Forced to wait 2 months for pay. Can they do it?

[Unpaid]

Is it lawful for an employment agency to make an employee wait 2 months before they receive any pay?

 

I began working for an agency on 28/05/2012. I was expecting to be paid at the end of June for the days I worked in May. However, payment did not arrive and by the end of the first week of July I was becoming concerned. Payments were starting to fail to be paid as there were insufficient funds in my bank. On the 09/07/2012 I managed to contact HR of the agency who told me they would not pay me until 27/07/2012.

 

My question is, does this contravene any employment legislation?

 

 

Thanks for your advice.

[numbers666]

Hi Unpaid,

 

What does your contract with the agency say ref pay ???? monthly in arrears ? weekly ?

 

It does sound unfair and prob unfair deduction - can you look at the agency contract and get back....

 

N

[Unpaid]

They say 1 month in arrears.

 

They blame a problem with the application for my CRB for the delay in activating my contract and resulting delay in my pay. I work in Further Education. However, I do not feel liable for the problem with the delay in processing my CRB as they asked me to pilot a trial online application. I encountered glitches with the online application, informed IT help who did not respond to my email. I did call them to alert them too and I awaited further instruction from the IT staff - it didn't come. Eventually I sorted the problem myself through trial and error. Technically they should not have started me to work without the CRB clearance, I therefore feel their delaying my pay is unjust on this basis alone. Moreover, I had done some work for the same agency a few months earlier, as it was only a few days emergency cover they did not even bother with a CRB., neither did it interfere with my getting paid.

[assisted blonde]

Some employers if you start within a week or 2 of their normal pay run pay at the end of the following month so you would get say 6 or 7 weeks pay instead of 4 or 5, this is quite common in my experience.

[Unpaid]

It will be 9 weeks before they pay me. It is costing me money in late payment fees because of their non payment - yet I cannot bill them for the same. I feel unhappy because it is costing me money to get to work as well. Insult to injury, they are paying an hourly rate agreed with the unions in 2008, not the rate agreed in 2011.

[lbruk]

If the reason you are receiving charges etc is because they have not upheld their end of the contract.

 

The contract of employment goes 2 ways. You do the work to a satisfactory standard and they pay you. You have done the first, they have broken their end - no matter what the "reason" it is unacceptable.

 

I would raise a grievance and expect them to pay all of your charges and interest.

[Unpaid]

My bank have also informed me that they are going to close my account because I am a bad customer. I have to waist my time going to plead with them because the agency paid me late.

[lbruk]

BTW the bank cannot do that

[workingscorpion]

Same thing happened to me. BTW the agency is not based in N London is it? I demanded my money as soon as I found out. They had taken money for a CRB check and not sent off for one. I contacted CRB company and checked. In the end I threatened to tell the employer. In the end the agency caved in but I left and rejoined another agency. I called the agency daily and eventually got my money. Later found out they had done this before and had to wind the company down (other employees lost out).

[Emmzzi]

BTW the bank cannot do that

 

If the bank think you are a bad customer because you are overdrawn, have bounced payments etc, and your account does not allow overdrafts, then absolutely they can close your account. lbruk what makes you think otherwise?

[lbruk]

Under the banking code they cannot just close your account, if they do then they are being unfiar especially if they have not give a reason or not accepting a valid reason. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?827-Examples-of-unfair-treament

[Emmzzi]

having bills and no funds is usually a breach of the terms of the account, and is a valid reason for closure.

 

your link does not contain an argument which counters this

[assisted blonde]

Have you tried asking for an advance on your wages to cover your immediate costs?