If you’re in the unfortunate position of not being paid on time or in full, this blog is for you!  

The first thing you should do is speak to your employer, or ex-employer. Sometimes mistakes happen and it could be that a simple phone call or email is the answer to the problem. If your employer is prepared to put it right, that’s usually the best course of action, even if it means the payment is made later than it should have been.  

If that doesn’t solve the problem, and you are still employed, you should raise a formal grievance with your employer. Ask your employer for a copy of their grievance policy, if you don’t have it already, and make sure you follow it.  

Your grievance should set out what you think you are owed and why. Your employer is obliged to look into it and come back to you with a formal response, and offer you a right of appeal if you remain unhappy. 

If you reach the end of the grievance process, or you are no longer employed, you should get in touch with ACAS to start the Early Conciliation process: If you want to make a claim - Early conciliation - Acas 

ACAS is an organisation that sits between employees and the Employment Tribunal and their job is to facilitate discussions between the parties to try and resolve the issue. If this process fails, ACAS will issue a certificate which will allow you to bring an Employment Tribunal claim. You can issue the claim online: Make a claim to an employment tribunal: Make a claim - GOV.UK 

If there are wider issues, the unpaid wages are substantial (over £10,000) or there could be additional claims such as for unfair dismissal, discrimination or whistleblowing, you may be better to speaking to one of our friendly employment law team, who will be able to outline our charges for advising you on your personal situation. 

Unfortunately, where the value of the unpaid wages is low, it is rarely beneficial to instruct solicitors; the cost of doing so will usually be disproportionate to the value of the claim. If you need to access free help and support, you could try speaking to your local Citizens Advice Bureau: Citizens Advice. If you are a member of a Union, contact your Union representative as soon as possible for support.  

Is there a time limit for making a claim for unpaid wages? 

Yes. In the Employment Tribunal, the time limit for making a claim for unpaid wages is generally 3 months less 1 day from the date the payment was due. To comply with this time limit, you should contact ACAS to instigate Early Conciliation before the deadline. That ‘stops the clock’ on limitation whilst ACAS try to sort the issue out. If they are not able to resolve things for you, they will issue a Certificate and you will, as a rule of thumb, have one month from the date of the Certificate to actually issue legal proceedings.  

In short, don’t delay as missing a time limit can mean you are unable to pursue the claim in the Employment Tribunal. You could possibly bring a claim for breach of contract claim in the civil courts, where there is generally a much longer time limit of 6 years from the date of non-payment. The civil court regime however is more complicated and there are court fees to pay. 

I resigned from my job. Does my employer still have to pay me for the hours that I worked? 

Usually, yes. Even if you left on bad terms, it is extremely unlikely that an employer can avoid paying you for work you actually did.  

I didn’t sign an employment contract. Am I still entitled to be paid for the work I did? 

Usually, yes but obviously demonstrating what was agreed could be more difficult. Keep hold of any emails, letters, text messages etc which demonstrate what the agreement was about rates of pay, hours and pay dates. If you have been paid previously, keep hold of payslips and bank statements so you can evidence the terms insofar as possible.  

What if my employer is no longer trading?  

If your employer is legally registered as insolvent, you can contact the Redundancy Payment Service (RPS) to check if you can claim some or all of the wages you're owed. 

Email RPS on redundancypaymentsonline@insolvency.gov.uk  

If your employer has not registered as insolvent, you might be able to either: 

• make a claim to an Employment Tribunal 

• contact the Redundancy Payment Service if your employer registers as insolvent later 

To talk through your options, you can contact the Acas helpline 

Can I call the police?  

Calling the police is generally not appropriate for wage disputes, as these are generally civil matters rather than criminal.  

Disclaimer: This note is intended to be a general overview and for information only, it is not intended to be a comprehensive note or legal advice.