Hundreds and potentially thousands of Thomas Cook workers in the UK will have woken up to discover they haven't been paid today, after Britain's oldest travel firm went into liquidation seven days ago.
Staff now face a tough fight against administrators to recoup their money for the lost hours worked in the run up to the firm's collapse.
"Thomas Cook employees were expecting to be paid their salary today [30 September] for work done up until the company went into liquidation on Monday 23rd September, but no pay has arrived," union Balpa said.
"Neither has any official notification or apology. It is deeply offensive to treat these loyal employees so shoddily."
According to the Government's insolvency service, more than £2.4million has so far been paid to former employees of Thomas Cook.
However, many are yet to receive a penny due to the way the firm's collapsed.
Are you a worker that's been left out of pocket by Thomas Cook? Get in touch: emma.munbodh@mirror.co.uk
When a company collapses, who's paid what depends on whether it's gone into liquidation or administration.
When a firm goes into liquidation, the company essentially dissolves - ie it no longer exists.
This means accessing money - especially redundancy pay - will be difficult as it comes down to how much is left in the collapsed firm's bank account.
If it's in administration, an administrator will be appointed to see if the business can be kept alive - preventing any losses. However, this has not been the case with Thomas Cook.
Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said: "This is adding insult to injury. It’s awful enough for staff members to have lost their jobs overnight but to not receive salary for the work already done is absolutely disgraceful.
"It’s hard not to feel aggrieved at Thomas Cook management for this disaster. It is they who ran down cash so far that there isn't even any left to pay wages owed, but did find the cash to keep the German airline, Condor, open for several days until the German government stepped in with some financing."
What to do if you're owed wages by Thomas Cook
If you're a former employee of Thomas Cook, you can apply to the Government's Insolvency Service for redundancy and any other payments that you might be owed.
However, this cannot be done directly.
If you worked for Thomas Cook's airline or one of its tour operators, you'll need to approach consultancy firm AlixPartners for further information about how to make a claim via their dedicated website .
If you worked for Thomas Cook’s retail or aircraft maintenance arm, you should approach KPMG for further information about how to make a claim online or email TCemployees@kpmg.co.uk .
On average, the Insolvency Service aims to pay out within 14 working days - but you'll need to provide information to support your claim first.
You can find out more on your rights on the Gov.uk website here .
Don't forget, you may also be eligible for unemployment benefits to tide you over in the interim.
If you do not apply for benefits after you lose your job, you might get less money in your statutory notice pay payment.
