www.iva.co.uk

My husband is contracted to 47 hours a week.
He works in the motor trade but because nobody is buying cars there isn't much work on at the moment. so this week his boss has been sending him home early. hes supposed to finish at 6pm but has been coming home about 4pm and hes just rang to say today hes finishing at 12. the thing is he doesn't get paid when he gets sent home early.

can an employer do this if your contracted to 47 hours? i'm really concerned about this as obviously this means were not gonna get the wage we rely on to pay our bills and IVA and to be honest another couple of weeks of getting no work and i think his company will be laying people off.

It really does depend upon the terms of his contract of employment Connie - dig out a copy and have a read through to see if it specifies anything on basic hourss.

YOu can also ring up the local office of the Wage Council

Or ACAS may be able to help as well.

Hope it gets sorted connie as it must be a worrying time for you both.

Connie,

It really does depend on the contract - he must be paid for basic hours unless there's a separate agreed clause. This is why its so important to have a contract of employment,

Phone ACAS as Melanie has suggested, they are very helpful and advice is free.

I will help all I can of course xx

thanks for your replies.
i'm just so worried about it. we're struggling enough as it is. with everything going up all the time. things always seem to go from bad to worse with us.
the thing is his boss is not one of these you can argue with. its a small company and my hubby doesn't really want to get on the wrong side of him cos he'll just get rid of him no questions asked.

Hi Connie - it must be a nightmare for you at the moment, but things will improve.Sometimes when you're down you feel as if you swing from one crisis (challenges I call them [:D]) to another. I've had a few challenges myself this year, but have come out the other side.

Have you told your IP about the drop in wages? Hopefully your hubby will be able to find another job soon and with a better company that will give him a contract.

Try to keep strong xx

thanks
no i've not told them yet as i only just found out today that he won't get paid for being made to finish early.
he's going to register with an agency next week so hopefully if it comes to it he can get a new job. i'll still be on edge all the time with it being agency work.
i remember the time when he worked in the motor trade and the company he worked for was like working for the council a job for life. how times change

It is a good idea to forewarn your Supervisor. Good luck and get the employment advice soon. x

Hi,
Unfotunately this is often how smaller Motor Trade business's operate. An employer should only do this if it is stated in the main terms of employment however traditionally many vehicle workshops do operate in this way, thereby potentially creating an argument of custom and practice. Having just sat through 14 redundancy consultations this week in the motor trade it does illustrate the dire state of many business's in this industry. When you consider only two years ago the same business's were struggling to find enough skiled technicians/parts/service advisors to employ it is quite shocking. The owner is probably trying to hold off on redundancies as long as possible as in this trade work can come back as quickly as it dried up and he is probably trying to hang on to as many skilled staff as possible, as economically as possible. If your husaband is a skilled technician there is always the scope to do 'foreigners' as many do, try putting some leaflets through s few doors or a small advert in the local paper, or try leaving personal details at other motor trade busness' asking them to contact you if they have any 'ad hoc' days work available to cover holidays etc.
Being a consultant in Employment law (and mainly motor trade clients)I am experiencing an upturn in requsts for help from employers at the moment - good for me but not very satisfying having to advise how to follow correct redundancy selection procedures. The employer is probably not operating strictly lawfully but there would be little redress without a long and stressful battle for little recompense. I would advise your husband speak to his employer to try and ascertain what the company is doing to bring in the work and what they believe the prospects of this happening are. Depending on his length of service I would be wary of moving to another job too early as he may end up in the same situation with no right to a redunancy payment - you need two years service to qualify.

I'd hazzard a guess the employer in this case wouldn't offer redundancy payments as there doesn't seem to be a contract of employment in place.

Most individuals wouldn't bother to take to a tribunal either in this case.

All employees by law have to give a contract of employment within a certain period of commencing employment.
There are many free law centres that take on cases for free to Tribunals and it works in employees favour.

Get all the facts and speak to an expert in your area.

I agree with David - you may however still find some small companies that flout the law when it comes to issuing contracts.

I think you should certainly advise your IP of the situation. Don't struggle to make the payments, there maybe a simple solution for you.

xx

If a contract has not been issued within 13 weeks, I am sure that there is an implied contract in place, which follows the usual terms and conditions of the employer. So Connie's husband is probably covered by something.