This week is the International Week Against Unpaid Wages.
The system of wage labour is exploitative by definition, and workers’ legal rights regarding pay are pitiful – but even this low bar is frequently ignored by employers. For many workers, then, demanding the bare minimum that this society allows is an important first step to taking control of their workplaces and their lives.
We at Brighton SolFed have seen many cases of brazen wage theft over the years, particularly in hospitality and other sectors with precarious workforces – often made up of young and/or migrant workers. In each case we have organised campaigns with the workers affected to try and win back what they’re entitled to, sometimes resulting in resounding and high-profile wins.
Does your boss owe you unpaid wages?
Here are just a few examples of what unpaid wages can look like:
- Holiday pay: workers are entitled to the equivalent of at least 5.6 weeks’ holiday pay a year for the amount of time that they work. If you don’t claim this holiday pay, your employer must pay it in full along with your regular wages.
- Statutory sick pay: if you’re an employee and you are ill for at least one full working day, your employer must give you Statutory Sick Pay (up to £123.25 a week) for as long as you are ill, up to 28 weeks.
- Apprenticeships: the minimum wage is lower for apprentices than for other workers, but if you are 19 or older you should earn the standard minimum wage for your age group from the second year of your apprenticeship onwards. Apprenticeships must also work towards an ‘approved apprenticeship standard’ qualification, and at least 20% of your time must be spent on study or training. If your employer is paying you the apprentice rate when these criteria don’t apply, you’re not an apprentice – you’re an underpaid worker.
- Simply not getting paid! What the law says on paper is less important than what bosses think they can get away with – and whether workers have the strength to fight back.
Here are some examples of campaigns Brighton SolFed has fought over unpaid wages:
- A SolFed member worked at a café in Hove where another worker was being paid less than minimum wage. When the SolFed member found out about this, they helped to spread the word among other co-workers, and everyone began complaining to the boss until he agreed to raise the worker’s pay to minimum wage.
- An entertainment venue in Kemptown did not provide the legally required information on rates of pay in the contract it issued to one of its workers. They also paid them less than they were told they would get, leading to over £1500 in unpaid wages. After we sent them a single demand letter, they agreed to pay the owed wages in full – before we had even started a public campaign.
- A former worker at a pub in Kemptown was unfairly dismissed for calling in sick once after nine months of working there, and was not paid the holiday pay they were entitled to. We organised a number of pickets with the worker to demand compensation and the unpaid holiday pay – while the management did not give compensation, they did cough up the holiday pay, and the ordeal was so much for them that they quit managing the pub!
If you think you might have unpaid wages or any other concerns, you can DM us or email us at:
or email the federal organisation at:
We are also holding an open meeting this evening (13th October) at the Cowley Club from 7pm if you’d like to come along and have a chat!