My son, aged 19, is spending a gap year working 38 – 40 hours per week in a clothes shop (a branch of a national chain). He is paid minimum wage, weekly. Last week his pay was short by three hours. He queried it with the manager, who said he was not working hard enough, so was being paid only for 35 hours, instead of the 38 hours that he had actually worked. The manager had not told him this would be happening in advance. The manager refuses to correct it.

The same thing happened to three other employees.

To me, this is clearly unfair and an appalling example of mis-management, even if the accusation of under-performance was true. However, my questions is, is this lawful? And if my son leaves, could this be construed as constructive dismissal?

Thanks, in anticipation, for your help.

Steve

Steve Short