not been paid!!

[Lucy34]

I've been working for a cleaning company on a self employed basis for 11 months,i recently left giving 2 weeks notice,they owe me 4 weeks money.. they are now telling me that they are not paying money owed as i agreed to give 4 weeks notice which i haven't.. i don't have any written contract or anything.. they said they would pay me 2 weeks money today and they are keeping the other 2 weeks for not giving the 4 weeks notice!! would appreciate any advice as what to do.. you can't reason with this woman!!

[Snoopy1948]

Re: not been paid!!

I have come across such 'cleaning companies' that are small and tend to have cash flow problems themselves. It seems their reasoning to keep money back is probably for their own financial preservation. With no written contract I suspect that you are very much on your own on this one and my first line of self defence would be to ensure that the promised 2 weeks pay is received as this minimises the damage. I am not hopeful about the balance as you have no paper trail to back this all up. I am hoping that someone else on here can outline a suitable letter to the employer that may contain an element of persuasion ...

[charitynjw]

Re: not been paid!!

Employment Rights Act 1996

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/86

86 Rights of employer and employee to minimum notice.

(2) The notice required to be given by an employee who has been continuously employed for one month or more to terminate his contract of employment is not less than one week.

[des8]

Re: not been paid!!

in the absence of a written contract does the employer have the necessary authority to withhold any wages?
I thought written authority was required

I would suggest a letter along the lines of setting out the situation, highlighting the withheld monies, and pointing out in the absence of a written contract (employer broken regulations!)
the only notice required is one week. That is for employees!!

You state you were self employed (although I suspect that is not accurate!) in which case you don't need to give notice.

Tell your ex employer (?) that if she don't cough up you will initiate court proceedings for breach of contract. Give her two weeks, and head the letter "Letter before Action2


Tagging [MENTION=26290]mariefab[/MENTION]

[mariefab]

Re: not been paid!!

When you say that you were self-employed, do you just mean that you paid your own tax etc. or used an umbrella company; or did you set up your own business?

Like des, I suspect that it's more likely that you were really an employee; in which case you should follow his advice about the letter.