My ex boss says I owe him for tax

I lost my job last week. I was employed for just over 6 months. During this time I did not get a pay slip - I did ask, my ex boss is a very difficult person and just kept brushing it off.
I was getting payed most of my wages into the bank and the remainder I had to take from the till - worked as a Manager in a cafe.
My boss said my deductions were about 20 or 30 per week. I used to take all bar 20. He received info from his accountant last week and informed me that I probably owed him money as my deductions were actually 28.
I then lost my job, the company was not making any money so he has decided to run the cafe himself.
He told me on my last day that I owed him about 250. I didn't agree nor disagree to give him the money back as stupidly I trusted him at the beginning and never kept a record of hours or wages. I will never do that again.
I luckily got a new job but am on minimum wage and therefore broke.
I finished working with him last Satuday and started the new job on Tuesday.
I have not heard from him but will have to contact him to get my P45, does anyone know what I should say re; this money. I don't want to pay him back as I don't have it and also don't feel like it's my fault - surely as the employer the onus is on him and not me??

this is tricky, and because you dont have any documentation/record of payment you havent a lot to stand on. i would probably refuse to pay him the money but keep insisting he give you your P45....regardless of anything you are entitled to this and you really do need it if your new job apply the higher tax rate to your salary...he will prob refuse to give you the P45 until money paid but i think that is illegal, you are entitled to it. id chnace saying you spoke to the Reveneu and they are looking for it, that might scare him into giving it to you sooner. if you dont pay the money and he does give you the P45 he will most likley reduce the tax you should have paid by the €250 so instead of owing it to him you owe it to the Revenue, or he might just let it go. ive never come across this before and another poster might have a more 'legally concrete' advice for you, whethers its good r bad news for you i dont know.end of the day you have to get a P45 so insist continuously for thia and than i suppose if you keep refusing to pay the money aswell you can only see what he does. sorry im not much use to you really

don't even go near him, you can get a form from the revenue website for a application for tax credits etc for your new job. Maybe even whoever deals with the wages will sort this form for you.

Try telling him you are going to ring the Revenue and tell them that he is paying out of the till and see where that gets you.

You were very foolish to take money out of the till, your employer could very easily have accused you of stealing from the till (if he had any sort of CCTV footage you wouldn't have a leg to stand on). Your reputation would have been ruined.

About six years ago I had a similiar problem. After a few unsuccessful and stressful calls, I Emailed him saying that if I did't get what I was owed plus something to say how much I was stopped in tax, then I was going to Cathedral Street to the Revenue. This focused his memory and I received my P45 and outstanding cheque by courier the following afternoon. I think your boss is trying it on. Why not threaten and if no luck - follow up your threat. Good luck.

Firstly the onus is on you (not your employer) to ensure that your taxes are fully paid up.

This smells of something not quite right. Did your employer ever register you as an employee. Did you give him a P45 from a previous job or did you complete the Revenue Form 12a when you started work with him.

You can ring revenue and check. You will need his employer reg No. and your own PPS to hand

Ok this is a tricky one. First of all he was commiting an offense by not giving you a payslip. This should have been reported to NERA (national employment rights agency). He is required to keep records of employment, hours or work, wages, tax. This is his responsibility as an employee, it doesnt matter where the work was, a cafe is the same as an office.

Something that worries me though is you taking money from the till. That is theft and he could come after you for doing it.

RonanC said:

Something that worries me though is you taking money from the till. That is theft and he could come after you for doing it.

Click to expand...

OP implies that s/he was told to take money from the till, so it's not theft. It's not kosher from an employment perspective, but not theft on OP's side.

Ok can I just clarify that I was the Manager and I did all the cash etc; so my boss told me to just take the remainder out of the till on a Saturday when I was cashing up.
Right so, yes he was commiting an offence by not giving me a payslip and I did ask. I got a form from the tax office and it stated that he was employer.
Right so I will call and ask for my P45 and see what happens.

You might also check if he was paying your PRSI.

You should be getting a P60 for 2009 from your previous employer. This is a receipt of tax and PRSI paid. PRSI is an important one because this determines your social welfare entitlements. You should also get a end of year income levy certificate.

Expect this in mid February.




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