#Employment : Commission Witheld - No Contract?!

[Superdryguy2k10]

Hi all, just wondering where I legally stand on this issue.

I work/worked for a large reputable debt management firm where a large percentage of our wages are paid on commission for hitting targets.

Our pay month runs from 7th-7th of each month with a basic wage paid on 5th and commission on the 15th. This month, namely the 13th of April, we could told that we would not get commission and it would be witheld based on sufficient packs back. This had never happened in previous months at all.

I do have a contract which states that all commission is to be paid at my bosses discretion, but I have been promoted recently and am now no longer working in that capacity and do not have a current contract for my role after promotion.

I did quit the job due to the commission being witheld and feel I had no other choice. I have a young family and a child to care for and am now in a position where I cannot pay some of my priority debts.

And finally......i left yesterday on the 13th and am now being told I cannot be paid til 5th of May, yet various other employees in the company get paid next week?!

Anyone shed any light on this for me....keen to know! :mad2:

[postggj]

Did you give any notice on quitting

 

did youn get paid on the 5th april

[Superdryguy2k10]

I didn't give any notice, but have read elsewhere that I don't have to as there is a particular law which relates to my situation based on the grounds of the commission being held causing me to quit.

and yes I did get paid on the 5th April....i don't mind waiting til 5th may but feel that i should be paid when everyone else gets paid....

Also, am i entitled to any holiday pay that has been accrued?

I started work for them on 4th october and finished 13th april with the only time i had off being 17 days at xmas....i worked 6 days a week 10 hour days!

[postggj]

Six days a wekk, ten hours a day

 

i hope you signed the opt out for the 48 hour max working week and i hope you had a 24 hour break between one week and the next weeks shift starting

 

commission is not part of your basic wage and you quitting without giving notice can be classed as breach of your employment contract if they wanted to throw there toys out of the pram

 

and any accured holiday pay needs to be paid but depends on what cycle your holiday year runs from

[Superdryguy2k10]

24 hours? I thought you had to have 48 hours every 2 weeks? because i never had that!!

With the commission, does it not have to be paid as it has been paid in previous months?

I also thought there was a law which states that anything in employment, which is detrimental to a persons finances and caused them to leave can also be acted on!?

[Superdryguy2k10]

And also, because my commission dates run from 7th to 7th and i quit on the following 13th....does this not indicate that all agreed targets in the month were met, hence commission should be paid?!

[postggj]

You are talking of setion 13 of the employment rights act (unlawful deduction of wages) but as stated

 

commission payments are not part of the basic wage, the only exception would be the same amount of commission every month over a period of time, that would then become custom and practice but i take it the comission payments are allways different??

[Superdryguy2k10]

The commission payments I am entitled to are 10% of anything taken above and over a particular target as was done in my first 2 months after promotion...but with the commission should i not be paid seeing as it was earnt in the previous month where all targets were achieved and also we are now in a new "target" month?!

[postggj]

my opinion on this is any outstanding wages, comision, holiday pay etc will be paid on the 5th may as you gave no notice on leaving and they will be including all payments in one hit

 

if no payment has been received on the 5th may, then we go in all guns blazing

 

just sit tight for a few weeks would be my advice

[Superdryguy2k10]

And ive seen on the DWP website, that if you are forced to leave employment due to not being paid then it counts as constructive dismissal seeing as this commission was agreed on promotion and I have had emails stating that it is 10% of anything over target.

It seems like constructive dismissal as i was forced into leaving to find a job which did pay!

[Superdryguy2k10]

I will sit tight, but i have bills to pay, hence me mentioning the constructive dismissal claim as i now have to find a job quickly to pay my bills on 1st

I did understand that some months i may not get commission based on targets not being hit, but also understood that we got 10% of commission once targets were hit!!

[postggj]

you need 12 months continious employment to claim constructive/unlawful dismissal so thats a non starter

 

constructive dismissal is only if things like protected characteristics are broken, maternity, race relations etc (equality act)

 

you can make an employment tribunal claim for loss of wages though but you must serve a grievance on your employer first though

[Superdryguy2k10]

Well I'll approach my employer first as it seems like my targets were hit and the money was due for that period!

If no success then i'll issue the grievance and take matters further!

[postggj]

like i said

 

before you go upsetting your employer

 

wait for the 5th may

[Superdryguy2k10]

Yep, my commissions due tomorrow, so ill see if that arrives and then wait til 5th to see what happens!

[postggj]

wise move:-)