No contract, no payslips and a lot of stress

shizia

Hi guys!

As the title suggests, I am currently employed but with no contract or even a short written statement of employment, I don't get payslips unless I annoy the hell out of our bookkeeper and I go through tremendous amounts of stress at work.

I've been working for that company for almost two years now and even though I was promised a contract several times, I never received it. The management is really bad and I find that 90% of the time I have to act as a manager because the real manager (i.e. the boss) doesn't have a clue what's going on.

I had suffered from depression in the past and over the past few months I noticed my mental health isn't getting any better. I went to the doctor few days ago and she signed me off work for few days. I gave it a lot of thought and decided I need to leave the company or I'll end up on medication again/in hospital.

The job itself used to be very satisfying and it would be an amazing place to work if the management had been different, unfortunately it's not going to change. I don't want to sound like an irresponsible young person who just doesn't fancy working - I intend to find a different job as soon as possible. The current job has a really bad effect on my health, both mental and physical as due to stress I started smoking and my eating habits are horrendous. I feel tired and weak all the time and have no motivation.

I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow again to let her know about my decision. My question is, do you think I will have to give my employer notice as I have no contract? Legally speaking, I am not obliged to give him any notice because there's no contract. I really don't feel like I can go back there even for just few days. I think the doctor wants to give me a cert so I can go on illness benefit. I know I'll need my payslips and P45 for the social welfare or for the new employer, but I feel that the bookkeeper will be making this very difficult for me again.

What do you guys think, will I have to give the company notice in such circumstances? Have any of you had any experience with leaving due to stress and signing onto illness benefit?

Sorry about this essay, any replies are greatly appreciated.

ibarelycare

Even though you have no written contract, it would be argued that your contract is implied (there's proof that you've been employed for two years) so you would be obliged to give notice per the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act - your notice period is two weeks. However your doctor will probably be willing to sign you off sick for those two weeks, so there will be no need for you to return to work.

Creol1

Under law, you are generally obliged to give a week's notice to the employer unless they agree otherwise, regardless of whether or not there's a notice period in the Contract of Employment. I don't think the absence of a contract as such will affect the situation, as employers aren't obliged to sign a contract. However, they should have given you a written statement of the terms of employment if they didn't give you a contract. Not sure if that will impact on the situation, but I'd say probably not.

shizia

ibarelycare wrote: »

Even though you have no written contract, it would be argued that your contract is implied (there's proof that you've been employed for two years) so you would be obliged to give notice per the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act - your notice period is two weeks. However your doctor will probably be willing to sign you off sick for those two weeks, so there will be no need for you to return to work.

Thank you for your reply, I hope she will be able to do so.

Creol1 wrote: »

Under law, you are generally obliged to give a week's notice to the employer unless they agree otherwise, regardless of whether or not there's a notice period in the Contract of Employment. I don't think the absence of a contract as such will affect the situation, as employers aren't obliged to sign a contract. However, they should have given you a written statement of the terms of employment if they didn't give you a contract. Not sure if that will impact on the situation, but I'd say probably not.

Thank you for replying. I don't want to sue them or anything like that but having no contract/payslips/statement doesn't sound very legal to me.

Stheno

shizia wrote: »

Thank you for replying. I don't want to sue them or anything like that but having no contract/payslips/statement doesn't sound very legal to me.

Do you know if correct taxes have been paid on your wages? If not then you could have a heavy liability to the Revenue which you are responsible for.

BabySlam

You have a contract of employment, even if it is not in writing.

Your employer (as stated above) is obliged to give you a statement of your terms of work.

Your employer is also obliged in law to issue you with payslips.

A quick google of citizensinformation website will tell you all this.

But the important thing is to trust your gut and find a different job. I presume you think there is no chance at all of resolving things by sitting down and talking to your boss about how you feel.

Good Luck with your job search and recovery from your illness.

shizia

Stheno wrote: »

Do you know if correct taxes have been paid on your wages? If not then you could have a heavy liability to the Revenue which you are responsible for.

The last payslip I received was from 24/07/2015. I'm not very familiar with the way taxes work, but its says on it that PAYE, USC and PRSI were deducted from my wages.

Stheno

shizia wrote: »

The last payslip I received was from 24/07/2015. I'm not very familiar with the way taxes work, but its says on it that PAYE, USC and PRSI were deducted from my wages.

And is your pay pretty much the same each month?

You should be getting a payslip and a P60 (P60 once a year)

shizia

BabySlam wrote: »

You have a contract of employment, even if it is not in writing.

Your employer (as stated above) is obliged to give you a statement of your terms of work.

Your employer is also obliged in law to issue you with payslips.

Thank you! I have already checked those on many different websites (including the one you mentioned) which is why I decided to ask here as well in case I misunderstood anything.

shizia

Stheno wrote: »

And is your pay pretty much the same each month?

You should be getting a payslip and a P60 (P60 once a year)

The pay is pretty much the same, although I got a rise few months ago (to keep me in the company I suppose). I do receive P60's but like I said I have to literally fight for my payslips.

shizia

BabySlam wrote: »

But the important thing is to trust your gut and find a different job. I presume you think there is no chance at all of resolving things by sitting down and talking to your boss about how you feel.

Sorry for double posting, I'm still new to this forum

I tried talking to the boss many times, every time I did he just promised everything will be better, but no changes ever happened. He's either happy-go-lucky all the time and doesn't care about the real world or snaps at you for no reason at all. Last time he snapped at me was due to the fact that the internet wasn't working and it was obviously "my fault".

The bottom line is - no, I can't work with or for him, he's impossible.

wivonnee

I am in a similar situation.I have never received anything extra for working bank hols or even when I have worked up my 40 hours 5 weeks before bank hol.I am supposed to be full time but that does not always happen.I am wondering am I in the right to ask for the money( I could have earned in a similar job)which amounts to over 1600euro?And what are my chances of ever getting it.?I also want to leave my job

wivonnee

utter tripe for helping employees.the employers who do not obey employee rights seem to get away with it all the time.why should an employee spend time and effort looking up all rules and regulations that the employer should know when hiring anyone.im tired of the crap that employers get away with a lot.

duploelabs

wivonnee wrote: »

utter tripe for helping employees.the employers who do not obey employee rights seem to get away with it all the time.why should an employee spend time and effort looking up all rules and regulations that the employer should know when hiring anyone.im tired of the crap that employers get away with a lot.

What do you base this on? If you're in this situation, it's naive not to record everything for your own record as going to the WRC with nothing but anecdotes will be laughed at

wivonnee

I have every single hour,date and day recorded since i started,I was naive in thinking that there were different employee regulations for small family run businesses.