Workplace Closing Down - Employees Not Being Paid

BrokenArrow

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My workplace has been struggling for money for a while now and was due to close down at the end of September. I found out through a general meeting today that its funds have been frozen and we won't be paid this Friday for the last two weeks of work we have done. I'm fine with not being paid for the future - I just won't do any work from now on. But what rights do I have regarding the work I've already done that I won't be paid for?
 
Bad luck mate- rotton for you.

Sadly this can happen when a company goes under, happened to a few friends of mine who worked for Worldcom.

They were told they could pursue it later on- but not in the short term as the fnds were frozen while the company went under.

They decided not to bother for two weeks work- but maybe contact a local solictiors to see what advice you can get.
 
In these types of cases there is a Government scheme that will compensate you for any lost wages, it also takes any holiday entitlement you have lost in to consideration as well. Be warned though, it usually only pays around 35% of what you should have received.

If your firm has had its assets seized or frozen I would suggest getting in to a new job as quickly as you can.

Matt
 
Hi Broken Arrow,

Sorry to hear of the circumstances you find yourself in. :( I'd go visit the local Citizens Advice Bureau, and get advice and help from them. It's all free, which is a good enough excuse. However, you should also contact and make an initial one-hour enquiry with a relevant and reputable solicitors. The first hour is always free, as far as I know, and thereafter they do charge. :thumbsup: However, if you are out-of-work, they should be able to sort your case out for free, via Legal Aid. I should just point out, however, that not all solicitors and lawyers do Legal Aid work. So double-check! :lesson:

Good Luck, and hope you find a new job soon. Plenty of high-street places are starting to advertise for Christmas work, which may tide-you-over financially for the time being, if you don't want the hassle of looking for something more long-term, until you are either more financially stable, or until matters have been dealt with, over your current (ex) employers! :)


Pooch
 
Hire a van and remove your computer, monitor, chair and photocopier. That might just above cover it.
 
That's theft...you'll probably have to reclaim the wages through the official receiver unfortunately.
 
Hire a van and remove your computer, monitor, chair and photocopier. That might just above cover it.

Or, more relevantly, oven, knives, fridge etc. (I'm a chef) :D

To be honest, it's only part time work so I'm not paid much per week anyway. It's just annoying to have done some work and not get paid for it. Especially seeing as the last four days of work were spent working on my own with no one at all to help in the kitchen.

:-\
 
I am sure that the government scheme gives you your full wages that you were due when a compnay or individual is declared bankrupt/insolvent
 
I was made redundant a few years ago and I got very little from it, like others said hire a van or what ever you can. :D
 
I was in similar situation a few months back. Company went into administration. I was made redundant by the adminstrator straight away and I got a few grand.

It included:
1. owed back wages up to 8 weeks
2. compensation for making redundant without proper notice.
3. holiday pay etc

All was paid up by government because of the national insurance.
 
A few years back when a company i worked for closed the regional office, plenty of people were piling stuff in the back of their car...

At the end of the day, those higher up KNEW this was coming way before you did, and did nothing to help or protect you, thye just screwed you for a few more days.

Get what you can, and don't get caught.
 
Sadly this can happen when a company goes under, happened to a few friends of mine who worked for Worldcom.
WorldCom didn't 'go under' in 2002, and are very much in business today, albeit having been acquired by Verizon. The only real problem in Europe was the adverse publicity from what happened in the US.
 
Sorry to hear of your bad fortune.
Sadly I think in many of these cases you have to join the list of creditors that are owed money by the company and the administrators pay off the big fish who can probably afford the loss first and the real people get nothing.:mad:

-Neil
 
This happened to me in the US. To cut a long story short, I never got any money. You can probably claim through bankruptcy proceedings, but that only pays a small percentage back.

I advise not going back to work again, and spend the time looking for alternative employment.
 
I believe you will get your 2 weeks wages (up to about £300 a week) from DTI.

The company adminstrators have come in. The role of the adminstrator is to see if the company can be rescued and if not then RIP.

Because you have been paying insurance against job insecurity (national insurance), provided you fall within the requirement etc, you will get your outstanding wages (or bulk of it) paid by DTI/government. Also you will be able to get redundacy + required notice payout. The total may not be as much as what the company owes you, but I ended up a few grand better.

If I were you, I would get in touch with the administrator to clear up the situation (are you officially sacked yet?) and also get in touch with the right department to process your claim straight away.
 
Bad luck mate...but i really could do with a new set of kitchen knives ;)
 
Thanks everyone for the advice and wellwishes.:)


I went in today to just clarify what was happening. None of the staff, including the people at the top, are being paid. We were given a form to fill out and send off to the receivers. I think I could probably get an extra £100-150 on top of my two week's pay. (Only part time work) So that would be a nice bonus.

Redundancy Pay - Because the workplace has become insolvent.

Unpaid Wages - Because my wages are unpaid.

Outstanding Holiday Pay - I haven't taken any holiday this year. Fiscal year started in March.

Not receiving the notice I was due - I'm not sure about this one. I've been working there for two years and a month, so I should have two weeks notice. But I don't know if my job has officially ended yet. When I went in today there was no one in the kitchen.
 
But I don't know if my job has officially ended yet. When I went in today there was no one in the kitchen.

Take it from me, it's over.

No one in the kitchen is a BAD, BAD sign !!
 
i bet there was nothing left in the kitchens either lol

if you fancy anything offer the administrators 50p for it - they will probably take it if they cant sell the whole lot lol
 

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