Unpaid Wages

Non payment of wages not only includes failure to pay the monthly salary owed to you, it also includes unlawful deductions or failure to pay wages, bonuses or holiday pay. If you do find yourself in this situation you must act fast, there is a 3 month and 1 day time limit in which to make a claim. Our solicitors can help with a wide array of situation that relate to unpaid wages.

If you have have persistently been unpaid wages or have been paid less than you are entitled to then you can make a claim for breach of contract or constructive dismissal. 

If an issue arises due to a genuine one-off mistake, then it would be advisable in the first instance to raise the dispute through a formal grievance with your employer. 

Unlawful Deduction Of Wages

Employees, or workers, providing work or service to another under a contract has a right to be paid for fair work and not have unlawful and unauthorised deductions from their wages. 

The following types of payments are considered wages for this purpose:

• Salary
• Commission
• Bonuses
• Holiday Pay
• Statutory Sick Pay
• Statutory maternity, paternity or adoption pay
• Notice pay

The following are not classed as wages:

• Benefits in kind
• Loans and advance on wages
• Pensions, allowance or gratuities 
• Expenses
• Redundancy pay

If your employer does not pay, or reduces any of the above you will not be able to claim for unpaid wages. However, you may be able to claim for breach of contract. 

Lawful Deductions From Wages

Your employer can make deductions from your salary in the following circumstances:

• Authorised by you in writing
• Authorised by statute
• Authorised by contract

Unpaid Bonuses

A claim for unpaid bonuses is generally the trickiest of the unpaid wages claim to make. This is because generally, bonuses are often paid based on performance and at the employer’s discretion. However, the entitlement to a bonus is often written into contract or paid on the basis of custom and practice.

The downfall of most unpaid bonus claims is that you must be able to state the amount you are entitled to. If the amount you get is completely discretionary then you may have difficulty proving your case. 

How Can Monarch Solicitors Help with Unpaid Wages?

If you have tried and failed to negotiate with your employer about your unpaid wages then our employment solicitors can help you take legal action. For a solicitor to act on your behalf, adds weight on the seriousness of the matter. Our employment solicitors would firstly negotiate with your employer to bring the matter to a quick and amicable close to avoid the costly procedure of bringing a claim in the court or tribunal. If a claim is made in court or the tribunal, our employment solicitors will fight your corner during all stages of the process.

Our specialist employment solicitors have decades of experience dealing with employment issues. They are well equipped to deal with a whole manner of different cases no matter how big or small. 

Our team have had great success negotiating settlement offers, taking claims to the Employment Tribunal, and many more. Every person we represent receives the same high quality of treatment and personal service.

Legal Costs & Service Transparency

If you are considering taking Court action due to a breach of employment law the legal costs should be weighed against the amount likely to be received in damages.

We know it’s important to your business that the legal costs of the dispute are kept under control so as to not affect your cash flow.

We’ll not only ensure that you’re aware of costs implications from the outset, we’ll provide you with step-by-step cost estimates or fixed fees for each stage of the work. We’ll also consider funding options to suit your business needs so you can be sure that our legal services are cost effective.

For more information regarding legal funding options, please click here for more information.

About Our Employment Team

At Monarch Solicitors, our employment lawyers have vast experience, expertise, and knowledge in resolving all kinds of domestic and international employment disputes, whether it be complex or technical or simply a disagreement over pay and working conditions.

We have particular expertise in relation to the following areas:

• Bullying and harassment
• Constructive dismissal
• Discrimination
• Employee grievance
• Employment tribunal representation
• Equal pay disputes
• Garden leave
• Maternity and family rights
• Redundancy
• Restrictive covenants
• Settlement agreements
• Unfair dismissal 
• Whistleblowing

Contact Our Employment Solicitors

Our expert employment lawyers are available to discuss your unpaid wages claim.

Please contact our employment advisors for immediate assistance by sending an email to us at [email protected] and one of our employment solicitors shall call you back. 

Alternatively, please call our employment solicitors in Manchester on 0330 127 8888 for a no obligation discussion.

Monarch Solicitors are a leading UK law firm and our award-winning Manchester solicitors, London solicitors and Birmingham solicitors offer their legal expertise nationally and internationally.

We are also able to leverage an international network spanning across Hong Kong, Turkey and Dubai to provide seamless assistance with cross-border matters relating to unpaid wages.