DP's employer hasn't paid this month's salary - is there anything we can do?

[PullyWoolOver]

Am really hoping someone can help.

DP's company have just sent a company-wide email announcing that salaries won't be paid today. No prior notice at all which is a little tricksy as you can imagine! I'm on mat leave but we have money put by to cover the shortfall until I go back to work so we'll just about cope (but pity other employees who might not be so prepared and have bills to pay/ families to feed).

Legally speaking, does anyone know where we stand? Do employees have any rights in this situation, or can employers just not pay their staff with no warning, and get away with it scott-free? It seems very unjust, but I fear the worst - we're never going to see this money are we?

Would be really grateful for any advice.

Blimey, how awful....not sure of the legal stance but hardly going to endear you to the workforce is it?

Is there a chance they've gone bust?

Hopefully someone with more legal expertise will be here soon...good luck!

Does the email say why?

No real reason given, the email was very short and to the point. I can't understand why no notice was given as someone high up must have known.

Not saying why doesn't look good or surely they'd say?!

Not sure what you can legally do right now until you have more information - do you have contact details for the owners/directors - personally I'd be calling them.

This happened to us twice last year with my dh's work. They were in the process of changing to monthly pay and there had been a mix up (alledgedly). Think if the pay date is written into work contract then the business is liable to pay any bank charges incurred. When it happened at my dh's work they offered every employee £250 to tide them over. Fat lot of use that is though if all your direct debits come out on payday.

The only time I have heard of this is when a company has money problems - so literally may not be the money -

No, it doesn't look good dinosaur - DP tried calling as soon as he received the email. No answer. I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed the money is forthcoming next week, just feel a bit helpless at the moment to be honest.

Did the email say anything about when wages would be paid? And is your DP a member of a union? (I'm thinking probably not as the bastards wouldn't dare treat unionised workers like this). I think the key thing is to demand to know when wages will be paid - if it turns out that someone just forgot to push the button to transfer money and it will be done on Wednesday then that's not so bad. If they say they don't know when they will be paying staff but expect them to continue working then they are trading while insolvent, which is against the law and your DP should go straight to the Citizen's Advice.

Jeez! Call the helpline. Allegedly they are open on Saturday mornings though of course that may not be the case this weekend. :( for you all.

No mention of when wages will be paid solid, and not member of a union either. Good to know about the 'trading while insolvent' thing though, I will let DP know.

Thanks for the link Joan, and thanks for your replies everyone, 'tis much appreciated.

If the firm has gone bust then I'm afraid your DH and his colleagues will be treated as being among its creditors; they will be lumped in with the other people or busineses who are owed money and your only hope is for an eventual payout when the dust has settled.
Quite often creditors only get a percentage of what they are owed and there are different 'ranks' of creditors, with HMRC at the top!
It's really shitty -- so sorry.

I'd be telling the local press

Yes - this happened at my old firm when it went bust. After assuring all staff at the start of the month (it was a June, as I recall) that there was enough money on hand to pay wages at the end of the month, the bank withdrew a loan mid-month and they announced at the end that there were no wages and 2/3 of the workforce were laid off with immediate effect.

I had left the firm by this time but I understand it was carnage, with people refusing to hand back keys to company cars, taking office stuff (printers, PCs) etc.

I'd see what Monday brings, and take it from there. If legal action is needed it'll be cheaper for the staff to club together, i think.

Contact ACAS for free advice

Agree with others. Legally your DP is of course entitled to his salary, but if there isn't the money to pay it then this can be slightly academic. It's not a good sign, so I'd encourage your DP to be looking for another job. Hugs.

tarty that's not strictly the case if you're PAYE (I was in this situation in May) - if the company goes bust, lost wages and redundancy payments can be claimed through the NI fund; we received our lost wages within 4 weeks.

Well, DP was called into a meeting yesterday where they were all made redundant...guess we should have seen that one coming!

Apparently, it turns out the company have done this several times before. They fuck up, get rid of everyone, and then start again. Seems desperately unfair that they can get away with treating people like this.

Thanks again for your replies and sorry some of you have also been in this shitty situation. It's really awful isn't it?

That's interesting fluffy about the NI fund - I'm really hoping DP will get at least some of the money he's owed.

Definitely one for the local press then. Name and shame.

Have they gone into insolvency? If not, surely they'll be obliged to pay wages/redundancy?

Tribot is right. They can be made redundant but they have to be paid for the work done if the company is still active.

Happened to me whilst onmaternity leave . I got a proportion of what I was owed back through NI, but not the full amount.