The law offers a lot of protection to workers who do not receive the money they are owed. If the failure is deliberate and your employer refuses to pay, your next step should be to contact QualitySolicitors Wilson Browne for advice and help.

I have not been paid properly – what are my rights?

If you provide work or services under a contract, then you normally have the right not to have unauthorised deductions made from your pay.

You can bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal. This may be a claim for an unlawful deduction from wages and/or (if your employment has ended) a claim for breach of contract.

Alternatively you could bring a claim in the Civil Court for breach of contract (whether or not your employment has ended).

What counts as ‘wages’?

Payments that are commonly classed as wages include salary, commission, bonuses, holiday pay and notice pay. A number of statutory payments also count as wages, including statutory sick pay and statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay. These payments can be claimed as unlawful deductions of wages.

Other payments are not classed as wages and can be claimed as a breach of contract. These include loans, allowances, pensions, expenses, redundancy payments and benefits in kind (such as gym membership, private health care, life assurance).

My employer says the deductions are allowed – who is right?

An employer can make deductions from an employee’s wages in certain circumstances:

• If you have agreed in writing to the deduction
• If the deduction is authorised by statute (such an tax and national insurance)
• If the employer is authorised by your contract of employment to make such a deduction.

Also, if the employer has overpaid wages or expenses to you and then deducted pay in order to reimburse the company, then generally this will not count as a deduction. If this has happened to you then please contact the Employment law team at QualitySolicitors Wilson Browne for further advice, as there are situations where such deductions may be unlawful.