Bringing an employment tribunal claim for the NMW




A worker can bring an employment tribunal claim for NMW arrears as an unlawful deduction from wages (see page 100), or a civil claim for breach of contract (see Chapter 3). An employment tribunal claim must be brought within three months of the most recent non-payment and only two years of NMW arrears can be recovered (see page 101). By contrast, six years of arrears can be recovered in a civil court claim (usually the small claims court). 




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. For information, see Chapter 14.