not paid

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Hi all, my daughter started a new job at a solicitor firm on 1st Feb its a small solicitors 2 legal secretarys and 2 solicitors. she should have been paid on 28th feb, she phoned the accountant and he said wage slips went out on 19th feb but she hasnt received one. Last friday the boss gave her £300 cash and said the rest will be in the bank monday ( today ) just had a phone call from her.. money hasnt been paid and she hasnt seen the boss all day.its now 6th March !!
does anyone know who we turn to ? is it a police matter ? she cant go to work for nothing then again she cant just afford to walk out
any ideas/ advice appreciated Thanks P M
 
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Is her boss one of the solicitors?

If not she should ask to see one of the partners. If she explains that she has not received the wages she was expecting he/she will (certainly ought to) understand how important this is to one of the staff without needing to be told and should accept responsibility for putting it right.

There should be no need to cause animosity by kicking up a fuss, it should be quite sufficient to point out the problem and ask what he/she will do about it. The partners must take responsibility for what is done by the firm, and (should) be sorry and embarrassed when things go wrong and anxious to put them right.

She should take her notebook with her and keep a note of who she saw; on what date, what they said they'd do, and when by (date).

If the conversation does not specify who (name) will do what by what date, she should ask again before the discussion finishes. This might be hard for a junior employee. But if for example the person says "I'll look into it" she should ask "And when will you tell me the result? What day?" If they say "As soon as I can" this is a non-answer, so she should ask again "What day shall I come back to you then?"

If the person says "That's not my job, I'll mention to to Mr X" she should say "Shall I go and see Mr X now then?" "If not now, when? tomorrow morning?"

Sadly this persistence and clarity is needed with anyone you deal with, not just the boss. Whenever anything needs to be done, you need to come away both clearly understanding:
- What is to be done
- Who by
- When by
If any of those things is missing then quite likely nothing will be done. If all those things are specified, then you know when you can justifiably complain if not achieved. they have to be agreed by the person doing the job. If the person's boss agrees them, then that boss is responsible for making sure that they are achieved.

Some people are highly skilled at avoiding making commitments by saying:
- I'll think about it
- I'll look into it
- As soon as I can
- I'll get someone to sort it out
Look out for any of these non-answers! And ask again for the three essential points. This can be done politely and the person may feel awkward at being pressed to give a straight answer to a straight question. Tough. Ask it again.

It is not a police matter.

She will do better not to walk out.

She should have a look at her terms of employment (given to her before she started work) - they will specify when she is to be paid and probably the grievance procedure.
 
yes her boss is one of two solicitors, a couple of weeks ago a former employees boyfriend went into the office and demanded his girlfriends overdue wages she was entitled to before she left. I thought at the time that it was a bit strange, and now this !
 
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Solicitors are governed very strictly by the Law Society. They 'normally 'always see that debts are repaid.
There are bad apples in every profession, it is sad.
Put the request in writing to the firm,, then a copy to Law Society.
But from the evidence the future looks bleak, business is bad?, or the partners have blown it?
Time to move on, as fast as possible!
 
enough to file for bankruptcy through the small claims court then. The law society would be very intrested in that.
 
what's the Belgium branch of Alchoholics Anonymous got to do with it? :LOL:
 
I believe Bob is trying to converse with a Cuban sheep across a crowded bar.
 
I do have to say that as she has only just started then some delays in wage payments are only to be expected.

Recognising that she has had some expenses the boss did give her a part payment.

In my view you are making a totally unnecessary fuss about nothing and not helping her to make a good start in the job. If I was the boss I might wonder if I should keep her on if the father was bothering me

When I started work at the BBC it was over two months before we were paid and in recognition of the delay they gave us a loan of £600 to keep us going. It took them that long because the salary details had to be approved and loaded into the computer.

Tony
 
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