Employer deducting wages because of a mistake
Discussion
My eldest has a part time job at a rather famous theatre in London. She has been there a month or so and loves it, she is studying English at LSBU and loves the theatre, this is a dream little job for her.
Today we had numerous messages from her, it seems that on her shift yesterday she was bamboozled by 2 customers who each paid with a fake £50 notes. She remembers serving them and was open and honest when questioned about it.
She works in a kiosk that is just outside the theatre and is open to the public.
She is in bits, she loves this job. She has been told that she will have £50 deducted from her wages. This is only a part time job so, to her, £50 is a lot of money.
My question is, is this legal? When she gets home I will ask her to check her contract. This was an honest mistake, these 2 people knew what they were doing, my daughter said they were very friendly and chatty.
Today we had numerous messages from her, it seems that on her shift yesterday she was bamboozled by 2 customers who each paid with a fake £50 notes. She remembers serving them and was open and honest when questioned about it.
She works in a kiosk that is just outside the theatre and is open to the public.
She is in bits, she loves this job. She has been told that she will have £50 deducted from her wages. This is only a part time job so, to her, £50 is a lot of money.
My question is, is this legal? When she gets home I will ask her to check her contract. This was an honest mistake, these 2 people knew what they were doing, my daughter said they were very friendly and chatty.
See this:
https://www.gov.uk/understanding-your-pay/deductio...
In short: no, unless her contract says they can, with the caveats that (i) the deduction cannot reduce her pay below national minimum wage, and (ii) they cannot take more than 10% of her gross pay (but could spread it out over multiple pay packets).
https://www.gov.uk/understanding-your-pay/deductio...
In short: no, unless her contract says they can, with the caveats that (i) the deduction cannot reduce her pay below national minimum wage, and (ii) they cannot take more than 10% of her gross pay (but could spread it out over multiple pay packets).
zetec said:
Thank you.
I will see if I can take a look at her contract. She is however quite ok with the money being taken as ‘it was my own stupid mistake, I can’t believe I have been so stupid’.
Is there a procedure or training to identify or check bank notes? Did she follow it? I will see if I can take a look at her contract. She is however quite ok with the money being taken as ‘it was my own stupid mistake, I can’t believe I have been so stupid’.
On a separate note McDonalds also used to do this when the tills didn't balance.
edc said:
Is there a procedure or training to identify or check bank notes? Did she follow it?
This is key.I guess she won't want to make a fuss about it with her employers - but has she been specifically trained to recognise fake notes? I would imagine most people on here wouldn't know a good fake.
Or was she told to call a manager when £50 notes are being offered for payment?
Disgusting behaviour from the employer. They should have policies and equipment in place to prevent this from happening. A simple marker pen would have saved stress and money for a cost of less than a pound. I'm sure your daughter won't want you to but I'd be arranging a meeting with the theatre manager.
Disgusting behaviour from the employer. They should have policies and equipment in place to prevent this from happening. A simple marker pen would have saved stress and money for a cost of less than a pound. I'm sure your daughter won't want you to but I'd be arranging a meeting with the theatre manager.
I agree with this:
It's a st way for them to run things, and no mistake.
James_B said:
She probably has three choices here.
Accept the deduction, refuse and lose the job, or ask politely if they would be willing to overlook it this one time as she has learned from the mistake.
But also with this:Accept the deduction, refuse and lose the job, or ask politely if they would be willing to overlook it this one time as she has learned from the mistake.
Pothole said:
Disgusting behaviour from the employer. They should have policies and equipment in place to prevent this from happening. A simple marker pen would have saved stress and money for a cost of less than a pound. I'm sure your daughter won't want you to but I'd be arranging a meeting with the theatre manager.
I think this could be a good "educational" moment for her, we've all had to learn what do do in those moments when you can either take the hit (unfair or not), diplomatically make your case, or simply throw your weight around. Advise her as you feel will best serve her overall.It's a st way for them to run things, and no mistake.
zetec said:
she loves this job.
Now that she knows more about the job and the nature of her employer, the job she thought she loves is not the job she actually has. Illegal and unethical deduction from an entry level employee. Unless she really needs this job and there aren't any alternatives, I'd tell the employer to jam it up their backside even at the cost of being terminated on some made up reason later.
InitialDave said:
I think this could be a good "educational" moment for her, we've all had to learn what do do in those moments when you can either take the hit (unfair or not), diplomatically make your case, or simply throw your weight around. Advise her as you feel will best serve her overall.
Definitely this.
I work part time in a supermarket petrol station. We haven't had training on how to spot fake notes. We used to have those yellow note checker pens, but they were taken away a year or so ago. We don't have a UV note checker.
Fortunately our employer doesn't do deductions from wages for fakes, drive-offs or till errors. The tills are shared throughout the day, and only balanced once a week, so there's no way of proving who was responsible for any errors.
The hours saved by not doing regular till balancing outweighs the actual losses. We used to spend the last 15 minutes of each shift cashing up, so wasting around 10 hours a week, and the tills were always within £30 of balancing over the week.
Fortunately our employer doesn't do deductions from wages for fakes, drive-offs or till errors. The tills are shared throughout the day, and only balanced once a week, so there's no way of proving who was responsible for any errors.
The hours saved by not doing regular till balancing outweighs the actual losses. We used to spend the last 15 minutes of each shift cashing up, so wasting around 10 hours a week, and the tills were always within £30 of balancing over the week.
bad company said:
I wonder if the theatre know full well that they can’t deduct the money and just trying it on.
That's probably the case and why I mentioned McDonalds. A few years ago my cousin who was 19 or so at the time and holding her first job had this happen to her. I'm sure there are managers who think they are acting in the interest of their company but are more likely bullying younger employees who know no better into acceptance. Thanks for all the replies, we spoke last night and she was adamant that this money would be paid back, wether in her contract or not, she knows she made a mistake and fair play to her, wants to make amends.
She said she has had no specific training on fake money, a pen is supplied and used but it was ineffective. The notes that were taken, were in her words ‘like Monopoly money, I can’t believe I have been so stupid’.
She works in an outside kiosk, not really possible to call a manager, her colleague had gone for a break when this happened. Lesson learnt, she has gone back to work today, it’s her choice what she does next.
I will make sure she isn’t out of pocket one way or another.
Just to add, this theatre is on the banks of the Thames and is associated with a rather famous playwright
She said she has had no specific training on fake money, a pen is supplied and used but it was ineffective. The notes that were taken, were in her words ‘like Monopoly money, I can’t believe I have been so stupid’.
She works in an outside kiosk, not really possible to call a manager, her colleague had gone for a break when this happened. Lesson learnt, she has gone back to work today, it’s her choice what she does next.
I will make sure she isn’t out of pocket one way or another.
Just to add, this theatre is on the banks of the Thames and is associated with a rather famous playwright
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