NMWM14010 | After Notice of Underpayment issued: introduction

Relevant legislation

The legislation that applies to this page is as follows:

• Employment Rights Act 2025, sections 103 to 106

A Notice of Underpayment tells the employer they:

• must pay all the arrears to the workers named on the notice within 28 calendar days of the day it was given (counting the day it was given as day 1),

• must pay the penalty to HM Revenue & Customs within 28 days of the notice being given,

• can pay a reduced penalty in certain circumstances (NMWM14050),

• can appeal against the notice to a Tribunal (In England, Scotland and Wales, an Employment Tribunal and in Northern Ireland, an Industrial Tribunal) and that the time limit for doing so is 28 calendar days from and including the day it was given.

The action to take after a Notice of Underpayment has been issued depends on:

• whether the notice can be shown to have been correctly given (NMWM14020)

• whether the employer pays all the arrears to the workers (NMWM14040 )

• whether the employer pays all the required penalty (NMWM14050)

• whether the employer appeals the notice to a tribunal (NMWM02100)

When a Notice of Underpayment is issued the arrears on the notice represent the Department’s final view of the arrears (NMWM13030) unless:

• the notice was not given and needs to be given again (NMWM14030), or

• the notice is withdrawn (NMWM14220), or

• the notice is withdrawn and replaced (NMWM14230).