A friend has just been fined for stopping in a box junction in London. The relevant local authority has sent his company a request, asking for the name and address of the driver, which is standard. The company have provided these details and will pay the Fixed Penalty Notice, deducting the amount from his next wage packet, for which my friend has no issue. However, the company is charging my friend an additional ‘administration fee’ of £45 for the privilege of paying his fine (so, essentially, he’s being fined twice!). Is this legal?
My friend doesn’t have a written contract and there is no mention of an administration fee in his Driver’s Handbook (issued by the company). IIRC, this is not only immoral but it’s also illegal. Does anybody actually know where he stands legally?
How long has he worked for said company? You have to issue a statement of employment within 12weeks of starting employent, and any deductions from wages such as this must be agreed in the contract of employment otherwise the company could be taken to a tribunal.
coiler:
How long has he worked for said company? You have to issue a statement of employment within 12weeks of starting employent, and any deductions from wages such as this must be agreed in the contract of employment otherwise the company could be taken to a tribunal.
Are you sure about the “within 12 weeks” because this says differently:
You are entitled to receive a statement of your employment particulars within two months of starting work. This sets out your main employment terms, including the job description, pay, hours of work and any disciplinary or grievance procedures your employer has.
coiler:
How long has he worked for said company? You have to issue a statement of employment within 12weeks of starting employent, and any deductions from wages such as this must be agreed in the contract of employment otherwise the company could be taken to a tribunal.
18 months… I think his Driver’s Handbook constitutes a statement of employment as it is issued during the company’s induction.
apart from tax and insurance they can only make deductions from your wages of things that you have already agreed to in writing . send them a letter or email telling them you think they have made unlawful deduction from your wages to start the grievance procedure they then have 2 week to respond .
scotstrucker:
lucky him getting his fine paid for him
lumpygreenpoo:
The company have provided these details and will pay the Fixed Penalty Notice, deducting the amount from his next wage packet, for which my friend has no issue.
It reads to me as though it is the company he works for who is charging the admin fee, they paid his fine and will deduct it from his next wage and that is what the admin fee is for.
He should’ve told the company to provide the details as per the FPN, then he can deal with it privately. If the co just paid it, then he has effectively lost his right to an appeal. As for the £45 admin charge, I’d take that to an employment tribunal as that is grossly excessive, far more than an employer can charge for making attachment of earnings deductions, I’d also ask for a vat receipt .
Personally I’d be appealing, especially if I was turning right.
lumpygreenpoo:
A friend has just been fined for stopping in a box junction in London. The relevant local authority has sent his company a request, asking for the name and address of the driver, which is standard.
The first time my company gets one of these, the local authority is going to be told that the driver’s name is Wojciech Odrobina and he has now ■■■■■■ off back to Poland.
lumpygreenpoo:
A friend has just been fined for stopping in a box junction in London. The relevant local authority has sent his company a request, asking for the name and address of the driver, which is standard.
The first time my company gets one of these, the local authority is going to be told that the driver’s name is Wojciech Odrobina and he has now [zb] off back to Poland.
lumpygreenpoo:
A friend has just been fined for stopping in a box junction in London. The relevant local authority has sent his company a request, asking for the name and address of the driver, which is standard.
The first time my company gets one of these, the local authority is going to be told that the driver’s name is Wojciech Odrobina and he has now [zb] off back to Poland.
coiler:
How long has he worked for said company? You have to issue a statement of employment within 12weeks of starting employent, and any deductions from wages such as this must be agreed in the contract of employment otherwise the company could be taken to a tribunal.
Are you sure about the “within 12 weeks” because this says differently:
You are entitled to receive a statement of your employment particulars within two months of starting work. This sets out your main employment terms, including the job description, pay, hours of work and any disciplinary or grievance procedures your employer has.
I stand corrected. It used to be 12 weeks, is now 2 months.
Tankerman:
It reads to me as though it is the company he works for who is charging the admin fee, they paid his fine and will deduct it from his next wage and that is what the admin fee is for.
The company are at fault for paying the FPN. All they have to do is name the driver or say they do not know who was driving. You cannot fine a company for entering a box junction, you can only fine a driver.
lumpygreenpoo:
A friend has just been fined for stopping in a box junction in London. The relevant local authority has sent his company a request, asking for the name and address of the driver, which is standard. The company have provided these details and will pay the Fixed Penalty Notice, deducting the amount from his next wage packet, for which my friend has no issue. However, the company is charging my friend an additional ‘administration fee’ of £45 for the privilege of paying his fine (so, essentially, he’s being fined twice!). Is this legal?
My friend doesn’t have a written contract and there is no mention of an administration fee in his Driver’s Handbook (issued by the company). IIRC, this is not only immoral but it’s also illegal. Does anybody actually know where he stands legally?
He should tell the company not to pay the fine and he’ll pay it himself when he gets the NIP.
Harry Monk:
The first time my company gets one of these, the local authority is going to be told that the driver’s name is Wojciech Odrobina and he has now [zb] off back to Poland.
Might work the first time H, but if they catch you out it’ll be some time in the clink for telling porkies.
Whatever you do make sure “he” is a good look-a-like. I recall a bloke in the South West saying a buddy from Jamaica was driving… needless to say they decided to check and got the passport photo from Kingston sent over.
He wasn’t turning right in a box junction was he? It’s a common misconception that you can’t enter and wait whilst your path is hindered only by oncoming traffic. A lot of over eager CCTV operators of local authorities have issued fines in the past without actually checking the highway code first.
