Job Discussion Forums

[anneinjapan]

Hello all!

As the title says, my last paycheck was short a sum of money. And by last paycheck I do mean "last paycheck" ever as in I have quit after a few years at this job.

I did take one sick day and that would not have been paid. Fair enough. Not enough to explain the discrepancy.

I finally get an email back and they said I took some days off (that they had approved as paid vacation!) that I did not have. As in they made a mistake. And thus they docked me the pay.

Makes you wonder why they approved them but still...perhaps if a mistake was made they could NOTIFY me upon realizing said mistake???

I even called up before the days I took off to verify my remaining paid vacation days balance was in fact zero. Was hoping for an extra one but no they checked and I had requested and been approved for all paid vacation days due to me.

So am I to understand my pay was docked for THEIR stupid mistake which they didn't even have the decency to notify me about?

Is this legal? What should I do? Anyone have experience with this?

[mhard1]

Legally they have 7 days after your last day to pay you in full the amount they owe you.

Some companies deduct some sort of deposit before paying you your final check. I do not know whether this is legal or not.

That being said...no, them charging you money for vacation that you didnt take is illegal. If they do not resolve the issue in a reasonable time, depending on how much money it is, I would consider taking further action.

[wayne432]

It depends...
anne, I was a bit confused from your wording...
You had 0 vacation days left and you took paid vacation days?

If that's so, it is their mistake (and yours)... I think you're out of luck?

[Glenski]

They cannot sanction your pay. If your story is accurate, they owe you money.

Be polite. Talk to the boss. Explain the situation. Hope for the best.

Just to be certain about your story, though, what was your monthly salary and how much were the deductions? Labor laws can help, but we need to know first.

And, what does your contract say? (Not that it matters much if it's an illegal clause, but at least that would be in your favor.)

[anneinjapan]

Sorry for the confusing wording!

I applied for paid vacation. It was approved. One would assume this is because I had some days due to me to use. Now they say no, we made a mistake, sorry! Have to dock your pay for that!

WHY on earth did they approve paid vacation days I do not have????? And those days were in fact due to me. Aren't they responsible enough to track this stuff?

WHY AM I BEING PUNISHED FOR THEIR MISTAKE?!?!?!

If I didn't have any paid vacation days I gladly would have worked instead.

I purposely called to verify that my paid vacations were all used up before leaving, they do keep track of this stuff. You would think they would realize their error then and told me then. Or have told me at all!

I am beyond furious that they did not tell me any of this and just let me go to the bank to find out.

Once this all over I will be more than happy to blacklist this company, seriously. I had to go through labor standards just yesterday for some other issues as well. And now this?

The amount is only equal to a few days pay so we're talking under 30,000 a pretty trivial amount to squibble over BUT still...

Can they do this? Part of me says eh, oh well a mistake was made. Part of me says I shouldn't have to be penalized for their mistake.

[Glenski]

To you and me, they are in the wrong.
To them, there is no right and wrong, only money.

I think you need to talk to the union or the labor standards office nearest you (yes, again).

That said, what do you mean by this statement: