Is employer being as naughty as I think?

Dis86

Dis86

Dis86

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My sister hasn't had any income for over 2 months as a result of damage to her workplace.
Basically the entire building is gutted through another parties fault and as a result it's closed whilst refurbishment and repair takes place.

My sister is contracted to work 18 hours per week although actually does 40 per week (can be proven historically).

My sister's employer is claiming insurance costs against the salary of my sister and her colleagues. This is not being passed on to any of them.

Am I right in thinking that my sister should be getting paid for 18 hours per week (or maybe 40?) and that her employer is acting unlawfully by not only not paying her but also by claiming for the money from the insurers and not passing it on? I'm thinking two offences here, insurance fraud and breach of contract?
 
Very naughty and a very serious offence. He's screwing the tax man, his insurance and his employees. That's jail territory.
 
He has an obligation to pay them though he could expect them to take some of it as paid holiday - which could be an interesting one with the new laws in regard to holiday pay and average pay over previous 3 months.
 
The issue is my sister's not particularly willing to speak up as it probably = her out of job. However that then goes down as constructive dismissal etc.

Interestingly her boss (the company owner) is the wife of a serving police officer.
 
All depends on your sisters contract and employers insurance. However what you have listed is illegal.

Employer could be claiming for a multitude of things though.

Whether or not your sister gets paid depends on her contract. But I would imagine the contracted hours should be
 
By not paying the company is in breach of contract with the employee. If he is taking insurance money for the wages and not passing it on, it's fraud.

Contact an employment lawyer IMO :)
 
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Nasher said:
By not paying the company is in breach of contract with the employee. If he is taking insurance money for the wages and not passing it on, it's fraud.

Contact an employment lawyer IMO :)
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Contact the employer first, probably :)

There might actually be something in the regular 40-hour thing too. You'd need advice on that, though.
 
Maybe your sister should go and ask - I doubt she could get in much trouble by asking why she isn't getting paid at the moment. Then based on the response she can see what her next steps are
 
Dis86 said:
Because they were all told immediately after the accident 'don't worry, the insurance company are covering your wages'
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I'd take that as meaning "don't worry, you're all still getting paid".

Why wasn't this an issue after the first missed pay day?
 
Dis86 said:
Because they were all told immediately after the accident 'don't worry, the insurance company are covering your wages'
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so they don't actually know what has happened other than she intended to claim for the wages - you don't know that the employer has done that successfully

either way though they would surely be expected to get paid - talk to citizens advice or a solicitor
 
I assume your sister has asked why they haven't been paid in over 2 months? What was the company's reason/excuse?
 
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