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Umbrella company ended contract to avoid Maternity payments :(

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    #21
    Thursday night is sockie night!
    I was an IPSE Consultative Council Member, until the BoD abolished it. I am not an IPSE Member, since they have no longer have any relevance to me, as an IT Contractor. Read my lips...I recommend QDOS for ALL your Insurance requirements (Contact me for a referral code).

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      #22
      Originally posted by Scruff View Post
      Thursday night is sockie night!
      Any evidence for that accusation.....
      merely at clientco for the entertainment

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        #23
        Originally posted by eek View Post
        Let's break it down into bullet points then

        1) You are employed by a company (an umbrella) who provide your services via an agency to a 3rd party.
        2) You have worked with the umbrella long enough to qualify for maternity pay.
        3) You are pregnant
        4) knowing that you are pregnant the umbrella has / is trying to make you redundant to avoid maternity pay.

        While the above may not be 100% right I think breaking what you originally wrote into short bullet points will make it far easier to understand..
        I am surprised they are even trying this, most companies are scared to death of canning someone if they're pregnant. At my last permie place they were having a round of redundancies. One of the ladies was pregnant and the dev manager joked that her job was safer than the MD's as no one would dare make her redundant!

        Take em to the cleaners if they are indeed doing this because of your pregnancy.

        Comment


          #24
          Originally posted by eek View Post
          Let's break it down into bullet points then

          1) You are employed by a company (an umbrella) who provide your services via an agency to a 3rd party.
          2) You have worked with the umbrella long enough to qualify for maternity pay.
          3) You are pregnant
          4) knowing that you are pregnant the umbrella has / is trying to make you redundant to avoid maternity pay.

          While the above may not be 100% right I think breaking what you originally wrote into short bullet points will make it far easier to understand..
          You are exactly right eek - in my mind there is no doubt whatsoever that the OP qualifies for maternity pay but hopefully I can get a written clarification from HMRC and I will make sure that it's posted on the forum for future reference
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            #25
            Originally posted by eek View Post
            Let's break it down into bullet points then

            1) You are employed by a company (an umbrella) who provide your services via an agency to a 3rd party.
            2) You have worked with the umbrella long enough to qualify for maternity pay.
            3) You are pregnant
            4) knowing that you are pregnant the umbrella has / is trying to make you redundant to avoid maternity pay.
            Which was exactly my thinking in the first place (despite the lengthy, disjointed messages!). The issues though are I'm not sure if point 4 is fact, and doubt they'll admit it! AND I'm not sure what to do about my method of pay in the meantime. :S

            Anyway, I have decided that today's the day I confront the Umbrella company.. Either my agency Rep is in on it or she doesn't have a clue what she's talking about! But regardless I think discussing the situation with her any longer is a waste of time.

            Only problem now is my other half thinks the letter I've drafted is too confrontational!? :S

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              #26
              Originally posted by Michigan13 View Post
              Which was exactly my thinking in the first place (despite the lengthy, disjointed messages!). The issues though are I'm not sure if point 4 is fact, and doubt they'll admit it! AND I'm not sure what to do about my method of pay in the meantime. :S

              Anyway, I have decided that today's the day I confront the Umbrella company.. Either my agency Rep is in on it or she doesn't have a clue what she's talking about! But regardless I think discussing the situation with her any longer is a waste of time.

              Only problem now is my other half thinks the letter I've drafted is too confrontational!? :S
              When you email the umbrella company all you need to do is add links which demonstrate the legal position (there are a couple in the thread) and then state your belief that your 'dismissal' qualifies as automatically unfair and that, if the situation is not resolved and they do not pay Mat Pay then you will have no choice but to refer the matter to an Employment Tribunal - no need to be aggressive - just state the facts and see what they come back with and then go from there
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                #27
                Originally posted by Michigan13 View Post
                Which was exactly my thinking in the first place (despite the lengthy, disjointed messages!). The issues though are I'm not sure if point 4 is fact, and doubt they'll admit it! AND I'm not sure what to do about my method of pay in the meantime. :S

                Anyway, I have decided that today's the day I confront the Umbrella company.. Either my agency Rep is in on it or she doesn't have a clue what she's talking about! But regardless I think discussing the situation with her any longer is a waste of time.

                Only problem now is my other half thinks the letter I've drafted is too confrontational!? :S
                I would say 4 is correct based on

                Recently I let my Agency Rep know I was pregnant, she didn't sound too happy despite saying the obligatory congratulations and said something about speaking to head office.
                But keep things simple in bullet points and ensure they know that you know the law (basically what Lisa says above)...
                merely at clientco for the entertainment

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                  #28
                  This is probably getting really annoying for you guys, I actually cringe at the level of which I am relying on your assistance lol :S

                  ..BUT, here's a copy of the letter I have drafted already. The sections I have highlighted in bold would probably be better reworded, with inserts that better demonstrate my legal position as stated by Lisa.

                  Dear (whomever it may concern)

                  I am writing in regards to a later received from yourselves on the 31st of May 2014 (dated 29/05/2014) in which you state that you have ended my employment with yourselves in order to allow me to transfer to (agency's) PAYE payroll. This letter follows an email received on the 28th of May 2014 in which you state that you have recently reviewed my account and found that i wasn't getting the most out of (umbrella company) and based on discussions with (agency), recommend that I transfer to their PAYE payroll instead.

                  I would like to draw to your attention that not only do I not wish to move from (said company's) Umbrella service to (agency's) PAYE payroll and would like to appeal that decision, but that you are also in breach of section 6.2 of your terms and conditions which state that you 'The Company' must give the following periods of prior written notice to terminate my employment:- two weeks’ notice for continuous employment for more than one month but less than 2 years; or three weeks’ notice for continuous employment of more than 2 years but less than three years. My first assignment with yourselves was on the 3/7/2011, which implies that I have been employed by yourselves for almost 3 years thus should have been entitled to at least 3 weeks notice.

                  Unfortunately the period between your email and the received letter does not meet this criteria nor had you consulted with myself as to why both yourselves and (agency) feel that an Umbrella Service isn't best suited to me at this stage. I feel that it would have been in my best interests had you done so, particularly as I had recently informed (Agency rep) at (agency), on the 13th May 2014, that I am pregnant and would have assumed that this should have been brought up by (agency) whilst they were in consultation with yourselves about terminating my employment with (said company). Had my employment not been terminated I would have been contacting you shortly to provide a copy of the MATB1 form that I will be due to receive in a weeks time in order to verify my pregnancy and confirm my expected week of confinement.

                  I am under the impression that in ending my employment with yourselves without prior notice or agreement from myself you have directly affected my eligibility for Statutory Maternity Pay, I would therefore like to make a formal complaint as well as request some indication of whether this situation can be rectified. I would appreciate if this matter could be resolved sooner rather then later so I can continued being paid for my ongoing contract with (School), I will continue to carry out my duties as normal but do not accept the changes, therefore I would be much obliged if you could contact me within the next 7 days.

                  if the outcome of this situation is not satisfactory I will be seeking legal advice.

                  Kind regards,

                  (Me)
                  Am thinking this may be rather long winded.. Like almost everything I write! (As you've probably noticed!) :S

                  Comment


                    #29
                    But keep things simple in bullet points
                    Lol...

                    Comment


                      #30
                      Try this:

                      Dear Sirs,

                      You recently terminated my employment citing that my interests are not best served by working with an umbrella company and that I would be better served working directly for [the agency]. The Contract of Employment that I signed states quite clearly that you are required to give me 3 weeks notice of termination of employment and, as this was not given, you are in breach of contract.

                      I am sure you are aware that I am pregnant as I advised [the agency] on 13th May; if they did not advise you for any reason please accept this email as written confirmation. The law states that, provided I meet certain criteria, I am entitled to receive Statutory Maternity Pay from my employer. As I work through [umbrella company] under a Contract of Employment and have done for a period of almost 3 years the criteria has been met and you have a legal obligation to me.

                      I look forward to receiving written confirmation, by [date of your choosing] that your decision to terminate my employment has been reversed and that you will be making SMP payments to me as required by law.


                      Leave it like that (or something similar) and just see what they come back with

                      HTH
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