To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be played
Watch: Three people who say they are owed wages tell the BBC about their experiences
What happens when your boss is also the HR department, the grievance handler and the person deciding whether you get paid?
"I just want my wages. It's my hard work. I just want what I'm owed."
Sonia Garcia Monuz is one of several workers trying to recover money she believes she is owed by a catering firm based in Berkshire.
Latest figures show early conciliation cases involving unpaid wages rose by about 17% between 2024 and 2025, according to Acas – the independent body that helps resolve workplace disputes.
Acas says nearly half of hospitality workers, 49%, experience problems at work.
Sonia began working as a full-time chef at Viking Catering Ltd in June 2024 and says the first six months were positive.
But after a series of disagreements with the owner, she handed in her notice and left in August 2025.
Sonia says she was never paid her final pay packet and is owed £2,300. She says she is not the only person affected.
"A lot of us are waiting for our wages to pay our bills," she says.
"Some people don't have savings. I was working to survive… I had to use my credit card in order to pay my rent and I had to ask for money from my family."
She has lodged a claim with Acas to try to recover the money, but says chasing her pay is "draining" and makes her feel "powerless".
Image caption, Joan Fullbrook is now pursuing money she says she is owed through the county courts
Joan Fullbrook had hoped to enjoy her retirement, but instead says she is still chasing money she believes she is owed.
She worked for a different catering company owned by the same Hampshire-based businesswoman, Martha Lindeque.
"I worked hard every day in that kitchen and that was how I was repaid. It makes me sick to be treated this way," she says.
Employment tribunal records show Joan won a case against Chef2Table Ltd for "unauthorised deductions" from her wages after she left the business.
But she says the company never paid the £1,498 she was awarded.
"When you're working to live, these aren't small sums of money. It wasn't for luxuries, it was to survive. I was working to pay my bills," Joan adds.
Joan is now pursuing the money through the county courts.
Image caption, George Weal describes chasing his wages as "really stressful"
George Weal was 21 when he started work at Chef2Table Ltd and says he is also owed money.
He left within months after discovering the company food van he drove to make deliveries was untaxed and uninsured.
This is something he says he had "no idea about" and that "could have led to me losing my licence".
George says he did not receive his final wages after leaving the business and felt "overwhelmed" when trying to recover the money.
Employment tribunal records show he was awarded £1,052 in January 2025 for unpaid wages, but he says the company never paid him.
"It was just really stressful. Especially for someone of my age," he says.
"I had the backing of parents in that financial sense, but some people don't, and could end up in a really bad situation with the loss of money."
Image caption, Chrissy Bell is a senior advisor with Acas who tries to help both employees and employers
Chrissy Bell is a senior advisor with Acas and spent 10 years working on its helpline.
Acas provides free, impartial advice to employees and employers on workplace rights and disputes.
"If someone is expecting their wages on a certain date and it doesn't arrive or it doesn't arrive in full, then if people haven't got savings, even a small amount of difference can be the difference between them paying their bills and not being able to pay them," says Chrissy.
She has this advice to anyone who believes they have not been paid the correct amount,
"Firstly, work out the amount you should have been paid. So check payslips, timesheets, contracts and the first step is to speak to the employers, as there may have been a genuine mistake."
If this does not work, she suggests putting a more formal grievance in writing, setting out any evidence, including timesheets, and then giving the employer a reasonable chance to respond.
Finally, she says if it is not resolved internally after a reasonable amount of time then the person should consider making a claim to an employment tribunal if they are owed outstanding wages.
"If someone gets an award at an employment tribunal then there are systems in place to help them enforce it if necessary," she says.
Martha Lindeque declined to provide a statement, but the BBC understands that her position is that she strongly denies the allegations made by her ex-staff.
Contact formContact formYou can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, external, X (Twitter), external, or Instagram, external.
