I am helping someone to bring a claim against an employer and would appreciate input from anyone who has experience of a similar situation or works in hospitality and may have seen this situation before.
The person is a Ukranian refugee and I believe they have been deliberately taken advantage of.
He got a job as a kitchen porter in my local pub on minimum wage (£6.83ph).
On starting the job their NI number hadn't yet been issued, so he was allowed to work and "bank" their hours. After a few weeks they were told he could not work any more hours until the NI number came as he had banked too many hours (fair enough). A letter sent by the pub stated he had banked "close to 100 hours".
Soon after, the NI number was issued and provided to the pub.
Fast forward a month, and the pub has not paid them for all the hours worked. In total he has been on shift in the pub for 77 hours and received total pay of around £143.
He walked out following a meeting about the pay, where the pub told him they only had 47 hours on record for him to be paid, because he wasn't being paid for hours when there was no pots to wash because the pub was quiet...................!!
So first off - He was on shift and on the premises for the full shifts apart from one occasion when he was sent home (accounted for in calculating what he is owed), so my view is that it doesn't matter that the pub was quiet and there was no pots to wash. He has to be paid. That's like saying the checkout at Tesco was quiet so they aren't going to pay the cashier. Smacks of exploitation.
Secondly, I was going to go down the route of the small claims court, but was wondering if there is any advantage in approaching ACAS? I have never had cause to use them or be involved with them before, but have used the small claims court successfully.
A letter before action has already been sent. I have also approached the local council licensing department to look to put pressure on this establishment.
Thanks
The person is a Ukranian refugee and I believe they have been deliberately taken advantage of.
He got a job as a kitchen porter in my local pub on minimum wage (£6.83ph).
On starting the job their NI number hadn't yet been issued, so he was allowed to work and "bank" their hours. After a few weeks they were told he could not work any more hours until the NI number came as he had banked too many hours (fair enough). A letter sent by the pub stated he had banked "close to 100 hours".
Soon after, the NI number was issued and provided to the pub.
Fast forward a month, and the pub has not paid them for all the hours worked. In total he has been on shift in the pub for 77 hours and received total pay of around £143.
He walked out following a meeting about the pay, where the pub told him they only had 47 hours on record for him to be paid, because he wasn't being paid for hours when there was no pots to wash because the pub was quiet...................!!
So first off - He was on shift and on the premises for the full shifts apart from one occasion when he was sent home (accounted for in calculating what he is owed), so my view is that it doesn't matter that the pub was quiet and there was no pots to wash. He has to be paid. That's like saying the checkout at Tesco was quiet so they aren't going to pay the cashier. Smacks of exploitation.
Secondly, I was going to go down the route of the small claims court, but was wondering if there is any advantage in approaching ACAS? I have never had cause to use them or be involved with them before, but have used the small claims court successfully.
A letter before action has already been sent. I have also approached the local council licensing department to look to put pressure on this establishment.
Thanks