Zakat on Unpaid Salary and Wages

Short answer: By class of receivable: (a) dues from a solvent, acknowledging employer/client — who will pay, only late — are strong debts: add them yearly to your reckoning (or settle the accumulated years on collection). (b) Dues from the bankrupt, denying or vanished are weak debts: no zakat before receipt, then a fresh hawl. Salary not yet earned (next month's) is not wealth at all — no question arises. Details: Withholding workers' wages is oppression — 'pay the labourer before his sweat dries' (Ibn Majah 2443, sahih per al-Albani), and in the hadith qudsi Allah Himself is the adversary of the wage-devourer (Sahih al-Bukhari 2227). So pursue your right as a creditor; and as an employer, release withheld wages before worrying about zakat. Once arrears arrive, the easy method is reckoning them with your total on your annual zakat day. Evidence: Quran 9:103; the athar of Uthman (Muwatta, Zakat); Ibn Majah 2443; Sahih al-Bukhari 2227; the Permanent Committee's strong/weak debt distinction. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.