My employer is not paying my wages. What can I do?
I thought that my employment agreement said I could leave without notice. So I did. Now my employer won't pay me for my last week's wages. I don't have a copy of the agreement. What are my rights?
I have quit my job but my boss won’t pay me for the hours I worked in my last week. What can I do?
I was employed by a business which has closed down. I am still owed three weeks’ pay. What can I do to get it?
My employer is not paying my wages. What can I do?
Make sure you have explained the problem clearly to your employer and asked them if there is a reason why you have not received your wages. If they refuse to pay your wages, you can contact a Labour Inspector to investigate the issue or take your complaint to the Employment Relations Authority.
I thought that my employment agreement said I could leave without notice. So I did. Now my employer won't pay me for my last week's wages. I don't have a copy of the agreement. What are my rights?
First, you should ask your employer for a copy of your employment agreement.
Your employer cannot hold on to your last week’s wages unless there is something in your employment agreement that says they can when you quit with no notice. If there is no agreement, or no copies of the agreement can be found, then your employer must pay you your last week’s wage. If they won’t, you have three options:
- you can contact a Labour Inspector and ask them to get your last week’s wage for you
- you can make a formal legal complaint called a Personal Grievance asking for your last week’s wage. There are six different types of Personal Grievance - the one you want is called ‘unjustified disadvantage’
- or you can lodge a recovery action for lost wages. This is where you go to the Employment Relations Authority and ask them to tell your employer they have to pay your back wages. For more information on how to do this see the Employment Relations authority website
I have quit my job but my boss won’t pay me for the hours I worked in my last week. What can I do?
The first thing you need to do is talk to your boss and try to fix the problem between the two of you. If this doesn’t work you can take your situation to the Employment Relations Authority and claim your unpaid wages that way. You may need legal advice before doing this. You can contact a Community Law Centre, contact a Labour Inspector or visit the How to Law website for more information.
I was employed by a business which has closed down. I am still owed three weeks’ pay. What can I do to get it?
When a company goes out of business, employees who are owed wages, including any holiday pay, will be paid out of any money recovered from liquidating the company. If the company you worked for has gone out of business, you may need to bring liquidation proceedings to get what they owe you. This can be a long and drawn out process. For more information you can visit this website.
If, more generally, an employer owes you money for wages or holiday pay, there are several ways to recover the money from your employer. It is possible to involve a Labour Inspector if the matter is covered by minimum rights legislation such as the Holidays Act or the Minimum Wage Act. It is also possible to engage in mediation with your employer. The Department of Labour can assist with this. Finally, it is also possible to file a claim in the Employment Relations Authority if the issue has not been resolved through other mechanisms.