Bringing an employment tribunal claim for the NMW



A worker can bring a private employment tribunal claim for NMW arrears as unlawful deductions from wages (see page 110), or a civil claim for breach of contract (see Chapter 3). The claim must be brought within three months of the most recent non-payment. In the employment tribunal, only two years of NMW arrears can be recovered, as a result of changes to the law explained on page 111. Six years of arrears can be recovered in a civil court claim (usually the small claims court). 



In practice, tribunal fees have removed the employment tribunal as a viable route for most claims to recover NMW arrears, unless either the unpaid wages are part of a larger claim such as for unfair dismissal, or a sufficiently large group of workers organise to bring a group claim supported by a union. The issue fee for an NMW claim is £160, and the hearing fee is £230, irrespective of the claim’s value, but the average value per worker of an NMW claim is just £125 (2014-15). The government fee remission scheme (“Help with fees”) is not generous, and TUC research has shown that many NMW workers will not qualify because of their partner’s earnings. A slight adjustment to the income threshold was announced by the government following its fees review published in February 2017 (see Chapter 13, page 495). 



The first step in any tribunal claim is to contact Acas for Early Conciliation (EC), which is free of charge. This step must be taken within the three-month deadline for bringing the claim. No tribunal claim can be brought without an Acas EC Certificate. No fees are involved in a claim to recover the NMW brought by HMRC (see page 108).


For information on tribunal fees, “Help with fees” and Acas EC, see Chapter 13.