Self-employed - not been paid

[ICanTuckMyBoobsInMyPockets]

DH is a self-employed crane operator. He was subbed through a bricklayer which have since left the site, but he's been kept on by the company managing the build.

They owe him 2 weeks money.

Has anyone had success in getting paid in these circumstances? He's sent an invoice, a reminder, and a final reminder.

What's next? Debt collector? Or small claims court?

He needs to telephone the company concerned, speak to someone in 'accounts payable' and ask them whether they have his invoice, whether it has been processed and authorised for payment, and when payment is likely to be.

A lot of large companies pay on 60 days from the end of the month following the invoice date. At least if he rings them, then they can confirm whether they have had the invoice passed on to them, so if it is missing he can send a copy to the right person. And you can remind them of his payment terms. I am assuming they were shown on the invoice?

It's a one man band, the guy has definitely received the email as he put a read receipt on and we sent a copy special delivery which has been signed for.
There won't be an accounts department.
The building trade is so annoying!

DH wants to take it straight to small claims but he's very impatient. I don't want to do that then find we should have followed a particular process.

Send a follow up email, politely advising that if the invoice is not paid then sadly further action will be taken to recover the money after 14 day 21 days etc

We've done that bit Ivy 😁

I need to know what the next bit is! Court? Debt collector?

Small claims court
I don’t think you can jump straight to debt collectors without taking the debt to court first, though I’d search on the internet to check out

Small claims court - you can do this on line. Make sure you include the dates/method of chasing payment and what the invoice was for originally in the details, plus what the arrangement was on his engagement. 8 times out of 10 they will pay up as soon as they get the court papers

What are the companies payment terms? Has the invoice been approved for payment?

Once you understand the above if payment still hasn’t been made you should issue a MCOL (money claim online) which is the small claims court.

I’m a self employed contractor and the company I am currently contracting at are on 90 days!

So technically he's self employed, but it's the building trade so it's all a bit of farce.

He submit a timesheet with hours on each Tuesday and would get paid on the Friday.

He's never had to do an invoice before, he just done this time as he obviously couldn't give him a timesheet as he'd gone off site.

Its not really self-employed,it's just how they work it so you have to do your own tax etc and you don't have employee rights.

I'm assuming he was contracted directly by the bricklayer and not via an agency? (my DP is also a plant driver and I could rant all day about the shit shower that is agencies, umbrella companies and how it all works these days in the construction industry).

If his pay is late and you've threatened court action - 'letter before action' is the polite term, then yes, the small claims court is the next step. It costs about £35 to file and it's quite straightforward.

I'd be worried that the bricklayer is having cashflow problems and can't pay the invoice. He could be waiting for someone to pay him, he could have problems with the bank - cancellation of overdraft etc, he could have done a job at a loss, or all manner of other reasons. It could be a temporary problem, or he could be on the verge of going bust.

I might consider phoning the bricklayer, telling him that I was on the verge of using the small claims court and see what he said, but if he's deliberately avoiding paying then court is probably the way to go. He might then suddenly pay up, or not, obviously.