Not something usually discussed on here but the job I applied for an got through an agency was advertised at £9.00ph.
I work 37 hours per week, so at £9.00 this should mean £333 before tax. As it’s an agency they take PL Insurance, tax, holiday pay etc etc.
Now my first wage from them was £267, the second £180 odd and the third £160. I don’t understand this as I worked the same hours since starting and on my pay slips it says rate £9.00 which is correct but then under that in another box saying “employee payment” it says rate £6.08. £6.08 @ 37 HOURS - £224 before tax.
Now as I’m 18, the NMW is £4.98 - the 18-20 rate, so it’s not that I’m being paid NMW but I’m definitely not being paid the full £9.00 I should be getting.
They seem to think all is ok, but there’s no way I’m working 37 hours a week at a supposed £9ph and only bringing home barely £170 per week?
So confused and a bit down, can’t seem to get through to their heads on the phone… not sure what to do.
£6.08 is the national minimum wage for 21+ year olds so it sounds like they have decided to pay you that. As for why, I don’t know, but agencies are known for doing this type of thing, which is why they are generally held in quite low regard.
Harry Monk:
£6.08 is the national minimum wage for 21+ year olds so it sounds like they have decided to pay you that.
But that wouldn’t explain the three different pay amounts as the hours worked are the same.
Exactly, also they tried to say that the week I earned £180 odd was the week I worked only 29 hours, the week I worked a full 37 I earned £160… something just doesn’t add up.
You need to get yourself into their office , no point doing it over the phone as people take more notice when you turn up in person, they are totally out of order and this needs sorting ASAP.
Ok it’s apparently because some of it is taxable and some isn’t, so one wage might have full tax taken off it while the other may only have some.
Still not entirely happy to be perfectly honest but I’ll go with it and see what the next payment is like as I was last paid on the 13th so theoretically there should be no tax to come off it, or bare minimum.
Sam Millar:
Ok it’s apparently because some of it is taxable and some isn’t, so one wage might have full tax taken off it while the other may only have some.
Still not entirely happy to be perfectly honest but I’ll go with it and see what the next payment is like as I was last paid on the 13th so theoretically there should be no tax to come off it, or bare minimum.
Quicker I can get something full time the better.
That doesn’t sound right to me Sam.
You must have:
A tax code, in which case your tax should be correct and your wages consistent.
or
A tax code on a week one basis, in which case your tax and wages should be consistent but you may subsequently get a refund when you come off the week 1 bit.
or
3, No (usable) tax code, in which case you will be taxed at BR (basic rate) and 20% tax will be deducted (from your gross wage), but your earnings should still be consistent.
(By consistent I mean in relation to hours worked, of course).
Unless you are working for more than one agency I can see no reason for these ups and downs.
(BTW, if I sound knowledgeable it is because my accountant explained it to me last Friday ).
Sam Millar:
Yeah I hear you fellas, still something not right I agree. My tax code is 810L, not entirely sure what that means but seen it mentioned.
It means that the first £8105 that you earn in any given year is not taxed, although this is divided by 52 to give the amount you can earn tax free each week. The “L” indicates that you are on emergency tax, in your case it will make no difference but it you were entitled to a higher code, for example if you had dependent children, you would be paying more tax than you should until your proper tax code was issued.
810L is both the basic (single persons) personal allowance tax code and the emergency tax code, the emergency personal allowance is the same as the basic single persons personal allowance.
I know it isn’t technically correct but what I generally refer to as emergency tax code is BR, that’s the code where you will have 20% stopped out of every pound you earn.
tachograph:
I know it isn’t technically correct but what I generally refer to as emergency tax code is BR, that’s the code where you will have 20% stopped out of every pound you earn.
Same here, in fact didn’t it used to be the ‘official’ emergency tax rate.
tachograph:
I know it isn’t technically correct but what I generally refer to as emergency tax code is BR, that’s the code where you will have 20% stopped out of every pound you earn.
Same here, in fact didn’t it used to be the ‘official’ emergency tax rate.
).