It's against the law for your employer to pay less than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
They also must keep accurate pay records and make them available when requested.
If your employer has not been paying the correct minimum wage, they should resolve the problem as soon as possible.
Your employer must also resolve any backdated non-payment of the minimum wage. This is even if you no longer work for them.
Resolving the issue informally
If you believe you're not getting the minimum wage, you can raise this with your employer. It's usually best to raise the problem informally first.
To check if you've been getting the right pay, you could:
- use the National Minimum Wage and Living Wage calculator on GOV.UK
- check your payslips and employment contract
Find out more about how to raise a problem at work
Raising a grievance
If you're not getting the minimum wage, you can raise a grievance. This is where you make a formal complaint to your employer.
Raising a grievance can help get the issue resolved without the need for legal action.
Taking legal action
If you cannot resolve the issue with a grievance, you can either:
- complain to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- make a claim to an employment tribunal
If you have questions about minimum wage, or are not able to resolve an issue, contact the Acas helpline.
How HMRC enforces payment of the minimum wage
If you have not been paid the minimum wage, you can make a complaint to HMRC.
Complaints to HMRC can be anonymous. Third parties can also make a complaint. For example, a friend, family member or someone you work with.
If HMRC finds that you've not been getting the minimum wage, they can take any of the following actions against your employer:
- issue a notice to pay money owed, going back a maximum of 6 years
- issue a fine of up to £20,000 and a minimum of £100 for each employee or worker affected, even if the underpayment is worth less
- take legal action including criminal legal proceedings
- pass on the names of businesses and employers to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) who may put them on a public list
To make a complaint to HMRC, either:
Making a claim to an employment tribunal
If you have not been paid the minimum wage, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal.
You must choose either to do this or to complain to HMRC. You cannot take the same issue through 2 legal processes.
How much money you can claim will depend on the type of claim you make.
There are strict time limits for you to make a claim to an employment tribunal:
- if there was 1 underpayment or non-payment, you have 3 months minus 1 day from the date you should have been paid
- if there were several wrong underpayments or non-payments in a row, you have 3 months minus 1 day from the most recent wrong deduction
You can claim up to 2 years back as long as either of the following apply:
- there's less than 3 months between each underpayment or non-payment
- the underpayments or non-payments are linked – for example, they might be linked if they are caused by the same error
Find out more about:
Protection against being treated less favourably
An employer must not cause you 'detriment' if you:
- become entitled to a higher rate of the minimum wage
- assert your right to the minimum wage
- make a complaint to HMRC or a claim to an employment tribunal about the minimum wage
Detriment means someone experiences one or both of the following:
- being treated worse than before
- having your situation made worse
Examples of detriment could be:
- your employer reduces your hours
- you experience bullying
- you experience harassment
- your employer turns down your training requests without good reason
- you are overlooked for promotions or development opportunities
If you think you've experienced detriment because of the minimum wage entitlement, you might be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal.