Legal rights - hubby not been paid

shaz-ann

I wonder if anyone can offer any advice, or perhaps tell me what I should suggest to my husband he should do next?

Basically he works for a very small company, but what doesn't help is that his boss is an old friend. I did express my doubts when he took the job on initially but wasn't taken notice of!

The company is experiencing a severe cash flow. Hubby didn't get paid last month for his salary or his expenses visiting possible prospective clients, and it looks doubtful that he will get his salary paid this month either. He is not the only person not to have been paid - the company owes hundreds to BT, local council and office rental agency. The excuse is that they're waiting for a couple of juicy orders to drop through and then he'll get his salary from that. My unspoken attitude to this is "pigs might fly". Not to mention he is getting earache from his boss from doing quotes in exactly the way he's been told to!!

It has gotten so bad that we have had to borrow money off my sister-in-law just so we can pay the mortgage and I am having to regularly dip into my savings just so we can run the car and buy in food.

I feel really angry and sad about this - ok his boss/friend is having severe money problems, but then again his wife earns a pretty penny in her own right and he could quite comfortably give up work and they could live off her salary and the rental money they make from renting out houses they own. On the other hand, I only work part-time and earn a 10th of what she does - the money does make a difference in our house.

Meanwhile, my hubby is seriously thinking of selling off some of his possessions that he has only just paid for. One of which I know will break his heart and he won't get a proper return for.

Am I wrong to feel so fustrated about this?

Uncertain

shaz-ann wrote: »

I wonder if anyone can offer any advice, or perhaps tell me what I should suggest to my husband he should do next?

Basically he works for a very small company, but what doesn't help is that his boss is an old friend. I did express my doubts when he took the job on initially but wasn't taken notice of!

The company is experiencing a severe cash flow. Hubby didn't get paid last month for his salary or his expenses visiting possible prospective clients, and it looks doubtful that he will get his salary paid this month either. He is not the only person not to have been paid - the company owes hundreds to BT, local council and office rental agency. The excuse is that they're waiting for a couple of juicy orders to drop through and then he'll get his salary from that. My unspoken attitude to this is "pigs might fly". Not to mention he is getting earache from his boss from doing quotes in exactly the way he's been told to!!

It has gotten so bad that we have had to borrow money off my sister-in-law just so we can pay the mortgage and I am having to regularly dip into my savings just so we can run the car and buy in food.

I feel really angry and sad about this - ok his boss/friend is having severe money problems, but then again his wife earns a pretty penny in her own right and he could quite comfortably give up work and they could live off her salary and the rental money they make from renting out houses they own. On the other hand, I only work part-time and earn a 10th of what she does - the money does make a difference in our house.

Meanwhile, my hubby is seriously thinking of selling off some of his possessions that he has only just paid for. One of which I know will break his heart and he won't get a proper return for.

Am I wrong to feel so fustrated about this?

Well, legally, if the company goes bust your husband is a preferred creditor so would be ahead of BT and the rent in the queue to be paid out of what is left.

If this were to happen he would be made redundant and the government underwrites the legal minimum redundancy pay if the firm has no assets.

However, he needs to take action now to get his money. Any claim to an employment tribunal has to be lodged within three months of the problem so he must not miss the deadline.

Talk to ACAS (easiest at 8.00am sharp) or your local CAB. Your house insurance may well have some legal cover - worth checking.

SarEl

Uncertain wrote: »

However, he needs to take action now to get his money. Any claim to an employment tribunal has to be lodged within three months of the problem so he must not miss the deadline.

Agreed - although to clarify, in these circumstances the three month clock does not start ticking until the date of the last missed payment. So if he didn't get paid next month it would start over. But I agree with the OP - hubbie can't put friendship before good sense. Stop accepting excuses - accepting cash is better! He needs to make it clear that he will begin legal action if he doesn't get paid.

shaz-ann

Thank you for your advice Uncertain and sarEl:o

The latest update is that he's been assured that he will receive the majority of his salary on Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed about this, but not holding my breath!

lee636

Mixing business & pleasure (friends) again.....

He might do well to keep his eye out for another job (on the sly of course).

SarEl

If he doesn't get it then you must convince him to start serious threats of action. To take legal action he must show that he has tried to recover the money - so he still has to issue a letter and give the employer a chance to pay. It isn't that fast! So the sooner he starts the better.

I'm really sorry this has happened and it must be awful for you both. I don't know what it was that he bought that he would be heartbroken to loose, but here's some advice. Hide it if you can, if you can't theraten him with something dire if he sells it. Money is really important yes. So are dreams! Don't loose both of them.

paulwf

Is the business a limited company? If so unless the owner has taken out any personal guarantees then his finances will be separate to that of the company. He probably knows that it isn't viable so won't put any more of his own money in.

You then have a bit of a problem - if the money isn't there then it isn't there. If it is liquidated you might get a little bit back somewhere down the line but that doesn't help you much now.

One thing I might recommend is an open and honest discussion between your husband and his boss. If for example he is owned £1000 it is better to get a realistic agreement for £500 now and another £250 a week until it has caught up rather than a false promise of all the money at once.

Ask for an IMMEDIATE (as in this week) switch to weekly pay, so even if it takes ages for arrears to be paid you are getting some cash coming in now. I know this isn't ideal but the I have worked for a company with very tight cash flow and if someone demands an impossible amount it gets ignored, and the small manageable demands get paid first. You'll also know much sooner if the money isn't going to appear than having to wait a month when the amount owning is then too much to take the gamble of just walking out.

Ask for all business expenses to be covered up front or you won't visit the clients. You don't want to incur losses as well as not being paid!

Also have an immediate lockdown on expenditure. There are various boards on MSE about buying no clothes, living off store cupboard ingredients etc. Act as though he has already lost his job.

I would also start an immediate job hunt, even if he gets his pay now if cash flow is really tight it will only happen again. Although I wouldn't be too open about it if your husband needs time off for interviews prioritise that over loyalty to a non paying boss.

shaz-ann

lee636 wrote: »

Mixing business & pleasure (friends) again.....

He might do well to keep his eye out for another job (on the sly of course).

I did express my concerns about working for a friend when he took the job on 6 years ago, I know I certainly wouldn't want a friend as my boss.

I've made a start on updating his CV and I'm keeping an eye on the job pages.

SarEl wrote: »

I'm really sorry this has happened and it must be awful for you both. I don't know what it was that he bought that he would be heartbroken to loose, but here's some advice. Hide it if you can, if you can't theraten him with something dire if he sells it. Money is really important yes. So are dreams! Don't loose both of them.

Aww, thanks! The item is actually a Bettonsoli shotgun, he likes to go clay pigeon shooting and also had to fork out the expense of getting a licence and a proper gun cabinet to store it in, so hiding his gun would be tricky (he's got the keys!). He's actually given it a name so that tells me that he's very fold of it. He's just recently finished paying for it too, so to have to sell it now would be awful, especially as he promised to take his nephew shooting for his birthday. He doesn't go shooting often, but it's a useful hobby - it gets him out of the house and it enables him to let off a bit of stress if he's had a hard week.

shaz-ann

Update is that he has been assured he will received the majority of his salary tomorrow with the rest due next week. I am keeping my fingers crossed that his boss keeps his word (I refuse to think of him as a friend any more, he has crossed the line).

Hubby seems pretty confident that this will happen as he is on about taking his nephew shooting this weekend. As it's a promise he made, I hope he can keep it.

getmore4less

Take the boss on the shooting weekend!

If the business is struggling and about to go down get ready to salvage what you can.

Any customers he could work for directly that will need support

Others in the company not getting paid that he could set up with to do support get new business.

Even if you get through this it is time to get tough and get what you can from this outfit till you leave.

SarEl

getmore4less wrote: »

Take the boss on the shooting weekend!

Or perhaps not. It might be too tempting