General guidance
This guide currently contains general legal information. Jurisdiction-specific guidance for your location is coming soon. The Concaso assessment will still tailor its questions and analysis based on your jurisdiction.
Tailored versions available: Canada (General), Alberta, Ontario, England & Wales, United States (General), British Columbia.
What can I do about this?
Unpaid pay usually has two routes: an employment standards or labour complaint, which is free and administrative, and a civil claim, which is slower but can cover more. Which fits depends on what is owed, how much, and how long ago. Both have deadlines, and the records you keep — hours, rates, agreements, pay statements — do most of the work.
- The free administrative route suits straightforward statutory entitlements.
- A civil claim can cover contractual amounts a standards complaint cannot.
- Deadlines for the complaint route are often shorter than for a claim.
What is actually owed
Pay disputes are easier to run once the money is broken into categories, because different categories are recovered in different places.
| Category | Typical source | Usual route |
|---|---|---|
| Basic wages | Statute and contract | Standards complaint or claim |
| Overtime | Statute, subject to exemptions | Standards complaint |
| Vacation or holiday pay | Statute and contract | Standards complaint |
| Commission or bonus | Contract or plan document | Usually a civil claim |
| Expenses | Contract or policy | Usually a civil claim |
| Final pay on termination | Statute and contract | Either, depending on the amount |
What an employer can and cannot deductGeneral guidance
Statutory deductions such as tax and social contributions are required. Beyond those, employers are generally restricted in what they can withhold, and written authorisation is often needed.
- Deductions for tills shortages, breakages or customer walkouts are commonly restricted.
- Recovery of a genuine payroll overpayment is treated differently from a penalty.
- Unreturned equipment is usually a separate claim, not an automatic right to hold pay.
The two routes and how they differ
| Standards complaint | Civil claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Usually free | Filing fees and possible costs exposure |
| Speed | Months, investigator-led | Slower, but you control it |
| What it covers | Statutory entitlements | Contractual amounts too |
| Limits | Caps and recovery windows may apply | Court's monetary limits |
| Trade-off | Choosing one may bar the other for the same amounts | Requires more effort from you |
Deadlines for each routeGeneral guidance
Administrative complaint windows are usually shorter than court limitation periods, and often look back only a limited distance for recovery. Both are counted from specific trigger dates rather than from when you noticed.
- Note the date each amount became payable.
- Note your last day worked, if employment ended.
- Check the complaint window and the recovery look-back for your jurisdiction.
Employee vs contractor
Being labelled a contractor does not settle the question. Decision-makers look at the substance of the relationship — control, dependence, who supplies the tools, whether you can profit from your own efficiency, and whether you work for others.
The records that decide it
- Your own contemporaneous record of hours, even if informal.
- Rotas, schedules, timesheets and clock-in exports.
- Pay statements and bank deposits, compared line by line.
- The offer letter, contract, commission plan or bonus policy.
- Messages agreeing shifts, rates or extra work.
Raising it internally, in writing
A short, specific written request is usually the first step, and it creates a record whichever route follows. Set out the amount, the period, how you calculated it, and a reasonable date for payment.
What is owed · for what period · how it was calculated · what you are asking for · by when · what you will do if it is not resolved.
Retaliation and protection
Most jurisdictions prohibit penalising an employee for asserting statutory pay rights or filing a complaint. Protection is not the same as prevention, so keeping a dated record of the request and anything that follows matters.
If the employer is insolvent or has disappeared
- Check whether a statutory wage-protection or insolvency fund covers unpaid amounts.
- Unpaid wages often have a preferred position in insolvency, up to a limit.
- Directors can be personally liable for certain unpaid wage amounts in some jurisdictions.
- A judgment against an entity with no assets recovers nothing — check this before spending.
Gather these
- Offer letter, employment contract, commission or bonus plan
- All pay statements for the period in dispute
- Bank statements showing what was actually received
- Timesheets, rotas, schedules or clock records
- Messages about hours, rates, shifts or promised payments
- Your resignation or termination letter, if employment ended
What tends to matter
- A clear calculation of the amount claimed
- Contemporaneous hour records rather than reconstructions
- Written confirmation of the agreed rate
- Evidence you asked for payment and when
- Comparable pay statements from periods that were paid correctly
Want both lists in one printable page?
Common mistakes
- Waiting to see if it resolves itself until the complaint window closes
- Asking only verbally, leaving no record of the request
- Filing in the wrong forum and losing the ability to use the other
- Assuming a salary automatically excludes overtime entitlement
- Accepting a lump sum without written confirmation of what it settles
- Not keeping copies of records before losing system access
Frequently asked
Can my employer be late paying me?
Pay is normally due on the schedule set by the contract and by legislation. Persistent lateness is itself usually a breach, separate from non-payment.
Am I owed overtime if I'm salaried?
Sometimes. Overtime exemptions usually turn on the actual duties performed rather than on being paid a salary or holding a manager title.
Can they hold my final pay until I return equipment?
Usually not automatically. Recovering equipment is generally treated as a separate claim, and unilateral deductions from pay are commonly restricted.
What if I was paid cash?
It makes proof harder, not impossible. Bank deposits, messages, rotas, witnesses and your own contemporaneous record can establish the pattern.
Is it worth it for a small amount?
The administrative complaint route is designed for exactly that: it is usually free and does not require representation. A civil claim is where cost starts to matter.
Will complaining get me fired?
Retaliation for asserting statutory pay rights is prohibited in most jurisdictions, and a dated written record is the practical protection if it happens anyway.
Assess an unpaid pay dispute
Answer a short set of questions about what is owed and what you have in writing.
Assess my situationAssessment topics related to this guide
Unpaid wages
Best matchWages, overtime, commission, or vacation pay not paid.
Accommodation / disability
A need for workplace accommodation was refused or mishandled.
Constructive dismissal
Your job changed so fundamentally you may have been forced out.
Restrictive covenant / non-compete
A clause limiting where or how you can work.
Topics in this guide
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Getting legal help
Worried about the cost of a lawyer?
Free and lower-cost help exists in most places — legal aid, community clinics, court self-help services and referral schemes. What is open to you depends on where you are and what kind of problem you have.
See where to get legal helpThis guide is general information, not legal advice, and Concaso is not a law firm. Reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Deadlines and procedures differ by jurisdiction and change over time — confirm anything you intend to rely on.