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ACAS for Unpaid Invoices: What UK Suppliers Need to Know (2026)

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ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) handles employment disputes between workers and employers, not commercial B2B debt. UK suppliers Googling 'ACAS unpaid invoice' are usually self-employed contractors who've worked for a client and not been paid. The right routes for unpaid invoices are: charge statutory late payment interest at 11.75 percent APR plus £40 to £100 fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998, send a letter before action, file a statutory demand if the debt is over £750, take the matter to small claims court for under £10,000, or sell the unpaid invoice to a spot factoring provider for immediate cash. ACAS's Early Conciliation route applies only if you were classified as a worker or employee under the underlying contract, which is rare for B2B invoicing.

Last updated: 8 May 2026.

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Direct Answer

ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) handles employment disputes between workers and employers, not commercial B2B debt. UK suppliers Googling 'ACAS unpaid invoice' are usually self-employed contractors who've worked for a client and not been paid. The right routes for unpaid invoic

Summary

ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) handles employment disputes between workers and employers, not commercial B2B debt. UK suppliers Googling 'ACAS unpaid invoice' are usually self-employed contractors who've worked for a client and not been paid. The right routes for unpaid invoices are: charge statutory late payment interest at 11.75 percent APR plus £40 to £100 fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998, send a letter before action, file a statutory demand if the debt is over £750, take the matter to small claims court for under £10,000, or sell the unpaid invoice to a spot factoring provider for immediate cash. ACAS's Early Conciliation route applies only if you were classified as a worker or employee under the underlying contract, which is rare for B2B invoicing.

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ACAS for unpaid invoices UK: when it applies (worker / employee disputes), when it doesn't (B2B invoices), and the real recovery routes

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General invoice finance education (see /guides/), individual provider reviews (see /providers/), full pricing breakdown (see /guides/costs/)

UK providers worth knowing

Provider	Fee from	Min turnover	Why it fits
Hydr	Variable	No min	24-hour cash for one unpaid invoice
Triver	1.5%+	No min	Instant API decisions on unpaid invoices
Kriya (Allica Bank)	1.5%+	£100k	Selective single-invoice factoring

Why ACAS doesn't apply to unpaid B2B invoices

See the FAQ below for the detailed answer to this question. For broader context, also see our guides hub and our cost calculator.

When ACAS Early Conciliation does apply (worker / employee status)

See the FAQ below for the detailed answer to this question. For broader context, also see our guides hub and our cost calculator.

Five real options for unpaid UK B2B invoices

See the FAQ below for the detailed answer to this question. For broader context, also see our guides hub and our cost calculator.

Self-employed grey area: contractor vs worker vs employee

See the FAQ below for the detailed answer to this question. For broader context, also see our guides hub and our cost calculator.

How to claim statutory late payment interest at 11.75 percent

See the FAQ below for the detailed answer to this question. For broader context, also see our guides hub and our cost calculator.

OM

Director, Market Invoice

Oliver leads Market Invoice's editorial and comparison research. With a background in UK commercial finance, he oversees provider analysis, rate verification, and industry reporting across all verticals.

Last reviewed: 8 May 2026

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ACAS for Unpaid Invoices UK FAQ

Can ACAS help me recover an unpaid invoice?

ACAS handles employment disputes (workers and employees vs employers), not commercial B2B debt. If you invoiced as a self-employed contractor or limited company supplier, ACAS cannot conciliate the debt. The right routes are statutory late payment interest, letter before action, small claims court, statutory demand, or selling the invoice via spot factoring.

When does ACAS apply to unpaid pay?

Only when the underlying relationship was that of worker or employee, not contractor or B2B supplier. If you had a contract for services through a limited company or self-employed VAT-registered business, you're a B2B supplier, not a worker. If you were paid via PAYE, took holiday pay, had a line manager and worked under direction at fixed times, you may be a worker — in which case ACAS Early Conciliation applies for unpaid wages, holiday pay or notice pay.

What's ACAS Early Conciliation and how does it work?

ACAS Early Conciliation is a free six-week process where an ACAS conciliator tries to settle an employment dispute (unpaid wages, unfair dismissal, discrimination, redundancy pay) before it goes to employment tribunal. You contact ACAS within three months of the dispute, they assign a conciliator, attempts at settlement happen, and at the end you get either a settlement or a certificate that lets you file at tribunal. None of this applies to B2B invoice disputes.

I'm a sole trader and my client treated me like an employee. Does ACAS apply?

Possibly. If you can show 'mutuality of obligation' (the client was required to give work and you were required to do it) plus 'control' (they directed when, where and how you worked), an employment tribunal might rule you were a worker rather than self-employed. ACAS Early Conciliation can apply in that case for any unpaid wages or pay-equivalents. But this is a tribunal-level dispute about employment status, not a quick way to recover a single unpaid invoice. Most self-employed suppliers will recover faster via small claims court or spot factoring.

What should I actually do for an unpaid B2B invoice?

Five practical options: (1) charge statutory late payment interest at 11.75% APR plus £40-£100 fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998; (2) send a letter before action giving 14 days to pay; (3) file a statutory demand if the debt is over £750; (4) take the matter to small claims court for under £10,000 via moneyclaim.gov.uk; (5) sell the invoice to a spot factoring provider (Hydr, Triver, Kriya) for 70-90% advance within 24 hours.

Why does ACAS keep coming up in my Google search for unpaid invoices?

Two reasons. First, many self-employed contractors confuse 'I haven't been paid' with 'employment dispute' because the underlying work felt like employment. Second, ACAS is a high-authority government domain that ranks for 'pay' related searches even when the page topic isn't about your situation. The right resources for unpaid B2B invoices are gov.uk's Late Payment of Commercial Debts pages, moneyclaim.gov.uk for small claims, and specialist spot factoring providers for immediate cash.