Wage Deductions, A Question

[speedchick]

Posting this for my other half.

He is a HGV driver, and last week had a small incident in the truck, I don't want to give too many details, but no one was hurt, nothing was damaged although it did result in the company having to phone for a recovery vehicle.

It basically was a very small driver error, just a slight misjudge, anyway, today he has received a letter telling him that he has to attend a meeting and it could result in a verbal warning.

He has no problem with the meeting, as he accepts that paperwork has to be done and boxes ticked, his biggest concern is that the company will try and charge him for the recovery, or ask him to pay part of it. He doesn't have a formal contract, and there is no employee handbook, what he wants to know is, can the company make him pay anything for this? it was not down to negligence or recklessness, can't be considered gross misconduct, it was just a simple miscalculation.

We just want to know where he could stand with this, if anyone has any idea please?

Many thanks in anticipation

[randlemarcus]

No contract, no deductions. However, that also assumes no reparation for damage, no more job.

[speedchick]

The only damage was a couple of curtain buckles and a small section of ripped curtain, in a curtain that already had a couple of failing buckles and a few rips.

The only real cost was the call out of the recovery truck. If it was a case of a driver blindly following a sat-nav in getting wedged against a dry stone wall, or deliberately aiming for a bridge that was too short, then fair enough, but it wasn't anything like that at all.

[T_Pot]

why would a torn curtain result in a tow truck??

[speedchick]

T_Pot said:

why would a torn curtain result in a tow truck??

The incident that required a tow truck was what caused the rip, I don't want to go into too many details as you don't know who is reading the forums, and I don't want to make things worse, just want to know what the company is legally allowed to do in a situation like this

[T_Pot]

speedchick said:

The incident that required a tow truck was what caused the rip, I don't want to go into too many details as you don't know who is reading the forums, and I don't want to make things worse, just want to know what the company is legally allowed to do in a situation like this

then there has to be more damage than the curtain, and it sounds like his fault. my old job would bill drivers for stupid mistakes, but it was in the drivers contract

id be more concerned with being fired to be honest, sounds like he has done something bad and costly, the recovery of a hgv alone would not have been cheap, and a new curtain can be stupidly expensive

[Cyberprog]

How long has he been employed, any payslips? How is he paid?

[Chicarito]

Good to see that some transport companies are taking action against drivers who take goods vehicles down inappropriate roads.

Shame we don't see the police taking action, though, there are a couple of local roads with HGV restrictions on them which are widely ignored, causing chaos.

[speedchick]

He didn't take it down an inappropiate road, the road was wide enough for the truck, and unfortunately, a truck was the only way of getting the load there, he made a slight misjudgment and got caught in the mud. The curtain already had minor damage (not that he had done).

He wasn't driving irresponsibly, and his manager has told him that he wouldn't lose his job for it.

I was only asking what the legalities are if they try to ask him to pay for it. Given that he has no written contract and nothing stated anywhere about what can and can't be deducted.

He has been there over a year, and is paid into the bank and gets wage slips.

[Deva Link]

speedchick said:

... can the company make him pay anything for this?

In my last big corparate job we had a £1000 excess on the insurance and we had to to pay half of it if it couldn't be recovered for any reason, most typically the accident was our fault, but it happened with 50/50 incidents too.

I always vowed I'd never pay it, but that was never tested. Many others paid it though.

If they do say he has to pay, what's he going to do? He'd have to take action against the firm for unlawful deductions and, unless it's a big place, he probably couldn't carry on working there.

Is he actually an employee of the firm or is he contacting?

[speedchick]

Deva Link said:

In my last big corparate job we had a £1000 excess on the insurance and we had to to pay half of it if it couldn't be recovered for any reason, most typically the accident was our fault, but it happened with 50/50 incidents too.

I always vowed I'd never pay it, but that was never tested. Many others paid it though.

If they do say he has to pay, what's he going to do? He'd have to take action against the firm for unlawful deductions and, unless it's a big place, he probably couldn't carry on working there.

Is he actually an employee of the firm or is he contacting?

Smallish company, definately an employee.

The truck was drivable, just needed a small tow, and then he carried on with the tip and then the journey home, which also included more loads and drops.

Edited by speedchick on Saturday 12th November 00:03

[Deva Link]

speedchick said:

Smallish company, definately an employee.

It's bit dodgy if he doesn't have a contract of employement then.

[Countdown]

Unless its in the contract or something else hes signed up to it would be an illegal deduction of wages (if they automatically deducted it). OTOH they might be able to "persuade" him to agree to it.

[Cyberprog]

Deva Link said:

It's bit dodgy if he doesn't have a contract of employement then.

Yep, he should really ask for one to be provided.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 requires employers to provide most employees with a written statement of the main terms within two calendar months of starting work.