What Back Wages Means
You want to know what pay you could recover for the time you were out of work.
Back wages are usually the first figure a worker asks about once a dismissal claim moves forward, since it represents the income lost while the case was ongoing.
What It Means
Back wages are the salary the Industrial Court can order your employer to pay for the period between your dismissal and the end of your case, if your dismissal is found to be unfair.
The calculation is not automatic or unlimited. It runs from your dismissal date to the last day of hearing, and any income you earned elsewhere in that time is normally taken into account.
Why It Matters To You
There is a hard ceiling on this figure. It is capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer, under the Second Schedule of the Industrial Relations Act.1
That cap means a case that drags on for several years does not automatically produce a larger payout once the ceiling has been reached.
How Is The Amount Worked Out
The court looks at your last-drawn salary, the length of time your case ran, and whether you found new work in that period, then applies the relevant cap.
Back wages are usually paired with either reinstatement or, where returning to the job is not realistic, compensation in lieu of reinstatement as a separate part of the same award.
If you are still deciding whether to file, check your exact deadline on the deadline calculator, since the case only reaches this stage after a timely filing.
Sharing your dismissal date and whether you found other work since helps us explain how a back wages figure would actually be worked out.
Common questions
Do I get back wages automatically if I win?
Back wages usually follow a finding that your dismissal was unfair, but the amount is calculated by the court, not fixed in advance. Earnings you made elsewhere during that period can reduce the final figure.
Why is there a cap at all?
The cap exists so that a case that takes a long time to be heard does not turn into an unlimited claim. It applies regardless of how many months or years your case actually took.
Sources
- Back wages awarded by the Industrial Court are assessed from the date of dismissal to the last day of hearing, capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer under the Second Schedule of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. DNH, Monetary Remedies at the Industrial Court
Keep reading
Sharing your dismissal date and whether you found other work since helps us explain how a back wages figure would actually be worked out.