you. Please let us know should your circumstances change and if you are able to split your balance over 2/3 months. Many thanks, My son was at work and didnt reply to their last email . Thurs 24th Oct loan company take £100 from his account followed by a further £50 Fri 25th they took another £100 leaving him broke with 3 kids to feed. Am I right in thinking they were a bit premature in taking £250 of him as he had made contact and was trying to negoiate with them and had in fact made them an offer? Should he or does he have grounds to complain to ombudsman , and incur these people a charge ? Or does he have and fighting chance of getting his money refunded ? Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi I had fell behind on my council tax a good few years back, however I had arranged a payment plan with Debt collector for the council and was paying it as agreed. Whilst I was on holiday a payment came out of my bank that I wasn't expecting and this meant my agreement with the debt collectors wasn't paid and they cancelled the agreement, I didn't know this had happened until a week or so later when I arrived back in UK and had a earnings arrestment waiting on me. To be honest I was relieved and this meant paying my debt off quicker that it would have been. That was back in July and 3 payments have now been taken from my wages. I am now moving job into a small family firm and don't want them to be aware of the arrestment. I am more than willing to pay what I have been paying through the arrestment or possibly a bit more but is there anyway around paying it direct and not through your employer? Sorry for the load of info this is my first post! Many thanks Dee