Please help - no minimum wage etc

[Big Cheese]

I work for a large company in the uk that turns over in excess of £20m p/a

It has 26 sites accross the Uk and also abroad.

 

I am employed on a 'casual basis' and have no set days of work although it is pretty much guaranteed at least 3/4 days per week. Recently I worked 17 days constant.

 

My problems are the following.

 

I start work at 7.15am on a busy saturday i will finish at around 9pm. For lunch i will have a 20 minute break in which we are expected to mingle with the customers whilst eating. We will get 5 minutes for a cigarette that is often interrupted with requests to do some work. This is the only break we will get in the day until we finish. For this we receive a 'day rate' of £40. Also when I work long weeks i can accrue 50 hours+ over 4 days so I know that it is in contravention of the EU WTD - which i know of as i used to run my own business. I mentioned this to my manager to help him out and he said he had never heard of it. Just to add that I am 25 and have worked at the company for around 3-4 months. I am a happy employee and have been promoted and am also desperate for the money as finding decent work is hard at the moment. The only thing is i cant bear to watch them raking in millions per year when the staff are absolutely slogging their guts out for peanuts. Also we are paid monthly into our a/c and told the £40 per day is after tax, however we have no pay slips ans the local tax office has no record or any stamp being paid on our behalf.

 

Can we organise a union???

Please help but something must be done as it cant be legal? - Im also informed that 16 people have tried to take this company to court in the past and have just been laid off - because as our manager says 'the company doesnt sack people - it just doesnt call them for work anymore because they have caused problems'. Where do we stand legally? To be honest i should know more about it but things change so often that i dont like to make a fuss without solid facts and some back up.

 

Regards

[dori2o]

Contact the Pay and Work Rights helpline on

 

0800 917 2368

[Big Cheese]

As far as i can gather on the net - i am not actually a casual worker - the company is just trying to con everybody by terming us as casual workers. I know this because i am the main employee who gets all the available shifts. And even if this wasnt the case i am still liable for the same rights. Ie i should be earning around £70 per day and receiving more breaks and receiving a wage slip and paying taxes?

 

Is this correct and where do i go next ?

[Sidewinder]

I agree with the above, possibly also adding ACAS to the list on 08457 474747.

 

You have a legal right to an itemised payslip, and you also have the legal right to work within the 48 hour limit, and requirements for breaks and rest periods imposed by the WTD. You can certainly explore action on those points. Legally, you cannot be dismissed fairly for exercising statutory rights but.....

 

With only a short period of service, you are somewhat hamstrung, as although you have legal rights, providing that you are not openly being mistreated as a consequence of discrimination or for exercising statutory rights, you cannot take action against the employer for unfair dismissal. As you say, they tend not to sack people, but all of a sudden the work dries up, which then leaves you having to prove that this was due to you being 'militant'.

 

I would pursue the issue of wageslips certainly, and HMRC may well look into this for you. As for the other points, raise a grievance, but I think you already suspect what may happen if you do....

 

An unenviable position, I think.

[Big Cheese]

What about a union as the other 30 employees - everyone apart form the manager are on the same agreement - and hey a site that turns over in excess of £1m cant operate without the workforce right. So maybe theres somewhere to go with that. I mean its more the MW were bothered about. Jeez there getting away with £3 per hour some days.

[Big Cheese]

I cant believe that this day in age its as easy as putting every member of a workforce on a casual employment basis - so as to ignore every law that is put in place to protect us. Surely its not that easy or every company would do it - what signifies 'casual'? Its just a play on words that means we arent full time event though we count for all the staff who work for the company?

[Sidewinder]

What about a union as the other 30 employees - everyone apart form the manager are on the same agreement - and hey a site that turns over in excess of £1m cant operate without the workforce right. So maybe theres somewhere to go with that. I mean its more the MW were bothered about. Jeez there getting away with £3 per hour some days.

 

Keep a strict record of what you are paid for the hours that you work on a daily basis, and use this information when you speak to the Helpline.

 

As regards the Union - is there a recognised Union for that type of work? If not, then try HERE

[Bigredbus]

I work for a large company in the uk that turns over in excess of £20m p/a

It has 26 sites accross the Uk and also abroad.

 

I am employed on a 'casual basis' and have no set days of work although it is pretty much guaranteed at least 3/4 days per week. Recently I worked 17 days constant.

 

My problems are the following.

 

I start work at 7.15am on a busy saturday i will finish at around 9pm. For lunch i will have a 20 minute break in which we are expected to mingle with the customers whilst eating. We will get 5 minutes for a cigarette that is often interrupted with requests to do some work. This is the only break we will get in the day until we finish. For this we receive a 'day rate' of £40. Also when I work long weeks i can accrue 50 hours+ over 4 days so I know that it is in contravention of the EU WTD - which i know of as i used to run my own business. I mentioned this to my manager to help him out and he said he had never heard of it. Just to add that I am 25 and have worked at the company for around 3-4 months. I am a happy employee and have been promoted and am also desperate for the money as finding decent work is hard at the moment. The only thing is i cant bear to watch them raking in millions per year when the staff are absolutely slogging their guts out for peanuts. Also we are paid monthly into our a/c and told the £40 per day is after tax, however we have no pay slips ans the local tax office has no record or any stamp being paid on our behalf.

 

Can we organise a union???

Please help but something must be done as it cant be legal? - Im also informed that 16 people have tried to take this company to court in the past and have just been laid off - because as our manager says 'the company doesnt sack people - it just doesnt call them for work anymore because they have caused problems'. Where do we stand legally? To be honest i should know more about it but things change so often that i dont like to make a fuss without solid facts and some back up.

 

Regards

 

Hi,

 

The 2010 National Minimum Wage is £5.93 per hour for workers aged 21 and over.

 

If you work 40 hours per week, you would total a gross pay of £237.20 per week, on which you would pay:

(a) £60.63 - National Insurance per month

(b) £97.66 - Tax (20% tax rate) per month

© Total per day after tax: £40.13

 

If you work 50 hours per week, you would total a gross pay of £296.50 per week, on which you would pay:

(a) £88.90- National Insurance per month

(b) £149.05- Tax (20% tax rate) per month

© Total per day after tax: £48.32

 

As per working more than 48 hours per week, this contravenes the WTD, as previously said, unless you signed an opt-out agreement.

 

Bringing in an union to defend your basic rights is a good idea but a lengthy process involved as the union would have to be recognised by your employer...

 

You should contact HMRC, amongst other organisations and governmental bodies.

[BankFodder]

If you have been working an average of at least 16 hours per week for 12 months then you have employment rights and they cannot just lay you off.

These figures may have changed recently so check them out.

 

Be careful about forming a union.

 

Your work colleagues may say that it is a good idea but when the chips are down they will not want to risk their jobs and you will be on your own and in a bad situation.

[Surfer01]

I woudl say that you are no longer a casual/part time worker, but you would need to check with ACAS on your rights which may include holiday pay. Are you working direct for the company or through an agency?

[Big Cheese]

I work direct for the company - also they say that they pay my tax so really my wage is worth £48 per day but my tax code allows me to earn the first 6-7k tax free so its a lie. Basically the week before last i worked 88 hours for which i should have legally earned £520 at minimum wage less tax, in reality i earned £280. I must have some rights

[Bigredbus]

You should contact HMRC then...

[Allwood]

I work direct for the company - also they say that they pay my tax so really my wage is worth £48 per day but my tax code allows me to earn the first 6-7k tax free so its a lie. Basically the week before last i worked 88 hours for which i should have legally earned £520 at minimum wage less tax, in reality i earned £280. I must have some rights

 

Have a look at this government link it may be helful. Also, I could be wrong but I think that if you work in the capital there is an extra allowance.

 

Employment terms and conditions : Directgov - Employment