My son is 24 years old and works part time in the local Mace Store in St. Brides Major, Vale of Glamorgan. He is hoping to go to University in September 2012. He is paid the minimum wage and always works Sunday 10am to 3pm alone in the shop/post office.He worked the same hours on Easter Sunday and was still paid minimum wage even though in the past there have been two people on duty for Bank Holidays as we get really busy. He was not able to use the toilet until 2pm and had no breaks. had to disconnect the phone as people were ringing to ask if the shop was open.I wrote a letter to the boss to ask if he could have time and a half pay as we were so busy. he has said that this was not possible as my son could have telephoned him to come down to the shop. he says he will give my son a 'gift' for being so busy.
Hello and thank you for your question, which I will be happy to assist you with. Please let me know what is your specific query?
Should my son receive more money, eg time and a half or twice the pay for working alone on Easter Sunday?
what does his contract say about this?
I work in the same shop for 11 and a half hours a week and we both do not have contracts. i work every bank holiday as i work sun and mon but only for 3 and a half hours and always with someone.
unfortunately there is no automatic right to be paid extra for working Sundays or bank holidays. Sometimes employers offer extra pay as an incentive but it is not a legal requirement. He can only ask for it if he is contractually entitled to it, which does not appear to be the case here. So I am afraid he does not have a legal leg to stand on in terms of asking for extra pay
He doesn't want extra for working bank Holidays only for the fact that the boss gives minimum wage to man the shop alone? It happened to be Easter Sunday.
that is irrelevant - he would still be entitled to the rate he is usually on.
Does health and Safety allow a shop to be run by one person. Two rooms, one a closed Post Office, queues forming, broken glass, spillages etc?
there is no legal requirement for minimum staff to run shop, although general health and safety considerations would still apply, mainly that an employer has a duty to ensure the health and safety of its employees. Still would not affect the rate of pay he receives
He doesn't mind about the pay if he could have someone with him between 10am and 6pm which is when there is only one person on Sundays and bank Holiday when PO is closed. We had shop lifters caught on CCTV last year. Is this safe?
it depends on the circumstances and if there is a clearly identifiable risk
One last question - Is he breaking any Health and Safety laws by asking him to work alone? We have two people 6.30 to 9am and 6 to 9pm? Small village shop on main road through village. Lots of money in 2 tills and a third lottery till.
have received no reply to last question?
But a shoplifter in itself is not a serious threat
Please let me know if you need any further help with your query. If you do not, I would be grateful if you could please press Accept before exiting, many thanks.
Thank you very much. Regards Rhiannon.
hello ben, I was just asked to press 'accept' again. I did this at the end of our conversation on 14th April and I've just done it again to make sure! not very good on computers but very pleased with your answers. thank you. hope it's gone through or i've paid twice. It's happened before.