What can I do if I have a pay dispute with my employer?

Some work pay claims are simply the result of a mistake in the wages department. Perhaps your tax code has been wrongly applied, or some other human error has occurred? That's one of the reasons why it's essential to query any shortfall in your salary or bonuses as soon as possible and raise a formal grievance if you believe your salary or bonuses aren't being paid as agreed.

The other reason is that you only have three months, minus one day, in which to take your employer to an employment tribunal if you can't agree over your pay and bonuses. Bearing in mind that, before you can take your employer to a tribunal, you must first notify the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) and give them a chance to establish whether your employer will agree to 'early conciliation'.

If you need advice on any aspect of this process – particularly where high value pay and bonuses are at stake - talk to one of our experienced employment contract solicitors today.

Speak to our pay dispute solicitors

When do pay disputes commonly occur?

Broadly speaking, any issue or disagreement over wages, bonuses or commission can result in a formal pay dispute. However, the most common usually involve:

• Discretionary bonuses, or bonuses tied to subjective performance targets
• Holiday or sick pay
• Maternity or paternity pay
• Wages due for overtime
• Severance pay (settlement agreements)

What pay dispute services do Slater and Gordon provide?

We know that a dispute over pay is often an incredibly stressful time and can leave you feeling out of pocket. Our specialist pay dispute solicitors have helped hundreds of clients receive their rightful entitlement, and can support you with:

• Reviewing your employment contract and any documentation relating to bonus structures
• Making a claim for equal pay if you’ve been paid less due to your gender
• Pursuing a discrimination claim in the case you’ve been underpaid due to sex, age, race, disability, sexual orientation, or beliefs
• Taking action if your pay (or bonus) has been unfairly reduced, or your employer has made changes to your bonus scheme without informing you

How can Slater and Gordon help with bonus disputes?

While high value salary disputes are reasonably rare, disputes over bonus payments are very commonplace. That's largely because while your contract of employment will usually state your annual salary quite clearly, bonuses are often paid based on complex performance calculations that leave some room for various interpretations.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of bonus:

• Contractual bonuses: These are, theoretically at least, the most straightforward bonuses, as the formula for calculating them should be set out in your contract. These bonuses are usually linked to a key performance metric such as hitting sales targets or the company achieving a certain level of profitability. Where these disputes become more problematic is when a given performance metric – such as 'personal performance' – is open to a degree of subjective interpretation.
• Discretionary bonuses: Claims for non-payment of discretionary bonuses can be more problematic than those for contractual bonuses. That's because when your employer decides how much, if anything, is payable, then a lot is riding on them acting in good faith.

If you've failed to receive a contractual or discretionary bonus that you believe you're owed, talk to one of our experienced employment law solicitors today. Call us on 0330 041 5869 or contact us online and we'll call you back.

Why choose Slater and Gordon’s pay dispute solicitors?

Disputes over pay can be incredibly complex, not in the least because many of them can stem from issues such as equal pay, discrimination and TUPE. If you’ve been paid less than you were entitled to, having the right expertise and support on hand can make all the difference to the outcome.

At Slater and Gordon, our friendly and compassionate employment team have an outstanding track record of success in a wide range of cases, from sex discrimination and equal pay to settlement agreements and TUPE, and many of our solicitors have received recognition from esteemed legal publications such as Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500. With a wealth of experience and expertise, you can trust that your case is in good hands from the outset.