# ADVICE needed re pay from work



## mummy to little pea (Nov 8, 2013)

Hi all, 

Ok sorry long story.

DH and I have had little pea home for 7 weeks nearly, at the beginning I was taking holiday pay as this has to be used by end of December so was fine with me to do this, received my wage slip now only to find that I have only been given SAP and not 90% for the first 6 weeks that i was promised (which i have a signed letter from my big boss).

I contacted them today to find out why and HR told me that it was her fault entirely and that she thought I would be entitled to the same as maternity pay ppl and that I would not be getting the remainder of the money that I thought I was due.

Not sure where I can go on this, it is pretty much £500 that i am missing out of my pay pack and then will be £250 on next months pay pack from the additional 2 weeks.  I don't want to cause trouble as I still have to go back to work there next year but it is such a huge amount.  There was no terms in the staff handbook to stipulate this as it just said to contact HR on adoption leave, is anyone able to give advice on what I can do about this and whether with a letter that has been signed and dated by the main manager be valid enough to have a case against it.

I am gong to go to the CAB on monday but I just know this will be stewing in the back of my mind all weekend and will have a negative effect on me looking after little one as i will be worrying about money, we are fine it's just that it has come a little earlier than expected and had we been told previously then we could have budgeted.

feel like crying and so angry with work    

Sorry for really long post x


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## Jaicee (Aug 27, 2010)

Sorry you're in this position - very stressful.

My gut instinct would be that if you have a letter from your employer stating what they'll pay you, you're entitled to receive this. As the company's adoption policy was not publicised it would seem reasonable that you interpreted the 6 weeks at 90% pay as a company adoption pay enhancement. Obviously you won't wish to rock the boat too much with your employer (assuming that you will be returning to work after adoption leave) but I would have thought that a gentle push for the pay is perfectly reasonable as you were led to believe that you would receive this. The downside for your employer is that they won't be able to claim this additional money from HMRC (like employers do with statutory maternity & adoption pay) but at the end of the day, it's their mistake so only fair that they should pick up the cost.

Certainly worth a chat with CAB as I would hate to mislead you (I'm no expert in adoption or employment law) and worth showing them your letter from the company as the wording of it could easily affect how legally binding it will be on your employer.

Try not to worry and best of luck in resolving it all (in your favour!)


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## Missjojo (May 25, 2014)

Hi there. What a rubbish situation. I think you should definitely contest it, as you made decisions based on information they formally gave you. Failure to pay may be considered a breach of contract, though don't take my word for it. If possible, I'd talk to your big boss once you've got advice from CAB, rather than HR. HR are more inclined to see things in black and white, as in you're not entitled, but your boss might take a more common sense approach. (I say this working in HR myself and knowing that some HR people focus on the policies exactly). I suspect they'll be hoping you'll accept the situation and it will go away, but if you were to challenge it, they might make a fair decision and pay you what they said. It all depends on your company and your boss of course. But don't be afraid to ask the questions and push for a fair decision. Others would. Just do it respectfully and you won't need to worry about your return,. Good luck.


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## becs40 (Apr 9, 2013)

I can only really add that maybe pointing out that from April next year the law changes to make employers match maternity rights and pay for adopters therefore maybe they should be honouring this agreement. I know my HR department has literally changed our policy in the last couple of weeks from statuatory pay to match maternity ahead of them HAVING to do it next year anyway. Morally you'd hope they would see that. Good luck.


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## Dame Edna (May 17, 2007)

mummy to little pea said:


> , received my wage slip now only to find that I have only been given SAP and not 90% for the first 6 weeks that i was promised (which i have a signed letter from my big boss).


Personally speaking, as you have a signed letter from your 'big boss', I would politely ask if he would take up the matter with HR on your behalf.

Good luck
X


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## Macgyver (Oct 27, 2008)

I would take this further as you have a signed letter. My company made a mistake with my payments too. They over paid me  but then I got a message to go into work to talk about paying it back :/ 
In the end after I talked to acas they advised me as it was their error I didn't have to repay it. After I advised work what acas had advised they sent me a new wage slip saying deducted maternity pay xxxx plus sap xxxxx. (The same amount)
I don't think if I hadn't taken it further they would have demanded I repay it.
Good luck sweetie x


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## Kelloggs (Aug 15, 2011)

I'm pretty sure the government states that ALL companies have to pay 90% of your wages for the first 6 weeks. I'd definitely seek help on that one xx


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## Barbados Girl (Jul 7, 2012)

That is mat leave only, Kellogs. Until next year adopters are only entitled to statutory pay I.e. £138 per week.


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## Kelloggs (Aug 15, 2011)

really? My social worker told me that it was the same for adoption leave.
I'm lucky as my company pay 100% for 3 months. I think they should all pay the same as mat leave x


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## katie c (Jun 15, 2009)

Kelloggs said:


> really? My social worker told me that it was the same for adoption leave.
> I'm lucky as my company pay 100% for 3 months. I think they should all pay the same as mat leave x


Your SW is wrong. My employer paid a generous enhanced package for maternity and statutory only for adoption. And even if they only pay statutory for SMP/SAP the 90% only applies to SMP. It's rubbish.

MTALP it's definitely worth contesting it, as I did and was successful (albeit before the event) if you search my previous posts you'll see the arguements I used. Good luck, it's totally unfair and I can relate to your gutted feeling!


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