- Original Poster
- #1
Hi everyone.
4 years ago, I started work as an apprentice with a local council. I was an apprentice in name only, my job responsibility was much higher than this as I had access to all financial records, employment records, sickness, disciplinary, information held about benefits etc real in depth stuff that everyone would prefer to be kept private. I started out in HR designing and implementing the payroll, sickness and annual leave system to go paperless. A job came up doing the exact job that I was doing at the time, but I was told that even though I am doing the job successfully they wanted to bring in some outside experience, so essentially I will be working alongside someone - training them to do the job! - for them to be on £6 more per hour than me, have a permanent job as mine was only going to be around for another 4 months (they don’t employ the apprentice after that time unless there is an available position, which was why I was applying for the job I was already doing!) this person who got the job then decided that it wasn’t for them the day before their start date and the job was never filled after that (thanks!) so this obviously started to bring me some dissatisfaction for this local government authority. Anyway, their contracts for apprentices are the exact same as the contracts for Every other employee, as they constantly promote how apprentices are not to be treated any different than any other employee, and are entitled to all employee benefits and rewards available to all other employees. This is where it really gets on my nerves. So, they decide to implement a ‘living wage’ supplement, for ALL employees (both temporary and permanent) to bring their salary up to around £15000 per year if their salary was below this. I was obviously very happy about this, as I was hoping to use this to save the extra money in the case that I have to leave the council at the end of my contract so that I can survive until I find another job. Anyway, during the meeting for this being implemented I asked if this was going to be available to apprentices due to our contracts and they’d said no. As we are on an ‘agreed salary per year’ (ISNT EVERYONE?!) and when I pushed further as to why not I was just fobbed off and ignored. A few months later, in passing conversation with my manager in the office he mentioned about me moving to another office and completing my level 3 apprenticeship as a way to stop me from not having a job. I was obviously partly happy that I would still have a job but still miffed about the pay dispute, but he said ‘I know I its not much but at least you get the living wage supplement to keep you going’. My manager was one of the senior managers in the council, and he didn’t know I didn’t get this supplement? I kind of just ignored the comment as I didn’t want to rock the boat and not have a job. Fast forward a year or so later, and a number of dodgy things the council does finally got the better of me and I’m now the proud manager of a restaurant instead, feeling much more fulfilled. I have recently received a letter claiming that I owe £80 I’m overpaid wages, and it’s annoyed me to the point that I want to actually find out once and for all where I stand stand on my pay issues. Can anyone help?
In short - all Wigan Council contracts are the same, apprentices are entitled to all the same rights and employee benefits/rewards as everyone else, they implemented a living wage supplement for everyone’s below £15000 a year but did not implement this for apprentices, but also didn’t ask us to sign a new contract to say we were ok with this being implemented for us. I could be owed a substantial amount of money as I worked for 12 months in HR and 15/16 in Finance without receiving this supplement when I was earning 4.95 an hour.
4 years ago, I started work as an apprentice with a local council. I was an apprentice in name only, my job responsibility was much higher than this as I had access to all financial records, employment records, sickness, disciplinary, information held about benefits etc real in depth stuff that everyone would prefer to be kept private. I started out in HR designing and implementing the payroll, sickness and annual leave system to go paperless. A job came up doing the exact job that I was doing at the time, but I was told that even though I am doing the job successfully they wanted to bring in some outside experience, so essentially I will be working alongside someone - training them to do the job! - for them to be on £6 more per hour than me, have a permanent job as mine was only going to be around for another 4 months (they don’t employ the apprentice after that time unless there is an available position, which was why I was applying for the job I was already doing!) this person who got the job then decided that it wasn’t for them the day before their start date and the job was never filled after that (thanks!) so this obviously started to bring me some dissatisfaction for this local government authority. Anyway, their contracts for apprentices are the exact same as the contracts for Every other employee, as they constantly promote how apprentices are not to be treated any different than any other employee, and are entitled to all employee benefits and rewards available to all other employees. This is where it really gets on my nerves. So, they decide to implement a ‘living wage’ supplement, for ALL employees (both temporary and permanent) to bring their salary up to around £15000 per year if their salary was below this. I was obviously very happy about this, as I was hoping to use this to save the extra money in the case that I have to leave the council at the end of my contract so that I can survive until I find another job. Anyway, during the meeting for this being implemented I asked if this was going to be available to apprentices due to our contracts and they’d said no. As we are on an ‘agreed salary per year’ (ISNT EVERYONE?!) and when I pushed further as to why not I was just fobbed off and ignored. A few months later, in passing conversation with my manager in the office he mentioned about me moving to another office and completing my level 3 apprenticeship as a way to stop me from not having a job. I was obviously partly happy that I would still have a job but still miffed about the pay dispute, but he said ‘I know I its not much but at least you get the living wage supplement to keep you going’. My manager was one of the senior managers in the council, and he didn’t know I didn’t get this supplement? I kind of just ignored the comment as I didn’t want to rock the boat and not have a job. Fast forward a year or so later, and a number of dodgy things the council does finally got the better of me and I’m now the proud manager of a restaurant instead, feeling much more fulfilled. I have recently received a letter claiming that I owe £80 I’m overpaid wages, and it’s annoyed me to the point that I want to actually find out once and for all where I stand stand on my pay issues. Can anyone help?
In short - all Wigan Council contracts are the same, apprentices are entitled to all the same rights and employee benefits/rewards as everyone else, they implemented a living wage supplement for everyone’s below £15000 a year but did not implement this for apprentices, but also didn’t ask us to sign a new contract to say we were ok with this being implemented for us. I could be owed a substantial amount of money as I worked for 12 months in HR and 15/16 in Finance without receiving this supplement when I was earning 4.95 an hour.
