Several illegal acts by employer?

[confusedof]

I believe my employer is breaking employment law in several places, namely:

1. We have to accrue our holiday entitlement every year from 1st January. I have read that this is legal during the first year of employment only.

2. When questioned about statutory sick pay, they say 'we don't pay it.' I believe they are trying to pull the wool over my eyes by making out it is optional.

3. They have no form of occupational pension even though I believe there are enough employees to make it a legal requirement. There are two directors out of six employees but I understand that from a pay point of view, directors are treated as employees.

4. It is last August since any of us had a pay slip. I was paid monthly until Christmas but then went onto weekly pay.

I know they are perfectly aware they are breaking the law as we have protested about these matters several times. Who can we turn to for help? Any telephone numbers?

[bednobs]

1) how else would you expect to accrue holiday pay? there has to be a begining and end point dosent there? Some employers the leave year runs from jan, some from april
2)they might not pay it, but ssp is mandatory - but isnt ssp paid by the goverment? they also dont have to pay sick pay themselves
3) i dont believe there is a legal requirement to provide an occupational pension is there? i worked in an organisation that employed abut 50 people and there was no employer contributions to a pension (im sure, but i could be wrong) You could alays get a persnal pension
4) i believe they do have to provide payslips


try acas

[bednobs]

have you tried the excellent tuc website? A quck trawl through thtere has just informed me that there is no imperative to provide an occupational pension. As there are less than 5 employees, they do not even have to provide a stakeholder pension, and even with more than six they dont have to give any input to it at all
also that the department of work and pensions pays statutory sick pay, not the firm, so there is no legal requirement for them to pay sick pay either, and theyare perfectly correct to say "we dont pay ssp" (the dwp does)
cant see anything on there re payslips but i would have thought this was your right, as i stated before

[buildersmate]

SSP is paid by the Government. Employer records it as part of NI/PAYE calculations and gets reimbursed by Government - so you are right, its not optional.
There is a legal requirement to provide a statement to employees on their pay and what deductions have been made.
Ever thought of leaving?

[Loosehead]

1) ??? - please clarify
2) SSP is paid by the government and it's very small, some employers pay sick pay but it's not a legal requirement
3) They only have to provide an introduction to a pension scheme they don't have to contribute to or administer one.
4) they do need to provide a pay slip

[Buenchico]

1. Accrual systems are perfectly lawful:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employe es/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10034642

2. Employers must pay SSP unless they have their own sick pay system (which must pay at least the same amount). If you receive payments through the company's own scheme, you have no right to receive SSP as well:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Bfsl1/BenefitsAndF inancialSupport/DG_10018786

3. I can't find anything which suggests that any employee has the right to join an occupational pension scheme. I know of plenty medium-to-large sized companies which don't offer such schemes.

4. You should receive pay slips:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employe es/Pay/DG_10027228

The ACAS helpline number is 08457 47 47 47. It's available from 0800 to 1800, Monday to Friday.

Chris

[ChuffingHell]

A company is entitled to make you accrue your holiday but its not perhaps the most practical way of doing so as everyone then tends to take week long leave periods in the latter part of the leave year.

SSP is to be paid after three days absence. Paid by the company but they reclaim a certain percentage of it. Anything beyond that is optional. So if they say they don't pay sick pay, they don't have to. if they say they don't pay SSP, they do have to. Its about �14 a day at present.

A company with more than 10 people should make a pension scheme available to its workers although there is no obligation for the company to contribute anything to it - it's one of those things thats unlikely to get a company closed down for not doing. If you want a pension, set your own up and opt out of your part of your NI payments

Payslips you are entitled to. I would check that they are paying you officially and through a proper payroll system as a payslip should come as part and parcel of that. If they're not paying you properly, that affects your NI contributions.

[confusedof]

Thanks to all for setting me right on these issues. No more answers required please.