unpaid what would you do?

[Devon06]

i have been working for a small
company for 9 months.
have been consistently paid late, sometimes as much as 15 days. always explained as a banking cyber attack putting restrictions on access. well this time has been the longest i have not been paid for
december or january as yet. they full admit pay is due but the restrictions have been complicated. i head up hr and am senior management so i know there is other stuff happening, pensions not paid, rent on the building etc. we are down to about half staff now. i enjoy my job and have a good relationship with them. this time has broke me mentally and financially and i can’t carry on. i will have worked 3 months without pay shortly. i have comtac acas so have started that process but as soon as they find that out i will be sacked. i do also work on a saturday who have offered me full time. however its a huge £15k drop.
single parent with no help so salary level matters. what would you do? leave and hope you get paid or stay and wait?

Sounds like the company is going bust, so definitely go elsewhere.

I would try and persuade someone to make paying you a priority before you go.

Go and see one of the owners, explain that you are getting to the stage that you can’t feed your children, can’t get to work because you can’t afford petrol, ask them to pay you what they can.

If they don’t pay you, or don’t pay much, don’t go to work for a week citing being unable to afford petrol (or internet if you work from home). Basically, you need to pressure them to get them to pay your money before everything else! If they don’t pay after that then they can’t pay.

At the same time can you job hunt? Is there any way that your Saturday job will offer you the shifts temporarily ? Or do you have to say yes or no?

Take the role with the 15k drop - you risk zero pay and no job with your current job as they are obviously going bust.

Agree. Going bust and very soon by the sound of it.

15k drop is still more than you’re being paid now. How do they expect people to continue working with them without being paid? I simply couldn’t afford it.

Make sure you have any paperwork you need saved on your personal laptop/hard drive and any communication you have with them saying you’ve not been paid. Let them find out you’re escalating this now, give them the opportunity to pay and take them to court when they don’t. Take the other job.

Also, would it not be unfair dismissal to sack you for contacting ACAS?

It’s a matter of time before your current employer goes out of business, I’d take the other job. I used to deal with insolvent companies and I was always a bit baffled as to why people kept working for them despite not being paid, sometimes the last payments to employees had been made 6 months prior.

You can look for a better paying job with less financial pressure if you have the lower paying job than if you have no job.

I’d take it! You can always look for another job but at least you’ll have an income

half the company have done that and unfortunately made no difference. i think they have no money. however the work is still coming in and payments too. I am the most senior person in the business under the ceo and i don’t know what is going on!

thanks all. right going to take the other job. keep on at acas who never pick up the phone and resign. i just wasn’t sure if that puts me at a disadvantage. i have sent all the messages to my daughter so all saved. i have my payslips. they have been reported to the pension regulator by nest for not making payments x

I would put in your resignation that you expect payment of £xxx due to missed salary payments and that you have consulted with ACAS about this. Perhaps speak to a solicitor too.

Another thing to be aware of is that they are likely to have not paid over your tax and NI to HMRC - I don’t know how HMRV views that these days but in the past you’d lose out on NI credits and sometimes be pursued for the income tax if you couldn’t show that you’d been paid net.

Are they giving you payslips even though there are no payments forthcoming?

I wouldn’t still be there if I hadn’t been paid for December or January. I’d be very concerned that you are not going to be paid at all.

I would not work out the notice period, I would
literally not be arriving at work on Monday, and would send a brief email to resign and to say why. I would take the job with the $15k drop, it’s better than the nothing that you’re being paid now, and it doesn’t have to be forever, it can just be until you find something that pays more.

My understanding is that you would have a case for
constructive dismissal, because by their action in not paying you, it’s reasonably foreseeable that you would resign.

yes your right they have not paid the contributions but my payslips do show the deductions for pension, ni and tax. in all my years of working i have never found myself in this awful position!

thanks i must have mug written all over me! i just had hope as they said it was temp and every few days would say they were close to resolving it.

Please speak to ACAS about this and stop working for free. They cannot sack you for exercising a statutory right (to be paid), it is unfair dismissal regardless of length of service.

How is that possible if you also head up HR? Surely you should be able to find out? Aren’t people chasing you for payments?
I can’t believe anyone is coming in! See if you have legal help on your home insurance. My friend successfully sued a large company for pay issues using it.

sadly so far the wait time is approximately 5 weeks to speak to someone at acas. but i have put in my form so it’s in progress which matters. part of me wants to call a solicitor but i can’t bloody afford it now

oh yes i have even had 2 dads in last week demanding payment! everyone is chasing or has stopped working and gone quiet.

If you’re a head of Hr surely you can see what’s going on on the systems?! Is it a very small company?

Use your home insurance legal aid

Wrt the lower paying job offer, depending on your individual circumstances, you may be eligible for some Universal Credit. It maje help make up the shortfall a bit if eligible.

Op if the company becomes insolvent the government makes the salary payment although you would have a delay.

https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/what-you-can-get

as hr could you be liable for non payment of salaries?

leave now
reduced salary is better than not being paid at all.

no i wouldn’t be liable and i have been very careful not to sign anything and make the ceo do it. i am only been told what they are telling everyone else. i have no access to the banks. i just see what else is being chased for non payment so have a better idea.

Take the other job as at least you will have some job security in the meantime. Best of luck with it all