Use this page to diagnose whether the problem is unpaid wages, a deduction, holiday/sick/family pay, minimum wage, a contract change or another pay issue, then move to the detailed guide.
Use this guide to separate the facts, the legal route and the practical remedy. Workplace disputes often involve more than one right, so keep each strand distinct.
Key points
- Identify the exact decision, event or omission before choosing a legal label.
- Ask who made the decision and which employer policy, contract term or statutory rule is relied on.
- Preserve contemporaneous evidence and the employer’s reasons before memories and records change.
- Protect Acas and tribunal time limits even while an internal process is continuing.
Diagnosis
First: what exactly happened?
Work out which route fits the facts before deciding what to ask the employer to do. Similar workplace problems can use different legal tests.
| What happened? | What to check |
|---|---|
| The issue has just happened | Record the facts, decision-maker, date, impact and any immediate deadline. |
| An internal process is underway | Use the employer process, but protect any external time limit separately. |
| The employer disputes your version | Identify the documents, contemporaneous records and witnesses that can resolve the factual dispute. |
| The issue overlaps another right | Separate each legal strand rather than relying on one label. |
Use this as a routing page, not a competing duplicate
This page joins two closely related subjects. For the detailed legal and evidential analysis, follow the canonical guides linked below; this route remains useful where the same facts span both subjects.
Who is responsible?
The employer is responsible for its own employment decisions and processes, even where HR, payroll, occupational health, an external investigator or software supplier is involved. Identify the actual decision-maker and the legal entity that employs you.
Managers and HR may administer a process, but outsourcing advice or relying on a policy does not transfer away the employer’s legal responsibility.
Ordinary wages versus statutory pay
Holiday pay, SSP and family-related pay have special statutory rules. Do not force every short-payment issue into the ordinary deductions framework.
Pay change versus pay error
A payroll mistake is different from an employer deliberately changing your contractual rate or hours.
Minimum wage
Deductions and unpaid working time can affect minimum-wage compliance even where the gross salary looks adequate.
In plain English
Start with the payslip, contract and the actual payment.
A pay dispute is easiest to analyse when the expected amount, contractual basis, payslip entry and amount received are placed side by side. An employer can make some deductions, but deductions from wages are legally constrained.
- Keep the contract and any variation.
- Keep every relevant payslip and bank credit.
- Identify the exact deduction or unpaid period.
- Ask the employer to state the basis for the deduction in writing.
Separate a payroll mistake from an authorised deduction.
An unexpected deduction can arise from tax, overpayment recovery, a contractual term, a prior written agreement or simple payroll error. The fact a deduction appears on a payslip does not itself prove it was lawful.
Raise the issue promptly and keep the calculation.
Explain the gross amount expected, deductions shown, net amount paid and why you say the calculation is wrong. If the employer relies on a contractual clause or written consent, ask for the exact provision rather than arguing about it in the abstract.
Tribunal time limits can be short.
If an unresolved wages dispute may become an employment tribunal claim, check the current Acas time-limit guidance promptly. Internal payroll queries and grievances do not automatically stop time running.
Keep limitation separate from the internal payroll process.
An employer saying “payroll is investigating” does not automatically protect a tribunal deadline. Notify Acas in time where a tribunal claim may be needed. From 1 October 2026, most newly starting tribunal limitation periods increase to six months minus one day, but claims whose time limit began earlier generally remain under the existing rule.
Useful wording.
“My calculation is attached by pay period. Please confirm whether you agree each disputed item. For any deduction you maintain is lawful, identify the legal or contractual basis and provide the underlying calculation.”
Build a simple reconciliation.
- List each pay period separately.
- Record what should have been paid and why.
- Record what was actually paid.
- Identify every deduction and the employer’s stated basis.
- Attach the contract, rota/timesheet, payslip and bank credit for that period.
- Keep a running total, but do not combine disputed categories without showing the calculation.
A clear reconciliation is often more persuasive than a long narrative because payroll, Acas and a tribunal can see exactly what is disputed.
A payslip is evidence, not proof that the calculation is lawful.
Workers are generally entitled to an itemised payslip. It should make deductions visible, but describing a line as “adjustment”, “training”, “absence” or “damage” does not establish that the deduction is legally permitted. Ask what rule or agreement authorises it.
If money has not been paid at all, distinguish an unlawful deduction from wages from a broader breach-of-contract claim. The correct route can depend on the payment type and whether employment has ended.
Break a pay dispute into components before calculating what is owed.
“My wages are wrong” can involve basic salary, hours, overtime, commission, bonus, holiday pay, statutory payments, notice pay or deductions. Each component can have a different contractual or statutory basis. Reconstruct the pay period from source records rather than relying only on the final payslip total.
| Component | Check |
|---|---|
| Basic pay / hours | Contracted rate, timesheets, rota and hours actually worked. |
| Overtime | Whether overtime is guaranteed, compulsory or discretionary and the agreed rate. |
| Commission / bonus | Scheme rules, targets, discretion wording and when entitlement crystallises. |
| Holiday pay | Holiday taken, normal remuneration rules where relevant and leave balance. |
| Final pay | Notice, accrued holiday, authorised deductions and any contractual set-off. |
What can you realistically ask for?
Choose a remedy that matches the problem. Internal processes can often correct a decision or record; statutory compensation and tribunal remedies depend on the legal claim.
- Correction of the workplace decision where possible
- Payment or compensation where the relevant right provides it
- Internal findings, apology or process changes where appropriate
- External enforcement or tribunal remedies where the legal route allows
Evidence worth keeping
Preserve the original record where possible. A short, dated evidence set is usually more useful than an unstructured dump of documents.
Common employer responses - and what they do not necessarily prove
| Employer says | ConsumerWise view |
|---|---|
| “This is just company policy.” | Internal policy does not override statutory rights. |
| “HR has decided, so the issue is closed.” | Internal findings do not prevent use of an applicable appeal, Acas or legal route. |
| “You must finish the internal process first.” | Internal action can be useful, but external limitation should be checked independently. |
What to say next
Keep the next response short and issue-led. State the decision you challenge, the evidence or rule you rely on, the specific answer you still need and the remedy you want. If the employer relies on a policy or business reason, ask it to identify the relevant provision and explain how it applies to your facts.
Important overlaps and exceptions
- Check whether discrimination, whistleblowing, pay, data or dismissal rights also apply.
- Employment status can change which statutory rights are available.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Write down the event or decision, the date, who made it and the practical impact.
- Identify the legal or contractual right that may apply instead of relying only on the word “unfair”.
- Collect the smallest evidence set that proves the key facts and the employer’s stated reason.
- Use the relevant internal request, grievance, appeal or complaint route and ask for a specific remedy.
- Check Acas and tribunal limitation separately. Do not let a slow internal process cause an external deadline to expire.
Escalation and time limits
Internal procedures can be important, but they do not normally stop an employment tribunal time limit. As at 11 September 2026, most claims whose limitation period starts before 1 October 2026 still use the existing three-month-minus-one-day framework. For most relevant time limits starting on or after 1 October 2026, the period increases to six months minus one day.
Acas early conciliation can affect calculation of the deadline if Acas is notified in time. Some claims use different limits, and interim relief in qualifying dismissal cases can require action within only 7 days. Always check the specific claim rather than applying a general period mechanically.
Official sources
Check the current source material.
ConsumerWise explains these materials in plain English. Employment law and procedure can change, so check the current official source before relying on a deadline, eligibility rule or legal test.