There are many ways bosses avoid paying.Some close companies & reopen them under a different name. Others will empty out business accounts. Restaurants might even lease the premises to a new company, owned by the same directors that owned the old company
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Raf worked for a cafe chain popular with MPs & journalists. He won his case, but the company went insolvent. Then the directors reopened one of the branches

One of the directors wrote to him saying "go fck yourself" & he was glad he "didn't get a penny"
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Rosie tried everything to get the £6,000 she was awarded. She even spoke to her MP & the employment minister - they didn't help.

Her boss has the cash. In videos he brags about his expensive cars & has a Rolex that's worth more than what he owes her.
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Nadine was awarded £65,000 after she was unfairly sacked by Peckahm Levels for whistleblowing.Two months after the tribunal awarded her the money, her employer went insolvent.
She didn't see a penny, but paid a price.Preparing the case ravaged her health
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

But this story really isn't about the numbers, it's about the people who sacrifice everything to try and get what they are owed, spend months if not years navigating an incredibly complicated legal system, only to find that winning doesn't guarantee justice.

The scheme was set up in 2016 as a way of pressuring bosses to pay the tribunal awards they owed through the threat of a fine.

But of the £9.6 million worth of fines issued, only £95,000 has been paid – less than 1%. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

According to data obtained through FOI, more than 7,000 workers who were owed £46 million in tribunal awards & settlements have gone to the government’s employment tribunal penalty enforcement scheme since 2016. Three quarters of them never got their money.

That's nearly £36m that's never been paid