Your employer stopped paying you and now they've gone quiet

Where the complaint is that an employer has made an unauthorised deduction from wages or has failed to pay wages properly due, the usual statutory route is a complaint to an Employment Tribunal under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996, rather than starting a county court small claim. A tribunal complaint is generally due within three months less one day of the deduction, or the last deduction in a series, and the worker must usually start ACAS early conciliation before presenting the claim. Extensions are limited and fact-sensitive, so a possible tribunal claim typically needs urgent checking.

This section generally protects workers from deductions unless they are required by law, allowed by the contract, or agreed in writing beforehand. A complete failure to pay wages may, depending on the facts, be treated as an unlawful deduction. It typically covers pay earned for work already done, including many forms of salary, commission or other wage payments, but the tribunal will usually look closely at what was contractually or legally due.

Regulation 14 generally provides for a payment in lieu of statutory annual leave that has accrued but not been taken when employment ends. The calculation may depend on the worker’s leave year, days worked, days taken and any valid contractual rules. Holiday pay disputes are commonly dealt with in the Employment Tribunal, including as holiday pay or unlawful deduction claims, and time limits are usually short.

This section generally sets a statutory floor for pay for qualifying workers. If wages actually paid fall below the applicable minimum wage rate, arrears may be relevant even where the employer says a lower rate was agreed. The calculation can depend on age, apprenticeship status, pay reference periods and what counts as working time, and enforcement may involve tribunal claims, civil routes or HMRC enforcement depending on the circumstances.

An employment contract may generally be formed through words, conduct and performance, not only by a signed document. Courts or tribunals may look at offer letters, rotas, messages, payslips, bank payments and the fact that work was accepted. If the rate of pay is disputed, the evidence usually matters to what terms may be found or inferred.

Some breach-of-contract claims by employees may be brought in the Employment Tribunal, but the jurisdiction is limited and commonly concerns claims outstanding on termination of employment. There may also be a financial cap on what the tribunal can award for a contract claim. Contract claims outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction may need to be brought in the civil courts, so the correct forum usually depends on the claim type, employment status, whether employment has ended and the sums involved.

A county court claim for unpaid wages framed as a simple contract debt is generally subject to a six-year limitation period. The period typically runs from when the payment should have been made, although limitation issues can be fact-sensitive. This civil court limitation period does not replace or extend the much shorter Employment Tribunal time limits for statutory unlawful deduction or holiday pay complaints.

Where a wage claim is properly brought as a county court debt or damages claim, the court may consider interest under this section. Interest is usually discretionary, so it is not automatic and may depend on the facts and the court’s view of what is just. The court may also consider whether another contractual or statutory interest basis applies.