---
title: "Wind Up a Company for Unpaid Wages: Employee Guide"
url: https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/wind-up-a-company-for-unpaid-wages-employee-guide/
date: 2026-11-03
modified: 2026-11-03
lang: en
author: "Winding-up Petition Lawyer"
description: "Owed wages by a company that will not pay? Find out when an employee can petition to wind it up, how the new 2026 tribunal deadlines work and when the government pays instead."
categories:
  - "Companies Court"
  - "Companies House"
  - "Creditor Advice"
  - "Creditors"
  - "Debt Owed"
  - "Debt Recovery"
  - "Director Liability"
  - "Insolvency Act 1986"
  - "Insolvency Litigation"
  - "Limitation"
  - "Liquidation"
  - "Official Receiver"
  - "Statutory Demand"
  - "Validation Orders"
  - "Winding up order"
  - "Winding Up Procedure"
  - "Winding-Up Petitions"
tags:
  - "employee winding up petition"
  - "employer insolvency"
  - "Employment Tribunal time limits"
  - "Fast Track enforcement"
  - "preferential debts"
  - "Redundancy Payments Service"
  - "section 122(1)(f) Insolvency Act 1986"
  - "section 123(1)(a) Insolvency Act 1986"
  - "section 124 Insolvency Act 1986"
  - "section 182 Employment Rights Act 1996"
  - "section 183 Employment Rights Act 1996"
  - "section 184 Employment Rights Act 1996"
  - "section 23 Employment Rights Act 1996"
  - "statutory demand"
  - "unpaid wages"
  - "Winding Up Petition"
image: https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Formal-Payment-Request-Meeting-1024x576.png
word_count: 1915
---

# Wind Up a Company for Unpaid Wages: Employee Guide

An employee can ask the court to wind up a company for unpaid wages if the company owes more than £750 and has not paid, because the law lets any creditor present a [winding up petition](https://lexlaw.co.uk/practice-areas/winding-up-petitions-solicitors-london/). For one employee it is often a slow and costly route, and the court will not wind up a company over wages that it genuinely disputes.

You are probably reading this because your employer will not pay your wages, says there is no money, and someone has told you to "wind the company up". The answer surprises most people in two ways. A winding up order does not put your wages at the front of the queue, and the government may pay part of what you are owed once the company is in a [formal insolvency](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/insolvency-terms-defined-winding-up-definition/), whether or not you petition.

## Can You Wind Up a Company for Unpaid Wages? Who Can Present a Petition

A winding up petition is a written application asking the court to close a company down and share what it owns among the people it owes. Section 124(1) of the [Insolvency Act 1986](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/section/124) says the petition may be presented by "any creditor or creditors". An employee who has not been paid is a creditor for the amount owed. The usual ground is that the company "is unable to pay its debts", which is the wording of [section 122(1)(f)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/section/122).

The government's page on [winding up a company that owes you money](https://www.gov.uk/wind-up-a-company-that-owes-you-money) gives the basics in plain English. Our [2026 guide to the winding up petition procedure](https://lexlaw.co.uk/solicitors-london/2026-guide-uk-winding-up-petition-procedure/) then walks through each stage in order.

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## How Much Unpaid Wages Do You Need? The £750 Rule

The company must owe you more than £750. [Section 123(1)(a)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/section/123) uses the words "a sum exceeding £750 then due". A debt of exactly £750 does not qualify, and the money must already be payable. Several members of staff can petition together, because section 124(1) allows the listed parties to petition "together or separately". Keep your contract and payslips, along with any messages about the missing pay, because they prove what is owed and when it fell due.

## Statutory Demand for Unpaid Wages: The Three-Week Warning to Your Employer

The usual first step is a [statutory demand](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/issue-statutory-demand/). This is a formal written demand for payment, in a set form, left at the company's registered office. Under section 123(1)(a), if the company then "for 3 weeks thereafter" neglects to pay the sum or to secure or compound for it to your reasonable satisfaction, the law treats it as unable to pay its debts. That gives you the ground to petition.

Many creditors first send a [letter before winding up action](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/letter-before-action-winding-up-petition/), which sets a payment date and shows the court that they acted reasonably. Once the petition is issued it has to be delivered to the company, and our guide to [serving a winding up petition](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/how-to-serve-a-winding-up-petition/) explains who must do it and what must be filed at court afterwards.

## Can You Petition if Your Employer Disputes the Wages?

If your employer says it does not owe you the money, the court is unlikely to wind the company up. A petition is for debts the company cannot pay, and the court does not use it to settle a genuine argument about whether a debt exists. Our guidance on [opposing a winding up petition](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/opposing-a-winding-up-petition/) explains that a company can resist by showing it disputes the debt on genuine and substantial grounds. Our article on [winding up over a disputed invoice](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/can-a-creditor-wind-up-your-company-over-a-disputed-invoice/) applies the same idea to a demand for payment.

Wage claims are often disputed over hours worked or over a deduction the employer says was allowed. When that happens, the Employment Tribunal is the place to get the amount decided first. Once a tribunal has decided the sum, the company has far less room to say the debt is in doubt. Our [commercial debt recovery guide](https://lexlaw.co.uk/solicitors-london/commercial-debt-recovery-in-england-wales-a-complete-business-guide-2026/) explains why a debt should be undisputed before any insolvency route is used.

## Employment Tribunal Time Limits for Unpaid Wages in 2026

The deadline for a tribunal claim changed on 1 October 2026. The government's page on [employment tribunals](https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals) says you usually have 6 months if the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026, and 3 months if it happened before that date. [Section 23(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/23), which governs complaints about wages, now refers to "the period of six months".

Before you claim, you generally must tell [Acas](https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals/before-you-make-claim). Acas is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, an independent public body that offers a free early conciliation service to help you try to settle the dispute without a tribunal. The time limit is put on hold while Acas helps you. Do not wait to see whether the company pays. If a solicitor or adviser let a tribunal deadline pass, you may have a claim against them. Our page on [solicitor negligence](https://professionalnegligenceclaimsolicitors.co.uk/sue-negligent-solicitor-law-firm/) and our guide to [limitation periods in professional negligence claims](https://professionalnegligenceclaimsolicitors.co.uk/limitation-period-in-professional-negligence-claims/) explain how that works.

## Enforcing an Unpaid Employment Tribunal Award

If the tribunal awards you money and the employer does not pay, you do not have to start again. The government's guidance on [how to enforce a tribunal award](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-ex727-i-have-an-employment-or-an-employment-appeal-tribunal-award-but-the-respondent-has-not-paid-how-do-i-enforce-it/how-to-enforce-an-award) describes the Fast Track scheme. You send Form [EX727](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6710e49eb22a14f7ee18ed30/EX727_1024.pdf) to Registry Trust Limited, and a High Court enforcement officer is allocated to try to collect the money. If nothing is recovered, for example because the company is in liquidation, you pay no enforcement fees but you still owe the court fee. Whether an unpaid tribunal award can also support a winding up petition depends on the facts, so take advice before you rely on it.

## What a Winding Up Petition Costs and Who Gets Paid

A petition is not free. The government's list of [civil court fees](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50/civil-court-fees-ex50) shows £352 to present a winding up petition, and the government's winding up page adds a petition deposit of £2,600, which is held to manage the winding up. You might be able to get the fees back if the company can afford to repay them. Our page on [court fees and legal costs of a winding up petition](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/funding/) sets out the other costs, such as solicitors' fees and advertising the petition in the London Gazette.

The money that is recovered is shared among creditors, and the government warns you "might not get all or any of the money you're owed". [Paragraph 9 of Schedule 6 to the Insolvency Act 1986](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/schedule/6/paragraph/9) covers wages for "the period of 4 months next before the relevant date", up to an amount set by order. Under [section 175(1)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/45/section/175), preferential debts are paid "in priority to all other debts" after the expenses of the winding up, as our page on the [winding up process](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/what-is-the-process-of-winding-up-procedure/) also explains. There may still not be enough assets to pay them in full.

## Claiming Unpaid Wages From the Government When Your Employer Is Insolvent

If your employer is already in a formal insolvency, you may not need to petition. Under [section 182 of the Employment Rights Act 1996](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/182), where the employer "has become insolvent" and your employment has ended, the Secretary of State pays certain debts to you out of the National Insurance Fund. For a company, [section 183(3)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/183) counts events such as a winding up order having been made or the company being in administration as insolvency. A petition that has been presented but not yet granted is not on that list.

The limits are in [section 184](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/184) and the government's guidance on [what you can get](https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/what-you-can-get). You can claim up to 8 weeks of unpaid wages and other money owed, and up to 6 weeks of holiday pay. Statutory notice pay is one week for each year of service, up to 12 weeks. Each week is capped at £751, or £719 if you were made redundant before 6 April 2026. You must [apply for redundancy pay](https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-if-your-employer-is-insolvent/apply-money-owed) within 6 months of being dismissed, using the case reference number the insolvency practitioner or official receiver gives you.

## Winding Up Petition or HMRC Debt? Clearing Up the Confusion

Searches for a winding up petition often bring up articles about HMRC, because HMRC also petitions against companies that owe tax. That is a different situation from an employee's petition, although the court procedure is similar. If your employer owes unpaid PAYE as well as your wages, HMRC and you are both creditors, and HMRC may already be taking steps. Our tax litigators set out the stages from notices to insolvency action in our article on [HMRC PAYE enforcement powers](https://taxdisputes.co.uk/2026/01/hmrc-paye-enforcement-powers-from-notices-to-insolvency-action/). A winding up order made on anyone's petition, including HMRC's, makes the employer insolvent for section 183, which opens the government payment route for staff.

## What Happens After You Present a Winding Up Petition?

Banks often freeze company accounts once they learn of a petition, which is worth knowing before you start one. Our page on [validation orders](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/validation-order/) explains how the court can allow certain payments, such as wages, to continue.

If your employer pays you after you have petitioned, you usually cannot simply call the petition off. [Rule 7.13 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1024/rule/7.13) requires the court's permission to withdraw a petition, and our page on [withdrawing a winding up petition](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/withdrawing-a-winding-up-petition/) explains the conditions.

## How We Can Help

We act for creditors who need to issue a winding up petition and for companies that need to oppose one. Our page on [winding up petition lawyers](https://lexlaw.co.uk/winding-up-petition-lawyers/) sets out the work in more detail, and our guide to [debt recovery](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/debt-recovery/) covers the other ways of collecting a debt. We do not offer free legal advice or legal aid, and we generally take on substantial matters, so a small wage claim is usually better taken through Acas and the Employment Tribunal.

We are dual qualified solicitors and barristers with chambers at 4 Middle Temple Lane, next to the Royal Courts of Justice. We offer a fixed fee advice conference with both a solicitor and a barrister, and you can start with our [case assessment form](https://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/legal-case-assessment/).

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### Frequently Asked Questions

How much must my employer owe me before I can ask the court to wind it up?

More than £750. Section 123(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 refers to "a sum exceeding £750 then due". The company is treated as unable to pay its debts if it neglects to pay for 3 weeks after a statutory demand is left at its registered office.

Will I get my unpaid wages back if my employer is wound up?

Not necessarily. Paragraph 9 of Schedule 6 to the Insolvency Act 1986 covers wages for the four months before the relevant date, up to a limit set by order, and section 175(1) pays preferential debts in priority to other debts after the expenses of the winding up. There may still not be enough assets to pay in full. Once a winding up order has been made, section 183(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 treats the employer as insolvent, and you can claim from the Redundancy Payments Service within the limits in section 184.

How long do I have to claim unpaid wages at an Employment Tribunal?

Six months if the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026, and three months if it happened before that date, according to the government's guidance and section 23(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The clock is paused while Acas helps you try to settle, as long as you contact Acas within the time limit.

*This is general information about the law of England and Wales and is not legal advice.*