When the Situation Is Ripe for Escalation
5 Steps to Take If You Want to Claim Your Unpaid Wages
If you find yourself in the position where you’ve been working for a company, and it gets to the time where you’re supposed to be paid, and the money isn’t coming through into your account, you’ll quickly realize how much of a worrisome and stressful time this can be.
If you’ve got bills to pay and things to buy, yet you’ve done the work and spent your time earning money, but the company is refusing to pay, you need to make sure you’re proactive in getting the money you deserve, but how exactly do you go about doing this?
Today, we’re going to teach you the five steps you need to follow to get financial justice.
Step #1 – Ask Them for the Money
If you haven’t already, go to your management, HR, or whoever’s in charge of paying you and ask them to do so. If you’ve got a set date to get paid, show them proof that you haven’t been. You also need to make sure you’re making this official and make it clear you want this sorted as quickly as possible.
Step #2 – Go Above Management
If you work for a company with a head office and the management at the top of the chain of command where you are is refusing to deal with your request, take it up a level and contact head office.
Explain your situation and see if there’s anything they can do about it. Again, make this an official complaint and process. If you’ve already contacted the highest person possible, skip onto the next step.
Step #3 – Initiate Mediation
The next step is seeking legal advice and starting a mediation process. This is where the legal representative, usually employment lawyers, will be the neutral party in between you and your employer who will follow through the case to get balance and the money handed over to you, as well as refereeing any potential disputes your employer may have.
Step #4 – Start Court Proceedings
If things aren’t going well, and the employer is still failing to pay, is prolonging payment, or is not cooperating entirely, it’s time to start official court action. This means contacting your employment lawyer and setting court dates for all parties to attend.
The court with a jury and/or judge will then listen to both sides of the case as to why the money isn’t being paid and will then finalize the ruling on when and how you will be paid the money you’re owed.
Step #5 – Ensuring Officiality
It’s important to remember that whatever step you’re taking, you’re making yourself heard in an official way. If you’re just having a conversation in any office, there’s no proof of this happening which may be forgotten about.
Always ensure you’re collecting the times and dates of the conversations you’re having.
Summary
As you can see, there are plenty of options out there for you to get your money back, although you’ll want to start moving through them as quickly as possible because legal proceedings can take time, each situation will vary, so make sure you’re seeking legal advice to see what options are available to you.
© New To HR
