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Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:42 pm
by Nick H.
Hi everyone,

I'm having a bit of an issue with my (likely former-)employer, and I'm looking for advice on how to proceed.

Basically, I applied, through Kijiji, for a sales position with a cellphone accessories booth in McAllister place. I showed up for an interview, was asked a couple of questions, and then immediately put to work for the day. The training phase lasted fifteen minutes (though, in all fairness, it's a rather simple job), and then I was left alone to close the store. I was told to write my hours in a binder, which is kept on-site. This job ostensibly pays $10/hour.

After a couple of weeks, everything seemed more-or-less okay. I mean, I don't enjoy being hollered at in broken-English by my boss for failing to sell $1000/day worth of $20 phone cases (especially difficult given the fact that the booth averages one customer/hour), but I don't expect part-time jobs to abound with pleasantness. But, then payday came and went without any activity in my bank account. He has all the relevant banking information for me, and my hours were clearly documented. I called him and he said that I was supposed to email him all hours by a certain deadline. Nobody told me this, and he called me stupid for not divining this information. I was promised money on the next business day, and did not receive it. This has repeated four consecutive days. Now, today, he called me and said that he didn't feel he should pay me, as I didn't sell as many cases as I he hoped for. He figures that if he isn't making a bunch of money, I probably shouldn't make any.

So that's the situation. Any advice on how I should proceed?

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:51 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
A co-worker of mine spent 7 years trying to sell cell phone accesories at MacAllister Mall and he thinks your employer is high. No one is ever going to sell that much merchandise in a week nevermind a day.

That being said he can't simply not pay you even if he isn't satisfied with your performance. His only recourse is to fire you.

At this point I would consult with someone who does this for a living:

GNB - Employment Standards

1.888.452.2687

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 7:11 pm
by macrae11
You're having a shitty couple of months for getting paid. :cry: Drinks on me when I'm up in a few weeks.

Matt's right. Send it up the ladder. That is assuming that something involving petty vandalism is out of the question.... :twisted:

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:35 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
Like Matt said, there is someone waiting at a desk to help you with something like this right now (or at least during government business hours).

Idiots like that need a comeuppance... :-x

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 5:36 pm
by Alain Benoit
Nick H. wrote: ostensibly


A.

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:44 pm
by Nick H.
Update:

I called this (now decidedly-)former employer on Sunday. He had promised pay on Friday, so when the banks closed that day without any activity in my bank account, I was angry (if unsurprised). He told me that he had attempted to pay me, but that the transaction hadn't cleared before the banks had closed for the weekend; I shouldn't worry, he said. Having heard this several times before, I told him that I had no intention in working for him any longer, as that work didn't appear to pay without significant struggle, and that, should the money not appear in my account by Monday, I would be lodging a complaint with the Labour Board, with whom I'd already spoken and had been advised on how to proceed.

He hung up on me.

After that, he inexplicably called me back. He felt I was unjustly threatening him, and that I had no right to speak to him disrespectfully. I mentioned that what I was threatening him with was actually Canadian legislature directly out of the Employment Standards Act, and that a respectful tone was not mentioned in that document as a prerequisite for fair, pre-agreed compensation. He called me some names in broken English. Then, he said that I should call him the next day, and if I grovelled and apologized for my behaviour, he might be so kind as to pay me. If not, he told me he has plenty of experience with the Labour Board ("no doubt," I replied), and that he would happily have them deal with it, because then I'd have to wait a few months for my money, and he felt that was an appropriate amount of spite to compensate for the disrespect I had approached him with.

On Monday, he texted me asking for remaining information in order to pay me. He had asked for banking information, and it had slipped my mind to provide my SIN. I provided the information, while mentioning that this clearly proved that he had never made an effort before to pay me, if the discovery of this missing information was new. I reminded him that he had until the end of business before I started filling out forms. He said he'd pay me by then. He did not.

Today, he called me and explained that it was all my fault that I hadn't been paid. His accountant refuses to deal with someone so irresponsible as to not provide all information without instruction (again, he just asked for my transit number, account number, &c.). I do admit fault and oversight at forgetting to provide my SIN, and I understand that may cause a small delay, but he argues that this disqualifies me from being paid at all. I argued that, if they needed more information, there was some onus on them to ask me, or else, when I called about missing pay, to tell me what was missing. He disagrees. He said I'd be paid today. I was not.

So now I'm waiting for Labour Board forms to arrive in the mail.

I'm concerned about having not provided two weeks notice about quitting, and whether there will be repercussions. My reasoning was that, where I am still not sure I'll be paid for hours I've already worked, I should refrain from working even more, in the event they turn out to be volunteer work. I would also argue that, being owed for 55.5 hours, and also being a poor student, I can scarcely afford to continue making the trip to work without having made the money I'm owed to cover expenses. I don't feel I should have to shoulder more debt and subsequent interest by travelling to work without having received a paycheque yet to cover these costs.

Any thoughts?

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 12:15 pm
by Christian LeBlanc
As far as I know, two weeks' notice is only required when you've been working for several months (I thought it was 3 months, but it was 6 months on an article I Googled).

As for SIN numbers, he certainly doesn't need your SIN to write you a cheque or hand you some cash.

This person is so high, and I'm sorry you have to deal with this nonsense.

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 12:33 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
Christian LeBlanc wrote:As far as I know, two weeks' notice is only required when you've been working for several months (I thought it was 3 months, but it was 6 months on an article I Googled).

Can you cite the article in question? Mostly for my curiosity. I wasn't aware there was a particular time frame.

Christian LeBlanc wrote:As for SIN numbers, he certainly doesn't need your SIN to write you a cheque or hand you some cash.

I don't completly agree with you there, as to submit a T4 the employer would certainly need the employees SIN. I agree that it's not grounds to refuse payment, but it could delay the process. Not having filled out a standard employment information form that would have had this covered should have been a red flag.

Christian LeBlanc wrote:This person is so high, and I'm sorry you have to deal with this nonsense.

I agree with your first statement but not the last. I'm not one bit sorry that Nick is going through this. Not because I don't care about him, but because this is how you learn to not take anything for granted. Next time Nick will not allow himself to be in this kind of situation. Right Nick? :twisted:

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:07 pm
by Christian LeBlanc
I won't link to the article (mostly because I was confusing employer's responsibilities for notice with employees), but I'll provide this link instead: http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/depar ... abour.html

You might also want to look up "key employee," but that would probably be over-complicating things - unless the employer tries to cite it as an excuse for with-holding pay.

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:07 pm
by Christian LeBlanc
I won't link to the article (mostly because I was confusing employer's responsibilities for notice with employees), but I'll provide this link instead: http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/depar ... abour.html

You might also want to look up "key employee," but that would probably be over-complicating things - unless the employer tries to cite it as an excuse for with-holding pay.

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:22 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
There we go, Nick. Don't know why but I always thought that the employee had to give notice by law. I guess it's just a matter of whatever agreement was signed (which in this case I'm assuming none.)

Government of NB wrote:6. Is an employee required to give notice to his employer
when quitting
?

No, an employee is not required to provide notice to his employer when quitting a job. It is
recommended that the employer keep a copy of the employee’s notice of quit in their file.


http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/petl-epft/PDF/es/NoticeofDismissal.pdf

Government of NB wrote:Employers and employees may enter into an agreement for greater benefits than provided for in the Employment Standards Act. Such agreements shall be respected and enforced by the Employment Standards Branch.

This is a guide only. For interpretation and application purposes, please refer to the Employment Standards Act, its regulations and amendments.

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:00 pm
by Alain Benoit
Mathieu Benoit wrote: Not having filled out a standard employment information form that would have had this covered should have been a red flag.



Yup.

A.

Re: Withheld Pay

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:16 pm
by Nick H.
Update:

After letting this individual know that complaint forms were on their way from the government, and that I was really looking forward to filling them out, he invited me to come to the mall today to pick up a cheque. He wrote me the cheque that was due on the 15th, and the next one will be apparently given to me next Monday. So long as this all happens, and the cheques don't bounce, the matter would appear to be closed.