Employer not paying wages

Bahnhof

Good Morning

Since October my employer has not paid my wages. I have continued to work for them full time but they have said that they are not able to cover my wages each month and said they will pay me them the following month. When that month then arrives they extend the excuse for a further month. I have now got to the point where I will not be able to cover my mortgage payment this month. I applied for other jobs over December and am hoping to start somewhere else in January but this obviously doesn’t solve my immediate problem of impending mortgage payment.

I have said to my employer many times that they are putting me in a position where I cannot pay my mortgage, I have a young child to take care of as well.

I do have a laptop that was given to me by my employer for work. I still have this now. My employer has continued to ask me to work for them but I have said that without being paid I am not going to continue to work for them until the owed money is paid. I am in a position where due to my job I am aware that my employer does have funds available to pay me if they wanted to but for whatever reason is seeking to avoid it. They have said they want to come and take the laptop back imminently.

Given that I am owed this money and the laptop is the only leverage I have to try and get that payment- where would I stand legally if I said that I would keep the laptop until the wages were paid?

Thanks in advance.

tacpot12

You could be prosecuted for theft as you have no rights to keep the employer's property even if they owe you wages. That said, you could try sending them a letter saying you are keeping the laptop until they pay you, and if the police arrive at your door explain that it was a ruse and that you had no intention of permanently depriving your employer of their property. You might get away with a police caution, but think carefully about this approach if you might need a DBS check for a future job.

The correct route to getting paid is shown in the link below:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/pay/problems-getting-paid/#ifnotgettinganywhere

But you have put up with this situation for such a long time that following the above procedure might be more than you can stand financially. You could try following the process, but make the point at all stages that having not been paid since October time your need for resolution is urgent. You can tell your employer that you will hold them liable for all costs that arise out of your not being paid, e.g. overdraft charges, mortgage interest etc. This might cause them to consider payingg you. Keep records of all the costs you incur. Also keep details of what you are owed.

Be aware that there is a timelimit to go to a tribunal that is 3 months less a day from when you should have been paid the money. Time is running out to get paid for October! You could go to court if you miss the deadline for the tribunal.

You can leave your job with no notice as the employer is in breach of contract. Just make sure you include this in your letter of resignation. You are still entitled to be paid for the work you have done upto the point you resign.

Comms69

tacpot12 wrote: »

You could be prosecuted for theft as you have no rights to keep the employer's property even if they owe you wages. - No, they wouldn't; it's a civil matter. There is no intention to permanently deprive the employer of the property. That said, you could try sending them a letter saying you are keeping the laptop until they pay you - I wouldn't, but sure. , and if the police arrive at your door explain that it was a ruse and that you had no intention of permanently depriving your employer of their property. You might get away with a police caution - a caution cannot be given for this, and a caution is not 'getting away with it'. , but think carefully about this approach if you might need a DBS check for a future job.

The correct route to getting paid is shown in the link below:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/pay/problems-getting-paid/#ifnotgettinganywhere

But you have put up with this situation for such a long time that following the above procedure might be more than you can stand financially. - the correct route is via small claims, the cost is minimal. You could try following the process, but make the point at all stages that having not been paid since October time your need for resolution is urgent. You can tell your employer that you will hold them liable for all costs that arise out of your not being paid, e.g. overdraft charges, mortgage interest etc. - contract law already allows such claims This might cause them to consider payingg you. Keep records of all the costs you incur. Also keep details of what you are owed.

Be aware that there is a timelimit to go to a tribunal that is 3 months less a day from when you should have been paid the money. Time is running out to get paid for October! You could go to court if you miss the deadline for the tribunal. - a tribunal would take longer than small claims court.

You can leave your job with no notice as the employer is in breach of contract. - no they cant. Just make sure you include this in your letter of resignation. You are still entitled to be paid for the work you have done upto the point you resign.

Perhaps more research on the relevant law is required

ACG

You are very very unlikely to get a criminal record for keeping hold of a laptop - I would be surprised if the police even turned up at your door.

You need to send a letter before action to your employers giving a brief overview of the situation (ie you have not be paid since x despite many requests).

How much you are currently owed and that you expect this to be paid within 14 days otherwise you will be forced to go down small claims court (assuming they owe you less than £5k - or you are happy to claim for £5k max).If it has not been paid within 14 days you will be forced to file a claim with small claims where you will look to add on the costs and interest at 8%.

Make sure you get proof of postage - but proof of delivery is not needed.

After 14 days, submit it to small claims which is surprisingly easy to do.
The court papers will be posted out within 2-3 days where your employer will either back down and pay or defend themselves. If they defend themselves it can take a month or so to get infront of a judge.

If you win the case at court, they are then asked to pay.

The issue here is that if they owe out a lot of money and/or can not pay - they may decide to close the business and "phoenix" up. An example of that would be ABC taxis ltd closes down and opens up as ABC taxis (uk) ltd. If that happens you have spent money on court costs and will never see any of your money. So it is worth looking at companies houses to get an idea of their balance sheet (ie do their assets far outstrip their liabilities?).

macman

The advice given in the previous post is spot on. The laptop is completely irrelevant. The value of a secondhand laptop is perhaps £150 at most: only a fraction of the 2/3 month's wages you are owed., so no leverage at all. You have let the situation continue for far too long while continuing to work for them without pay. If they want to come and get the laptop, let them do so. Your remedy is as outlined above. Don't complicate things by giving them the opportunity to say that you are witholding company property.
I would offer to return it to their offices, and say that on your visit you expect to receive full payment for the arrears. Put this formally in writing: don't text, don't email, don't phone.

Comms69

ACG wrote: »

You are very very unlikely to get a criminal record for keeping hold of a laptop - I would be surprised if the police even turned up at your door.

You need to send a letter before action to your employers giving a brief overview of the situation (ie you have not be paid since x despite many requests).

How much you are currently owed and that you expect this to be paid within 14 days otherwise you will be forced to go down small claims court (assuming they owe you less than £5k - or you are happy to claim for £5k max).If it has not been paid within 14 days you will be forced to file a claim with small claims where you will look to add on the costs and interest at 8%.

Make sure you get proof of postage - but proof of delivery is not needed.

After 14 days, submit it to small claims which is surprisingly easy to do.
The court papers will be posted out within 2-3 days where your employer will either back down and pay or defend themselves. If they defend themselves it can take a month or so to get infront of a judge.

If you win the case at court, they are then asked to pay.

The issue here is that if they owe out a lot of money and/or can not pay - they may decide to close the business and "phoenix" up. An example of that would be ABC taxis ltd closes down and opens up as ABC taxis (uk) ltd. If that happens you have spent money on court costs and will never see any of your money. So it is worth looking at companies houses to get an idea of their balance sheet (ie do their assets far outstrip their liabilities?).

I believe the limit is now £10,000

pinkshoes

The laptop won't be worth much.

Ask them to come and collect the laptop and that they can being your outstanding wages when they come to collect it!!

Don't go back to work for them. They have breached the contract. Get ANY other job you can for now to earn money.

Can someone lend you them mortgage payment? Friend or family?

You will need to think carefully whether you take them to court and if they will be able to pay. Does the company have assets?

AylesburyDuck

Tell them they can of course come and collect the laptop, but the consequence of doing so will be a LBA and of course that LBA WILL be followed up with you putting a claim for money owed. Did they really want to place themselves in that position. Lets face it, your not loosing anything as they arnt paying you any how.
Of course nobody would expect them to keep you on after saying something like this, but lets face it, would you want to carry on working for a firm that can treat people in this manner!

[Deleted User]

It's not easy to explain but you have to make them feel like they have something to prove!
The only way last year I got my wages from a company I'd left who thought again about repaying.

Perhaps you can make your letter sound nicer but a paragraph in my letter went as follows:
"By failure to pay; all this situation does is add strength to my belief that I was correct to not retract my decision to leave as nobody can cope with the insecurity of being paid on an as and when basis to not at all"

Bahnhof

Thanks for all the advice. I think I will keep hold of the laptop at least as some (very limited) leverage. The amount owed is small enough to go through small claims court and that is what I will get in motion now.

Thanks again for your help.

Manxman_in_exile

Would it also be wise for the OP to contact their mortgage provider in advance and advise them of their situation?