Partner owed four months wages what's next step please

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

saterkey wrote: »

We had to go to a tribunal 2008 for same guy, he laid everyone off half hour notice, then took partner back on part time few months later under different company name,

Why on earth would he go back?

saterkey wrote: »

if partner doesn't print there will be no money coming in and he will close down which makes us feel guilty and there will be no money anyway, it's makes me so angry, but he's treating us as fools

Yes, he is. Guilty? If you could get out of this with the money owed to you and leave him destitute, you should feel justice has been done, and be pleased, not guilty, that he is suffering as he deserves to.

saterkey wrote: »

and we do need to get a grip sadly, we were concerned he wasn't paying national ins, but he is up to date with that as its against the law. As we do not have lots of money we were hoping he would do the decent thing

Despite him having shown himself, over a period of more than ten years, to be completely uninterested in anyone other than himself?

sangie595

steampowered wrote: »

Find a new job ASAP, and start formal court or tribunal proceedings for all money owed as soon as he resigns.

He should get on with it. If the business is genuinely struggling, the longer he waits, the less likely he is to see any of the money he is owed.


Why it is being suggested that claiming through an Employment Tribunal would be a better way of proceeding rather than issuing a small claim?

These days Employment Tribunals tend to be more expensive than small claims for unpaid wages claims.

You need to go through the county courts to enforce Employment Tribunal judgments anyway.

If you read the posts, you will see that the advice to go via the tribunal route, although more expensive , is specifically to gain the protection of the RPS. Bailiffs cannot seize what does not exist, and there is no evidence this guy actually has any money. If an employer is broke, and a tribunal judgement cannot be enforced, then the RPS step in. So you get something. If a county court judgement cannot be enforced, it's tough luck.

And you do not need to go to a county court to enforce a tribunal judgement. You go directly to the High Court Enforcement Officers via the fast track.

steampowered

sangie595 wrote: »

although more expensive , is specifically to gain the protection of the RPS.

I had understood that you don't need an ET award to claim for unpaid wages from the National Insurance Fund/Redundancy Payments Service.

There is no reference to needing an ET award (or anything else) on the RPS' claim form or fact sheet at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/redundancy-payments-rp1-fact-sheet.

Having done a bit of searching, it seems the only context where an ET award is where you want those schemes to pay you a basic award for unfair dismissal. The Op wouldn't get this from making an ET claim for unpaid wages anyway (he'd have to bring an unfair dismissal claim involving a more complicated claim and much higher Tribunal fee ... it is much more expensive to make an ET unfair dismissal claim than an ET unpaid wages claim).

And you do not need to go to a county court to enforce a tribunal judgement. You go directly to the High Court Enforcement Officers via the fast track.

The ET award still goes through the county court, it is simply that the process for getting a CCJ to back the Tribunal award and the process for transferring the county court up to the high court have been merged ... http://formfinder.hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/n471-eng.pdf. To be fair this is a quick and easy process that gets handled by the HCEOs for a fee.

Any other type of enforcement (e.g. third party debt orders, attachment of earnings, order to attend court for questioning about assets etc.) would be handled by the county court.

saterkey

Thank u for all replies. We have gone through acas, sent another grievance letter asking him to pay up and he has put notice in. Job ends on Friday, cheeky beggar asked for a month's notice, he didn't get it, if he does not respond we have to go back to acas and they will take it further. He has no assets in the business.
What a mess. Hey ho lessons learnt and all that. We will take it as far as we can with acas. Let's hope his next job is better.