If your employer hasn’t paid you what they owe you

Summary

Check your contract terms to see what they agreed to. You can then get advice on whether to make a small claim. You can get advice on getting paid if your employer goes out of business or disappears. You should talk to your employer straight away. You can talk to your payroll department if you have one, or whoever pays your wages. If the problem happened recently, it’s usually best to carry on working while you try and get your employer to pay you. If you refuse to work, you might be breaking your contract, so your employer might dismiss you. Your employer might be having money problems - they might never pay you if: * they won’t tell you why they haven’t paid you * they won’t tell you when they plan to pay you * other workers and employees haven’t been paid * the company hasn’t paid its suppliers for a while You should think about whether you’d be better off leaving your job. If you resign, you can still take legal action against your employer. If the reason they haven’t paid is that they’re having money problems, it might be difficult to get any pay they owe you. If you think your employer might never pay you and you’re considering resigning, you should talk to an adviser. You.

Key information

• they won’t tell you why they haven’t paid you
• they won’t tell you when they plan to pay you
• other workers and employees haven’t been paid
• the company hasn’t paid its suppliers for a while
• time you were off work sick
• maternity or other parental leave
• a copy of any relevant company policies - for example a family leave policy
• your employment contract - if it mentions any extra pay that you haven’t been paid
• tax - you can check your tax code and what it means on GOV.UK
• National Insurance - you can check if you pay National Insurance and how much on GOV.UK
• pension contribution - you can check how automatic enrolment into a workplace pension works
• didn’t realise you’d been overpaid and you’ve spent the money

Practical guidance

• Source: If your employer hasn’t paid you what they owe you

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