Originally posted by SPURSN17
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My advice, fwiw:
If the company is struggling to pay salary then you probably don't even know the half of its troubles.
Suppliers will not have been paid and are threatening to sue, HMRC may be making more serious threats over unpaid PAYE, the bank may have cancelled any company credit cards and put a block on certain transactions, the accountant will be looking after his/her own back and may even have withdrawn services, the owner will be in personal debt with credit cards maxed out...
Get your CV uploaded to the job sites pronto, speak to agents, your network, old employers, etc. When speaking to people focus on your skills and valuable experience gained in the current role and not the dire position of the company's finances.
Also re notice period, you are available immediately (don't worry about what your contract says, they are already in breach). It's usually a dilemma for anyone looking to go contracting from permie, so you are in a strong position here.
To answer the actual question re unpaid salary: Employment Tribunals Claim Form (ET1). Submit it online. Keep it factual and to the point. Your claim: Salary arrears from d/m/y to d/m/y. Amount £x. Remedy sought: payment of arrears as stated.
The employer gets sent a copy and must respond with ET3 within a certain no. of days. They muse deal with the court, not you. If they fail to respond, or indicate that your claim is not resisted (i.e. they agree you are owed salary but are unable to pay), then the Judge should declare a default judgement and it won't go to a hearing.
Check your house insurance for legal cover and if you have it then make a claim now for legal representation on the assumption that it will go to a tribunal hearing even though it might not.
Once you have the judgement speak direct to the court enforcement officer and/or a debt recovery agency about pursuing the debt, in order to keep up the pressure - at this point it's up to you to make things happen.
Hopefully the company will just pay up when they receive the claim. They may let it go to judgement and then pay up. If they are really in dire straights they may (as in my case) wait until a High Court Enforcement Officer turns up at the door and makes a tour of the premises. This all takes time and they may go into liquidation in the meantime but the sooner you set the ball rolling the more chance of receiving your money.
IANAL, the above is based on personal experience. HTH.
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