What is a letter before action?

A letter before action (LBA) is a formal notice sent before starting court proceedings. It sets out your claim, the legal basis (e.g. Consumer Rights Act 2015, Housing Act 1988), the remedy you seek, and a deadline to respond — typically 14 days. Civil Procedure Rules require this step before most court claims, and courts take a dim view of parties who skip it.

Can I write my own legal letter?

Yes. You do not need a solicitor to write a legal letter. What matters is citing the correct legislation, stating your claim with precise dates and amounts, and giving a clear deadline. A well-drafted letter citing the right Act and section often resolves disputes without court proceedings — and costs nothing extra to send.

Does a legal letter actually work?

In many cases, yes. Most businesses, landlords, and employers respond when they receive a formally worded letter that cites specific legislation and mentions court or tribunal proceedings as the next step. It signals you know your rights and are prepared to escalate — which is often enough to get a resolution.

What UK legislation covers consumer complaints and refunds?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the primary law. Section 9 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality; section 20 gives you the right to a full refund within 30 days if goods are faulty. For services, section 49 requires reasonable care and skill. For distance/online purchases, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period.

26 July 2026

Employer Not Paying Your Wages? Your Right to Claim Unlawful Deductions — and the Deadline That Catches People Out (UK)

Your wages have not landed. Maybe your final pay never came through after you left, maybe your employer has “held back” a chunk to cover something, or maybe the money is just late and the excuses keep coming. Here is the part most people do not realise: in the large majority of cases, unpaid or short-paid wages are treated in law as an unlawful deduction — and there is a real route to claim the money back, with no cap on the amount.

General information for the UK (Great Britain focus; Northern Ireland uses a separate system — see below). Not legal advice. Current as at July 2026.

What the law actually says

The key provision is section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Your employer must not make a deduction from your wages unless one of these applies:

it is required or authorised by law (for example income tax, National Insurance, student loan repayments, or a court order); or
it is allowed by a written term in your contract that you agreed to in advance; or
you gave your written consent to that specific deduction beforehand.

Crucially, section 13(3) says that if you are paid less than the wages “properly payable” to you, the shortfall counts as a deduction. That means both a total non-payment and an underpayment fall under this route — not just the classic case of money being visibly docked from a payslip.

The myth that costs people money

“My employer says they can dock my pay for a till shortage / a mistake / leaving without notice / not returning my kit.” Not automatically. Unless you agreed to it in writing in advance, or it is a term of your contract you signed up to before the event, deducting it is unlawful. For retail workers, deductions for till or stock shortages are also capped at 10% of gross pay on any single payday (section 18). The one genuine exception is an honest payroll computation error — that is not an “unlawful deduction” under this route, though the money may still be owed to you as a straight debt.

What counts as “wages”

Section 27 casts “wages” widely. It includes your salary, a contractual bonus, commission, holiday pay, and statutory payments such as Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Pay. It does not include loans or advances, expenses, redundancy pay, pension payments, or pay in kind — those are dealt with under different rules.

Bonuses: contractual vs discretionary

A contractual bonus — where you hit stated targets and the contract says you get paid — is wages, and non-payment is claimable. A genuinely discretionary bonus is much harder: until the employer decides and quantifies an amount, there may be no fixed sum “properly payable”, and a tribunal will only interfere if the discretion was exercised irrationally or in bad faith. Do not assume every unpaid bonus is an automatic win.

Final pay and holiday when you leave

There is no single legal deadline for when final wages must be paid. As a rule they are due on your normal payday, unless your contract says otherwise — so an employer paying your final wages late against that payday can itself be an unlawful deduction. On top of that:

Accrued but untaken statutory holiday must be paid in lieu when you leave (Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 14).
Notice pay: the statutory minimum is one week if you have under two years’ service, then one week for each complete year up to a cap of 12 weeks (section 86). Your contract can give more, never less.

The wage floor: what you are owed at a minimum

If you have been paid below the legal minimum, that shortfall is recoverable too. From 1 April 2026 the headline rates are:

National Living Wage (21 and over): £12.71 per hour
18 to 20: £10.85 per hour
Under 18 and apprentice rate: £8.00 per hour

These rates rise every April, so always check gov.uk for the current figure before relying on a number.

How to get it back — in order

1. Ask in writing. A clear, firm letter stating the exact sum owed, the pay periods it covers, and the legal basis (unlawful deduction under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996) very often resolves it without a claim. If it is ignored, raise a formal grievance.
2. ACAS Early Conciliation. Free, and mandatory before you can bring an employment tribunal claim. You must notify ACAS before your deadline (see below).
3. Employment Tribunal — unlawful deduction claim (section 23). There is no cap on the amount you can claim, and you do not need to have left the job to bring it.
4. Breach of contract / County Court. For sums beyond the tribunal’s reach, or where you are still employed and the deduction route does not fit.

Tribunal or court? Do not file the wrong one

An unlawful-deduction claim goes to the employment tribunal, has no financial cap, and can be brought while you are still employed. A breach-of-contract claim in the tribunal can only be brought after your employment has ended and is capped at £25,000; larger sums, or claims while you are still employed, go to the County Court (usually the small claims track for amounts up to £10,000 in England and Wales). Choosing the wrong route wastes time you may not have.

The deadline that catches people out

For a tribunal claim you normally have three months less one day from the date of the deduction (or the last deduction in a series) to start ACAS Early Conciliation. Miss it and you can lose the right to claim altogether. Early Conciliation pauses the clock (up to 12 weeks for cases notified to ACAS from 1 December 2025), and you get at least a further month to lodge after ACAS issues its certificate. Do not sit on it — contact ACAS well before the three months are up.

A few things to get right

Tribunal fees: as at July 2026 there are no employment tribunal fees (they were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2017). The government consulted in 2024 on reintroducing a £55 issue fee — there is no confirmation it has been brought in, so check gov.uk or ACAS before relying on this.
How far back you can claim: a tribunal can currently look back a maximum of two years when calculating a deductions award. This rule is under active legal challenge in 2026, so the position may change — but treat two years as the working assumption for now.
A gap between underpayments no longer automatically breaks a “series” of deductions (following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Agnew), so a long-running miscalculation can often be claimed together rather than piecemeal.
Do not retaliate by withholding your own work or “deducting” in kind — it is not a recognised legal remedy and can expose you to disciplinary action.
Northern Ireland uses a separate system (the Industrial Tribunal, with the Labour Relations Agency instead of ACAS) and different back-pay rules — check NI-specific guidance if you work there.

Getting the letter right

A strong unpaid-wages letter is specific. It states who you are and your role, the exact amount owed and the pay periods it covers, that the non-payment is an unlawful deduction under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, a clear deadline to pay, and that you will refer the matter to ACAS and the employment tribunal if it is not resolved. Keep it factual and firm — and only mention steps you are genuinely prepared to take.

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Sources: Employment Rights Act 1996 (sections 13, 18, 23, 27, 86); Working Time Regulations 1998 (regulation 14); Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction Order 1994; R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51; Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew [2023] UKSC 33; ACAS and gov.uk guidance. National Minimum/Living Wage rates effective 1 April 2026. Current as at July 2026. General information for the UK, not legal advice.