I started to work for a company 2 years ago and have been working very happily un until the last few months. Our company ran into a lot of financial difficulty in the summer and this resulted in my wages as well as expenses not being paid. I salary payment is usually 10-15 days late every month and this has resulted in my mortgage being defaulted in payment twice! My expenses are in excess of £3000 and I have no sign in seeing when this will be paid. I had a serious open discussion with my boss about the fact that payments were affecting me a great deal and did tell him that if it carried on then I would have no alternative but to find a new job. Nothing changed, but I did not start to look for a new position - I decided to stay loyal and try to stick it out. I have just found out that my boss has advertised my position with a recruitment company. When I confronted him he said it was because he thought that I was leaving and he felt that he had no choice. What has really upset me is that the recruitment company asked for a prepayment in order to start to look for a new person and instead of paying my overdue expenses, he paid the recruitment company! I just do not know what to do. My boss has been interviewing people 'in secret' and now I have found out he says that if I want to he will allow me to sit on second interviews. He now says that he wants to see what 'people' are out there and how they can help in the expansion of our company. The candidates he is interviewing believe that they are going to be bought into the company as 'Sales Directors' which is what my position is. Where do I stand legally with this? Am I able to demand that this stops immediately? I really do not want to lose my job but feel that I am being pushed out.

November 27, 2008 by Anonymous

This is indeed a sorry tale of ingratitude. Fortunately it is just bursting with legal remedies and these are quite straightforward.

The wages and expenses you have not been paid is a matter of contract. Your employer is in breach of his contract express or implied to pay you these amounts. It is open to you to obtain a legally enforceable judgment or order for payment from either the County Court or an Industrial Tribunal.

You have worked for your employer for more than two years. As such you have a right under the various Employment Acts not to be unfairly dismissed. You can only be dismissed from your employment in very limited circumstances, none of which apply here. Thus if your employer should dismiss you, you would be entitled to either reinstatement or compensation on application to the Industrial Tribunal. It is quite probable here that although you have not been dismissed, should you leave this would be a constructive dismissal entitling you to the above compensation.

Your question is what you can do about the way your employer is acting towards you. Probably nothing other than to put him on notice of his legal obligations. Whether or not you take action to recover the money owed to you must be a matter for you. However in making this decision you will doubtless take into consideration how your loyalty and forbearance have been rewarded.

I think you are going to have to talk seriously again to your boss. Long-term I can see little future or purpose in you continuing to give your loyalty to this employer
There is no law as such to prevent your employer from advertising a job even though it may be the job which you fulfil at the present time. However should he employ somebody to carry out your job and dismiss you, you would be entitled to compensation for unfair dismissal or to be reinstated.

You should not tell him that you will leave if your expenses are not paid. Your remedy in this respect is through the courts or tribunal. Leaving your employment will not obtain payment for you but could complicate what is at present a straightforward claim.

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