Not being paid what I'm due.

[hilly860]

Hi and thanks for reading this saga.

I started as a home carer in aug 2012, where it was stated in interview that I would recieve 20p per mile travelling between clients homes and minimum wage for the travel time.

Each saturday we recieve the following weeks rota which lists clients to visit, the time to go, the length of visit and the travel time in minutes. Sometimes they dont have time between addresses so the travel time is zero. Now I questioned this verbally and was told "it all gets put right at payroll" which i took on good faith.

After the first couple of months I realised the petrol money and travel time fell somewhat short of what I was spending on fuel etc so I went thru and worked out what it should be, these scribblings will be on my rotas which we hand in every week. Any way they then up'd my hours and with one thing and another I worked all last year keeping my head down as advised by other staff. I was at some point told if the gap between calls is longer than 45mins we dont get paid anything, then 1.5hrs, eventually checked with the office and they said 1 hour.

In December 2013 I got truly fed up and started working it out properly and recording it on my rota with the question about why such a discrency btween what I was being paid and my reckonings.

No reply.

Next week I took it to HR manager who call the owner over, who called the top manager over and all they said was "it gets put right in payroll". I disagreed politely, showing my workings out and the rotas, to which they said no, the rota gets altered for payroll but they would look into it.

What I found out is on average each month I am short about £10 petrol (50 miles) and £30 in time (roughly 5hrs or so).

They said the mileage always works out to roughly what it should be but it clearly doesn't and the time even worse,

To date nobody has got back to me, 21st Feb 14.

I will now put it in writing when the owner comes back from 2 weeks hols.

So thanks for wading thru this but my questions are,

Why are they, and are they allowed to, alter my rota that Ive signed off on, on a payroll system? Without my knowledge of why they are changing it or to what they are changing it to?

Can I ask for it all to be checked back to the start of my employ from my original rotas? Am I right in thinking they can't deny me access to these or have destroyed them?

Yesterday the HR manager said she didnt see the owner budging and paying what I'm owed but how, when it's in black and white can she refuse?

Long winded but tried to include all details.

Many thanks peeps.

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I would be annoyed too if my employer did this. I expect the forum guys will be along over the course of the day with advice for you.

 

Not related to what you're asking, but my understanding is that HMRC let you claim more than 20p per mile. Are you doing this? It would be a small help to you.

 

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/relief-mileage.htm

 

My best, HB

Edited February 21, 2014 by honeybee13
HMRC link.

[hilly860]

Thanks honeybee13,

 

Yes the government allow me to claim 45p, but it's tax relief on the other 25p so I get a slightly higher tax code but again that was based on the mileage given by my employer which as I've worked out is wrong! As an aside my employer charges clients 50p per mile which just makes me feel even more hard done too lol

[hightail]

Do the 5 hours you're short bring your hourly rate paid below minimum wage for the hours worked?

[hilly860]

Do the 5 hours you're short bring your hourly rate paid below minimum wage for the hours worked?

 

Hmm interesting, in theory it would if applied only to the travel time.

However this is where the disagreement is, how much travel time I'm due. They have said its all worked out by payroll, so presumably a mapping system linked to it tho I dont know if such a system exists, they certainly arent keen on showing me. They have compared it to aa, rac etc and their system works out about the same.

I have also compared each route finder and although google is by far the most generous with time none of them are like the time they have paid me for. All have the same mileage as expected. But this again is paid short. So something is happening that they aint saying in my book.

Edited February 21, 2014 by hilly860

[Sidewinder]

This kind of thing is rife in the Care industry. Mrs Sidewinder endured it for several years and in her final year (before moving to working in a Care Home with far less travel overheads!) we calculated that she spent over £1200 in fuel, of which she received zero contribution from the employer, and nothing at all for travel time - in fact for some jobs she would be spending £3 in fuel and travelling for around half an hour, for a half hour assignment which paid around £4. Scandalous, as you can be sure that the provider's cost for the job was calculated to include travel time and mileage.

 

At least your employer has a system - of sorts - although from what you have said you do need to challenge this as it looks as though you are being short-changed, but the being out of pocket for fuel is, I'm afraid, par for the course for that particular industry. You so also need to make sure that you also submit an expenses claim to HMRC at the end of each tax year. The 20p you have quoted is below the 45p per mile (up to the first 10,000 miles) that HMRC allows, so you may claim against tax paid for the difference. It isn't a fortune, and the maximum allowance will not exceed the tax that you pay in a year, but you might as well have it - and the £60 per year that HMRC allows for laundry of your uniform.

[hilly860]

Thanks sidewinder, yes I do claim for what I'm due with the taxman. But that tax relief is short if the mileage is wrong. My NI is short if they arent paying me what I'm due and yes I havent moved jobs cos it does seem to be par for course that we get treated like chumps but if we let them what can we expect? I cant believe nobody anywhere is making a stand against this sort of employer!

I want to make a stand, I'm not an idiot and thats why if anyone can just give me some inkling on the questions I first raised it would be appreciated.