Companies withholding 1st week of wages

[franco_22]

Does any one know why companies are allowed to do this and is it legal?

I know that in the US and Canada it's illegal but I just recently joined a job and I was told that the first week of my wages is going to be held until I leave.

Now I don't really understand why a company is allowed to do this, is this okay?

Basically I am letting them keep my money interest free for god knows how long, what if someone stays with them for 10 years, they get to keep that money interest free for 10 years? If this is allowed, why ? It's certainly not allowed in North America and I think it's quite appalling that a company would withhold any money due to their employees, if they need money than ask a bank like everybody else, am I wrong here ?

 

[franco_22]

Sorry for bumping this thread but I just found out 100% sure that the new company I'm working for is going to withhold my first weeks pay, now I am not desperate for the money and I certainly am not going to go hungry by not having it now but, is every one else okay with this?

This company employs thousands of people and I'm guessing the average weekly wages are probably around £400, so they are probably borrowing over half a million in wages from their employees interest free ?

You only get this money when you leave the company, what happens if you don't? I know people there who have been working for the same place for 15 years, I asked if you get it at the end of the financial year and I was told you don't and only when you leave.

Now, I know for a fact that this is illegal in the US and Canada, how can UK citizens be okay with these kind of practises ? This country has it's balls so tightly gripped by corporate firms already and it seems like everyday I find something new that just baffles me, I used to think the US was a push over with matters such as these but man the UK just takes the cake.

 

[franco_22]

As has been said, many times, its common practise due to the sheer unreliability of people, unfortunately !

Common practise here maybe... it's illegal in the US and Canada and probably a lot of other countries too. People are quite naive if they think this isn't just a scam in place to borrow millions of pounds interest free from employees. I suppose if someone is dead or stays in the company until retirement age they might never see that money or have to wait 20+ years for it. I'm off to get my tin foil hat now as I seem to be the only one who is shocked by this...

 

[franco_22]

I'm quite aware no company is going to pay you in advance for work you haven't done yet. I'm talking about, for example, say you start working on the 1st of January. The companies cut off date is on the 21st and you get paid on the 28th.

Instead of being paid from the 1st until the 21st, you will only be paid from the 7th until the 21st and the company will hold the first weeks pay.

And no I do not agree that a company can hold hundreds of thousands of unpaid wages interest free as if their employees are some sort of personal bank and quite frankly I don't understand how people are okay with that just "because" it's common practise.

I'm sure if someone went back 300 years and told a farm owner that uses slave labour that what they are doing is wrong they could have told you it's common practise as well.