HELP IS AVAILABLE IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT DENIAL OF EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

I AM worried that my employer is withholding my employment rights from me. What should I be looking out for?

Asking people to go self-employed to keep their jobs, telling agency staff they don’t get sick pay and suggesting pregnant staff cut their hours are among the things some employers say to try and find ways around workers’ rights.

All employees are entitled to basic rights such as the national minimum wage, sick pay, holiday pay and fair treatment during pregnancy. However, issues such as contract types and unclear employment status can leave workers unsure about what they’re entitled to, and allow unscrupulous employers to find ways

Citizens Advice Devon and Cornwall focuses on key issues and answers some of the most common questions their offices are being contacted about

of depriving them of pay and protections.

In the last year, we have helped people with 965 employment problems. We have identified ten common things that some employers say to try and mislead people about their rights. If you hear any of these, get advice:

“You work for us, but you’ll need to pay your own National Insurance contributions.”

“Your disability means you don’t do as much work as others, so we’re not going to pay you the minimum wage.”

“We can’t afford to pay you any more – you’ll have to go selfemployed.”

“You were travelling between clients – so we didn’t pay you for those hours.”

“You’re pregnant? Great! But we’re worried you won’t cope so we’re cutting your hours.”

“You’re having a baby next year? We’ll need to take you off that important project now.”

“We don’t have to pay you redundancy pay because you’re on a zero hours contract.”

“We need to close for the next two days for stock taking, so you’ll need to take holiday.”

“You work through an agency, so you don’t get sick pay.”

“We took you off the rota, so we don’t owe you sick pay.”

Follow our top tips for tackling problems at work:

Keep evidence – keep hold of letters, payslips, emails and texts, and note down a record of conversations you’ve had which could be used to support your case.

Talk to your boss – problems may arise from honest mistakes or misunderstanding of the law. If you don’t feel confident having a conversation one to one, ask a colleague or union representative to join you.

Have a more formal discussion – if the issue isn’t resolved with an informal conversation, the next step is to raise a written grievance which should give you the chance to discuss your issue formally. ACAS has guidance on what to do at: www. acas.org.uk

Get advice – if you’re still stuck, speak to your union, ACAS or Citizens Advice. Options might include using dispute resolution to liaise with your employer, or going to an employment tribunal.

More information and advice is available at: www.citizensadvice.org.uk