Williams v Roffey Bros: Getting Paid More for the Same Work

Imagine if your boss promises to pays you extra money for your work, then he breaks his promise and tells you, "too bad, no consideration".

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FULL FACTS: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN WILLIAMS V ROFFEY
The money was to be paid in instalments, and Williams actually ran out of money quite early on. Then, the variation agreement was made, but Williams never finished the work, because Roffey Bros refused to pay beyond a certain point. Williams then sued for all the outstanding instalments. Doesn't change the legal analysis; this one's more for the law students with the unfortunate fate of having to trudge through this case.

NOTE: ON "ECONOMIC DURESS"
Now, if you're thinking, "Can't I just threaten to stop working if my boss doesn't give me a raise?" First of all, if enough people do that, it's probably called a labour strike; more pertinently though, even if you managed to convince your boss to give you a raise in this situation, the court might say that your contract was procured out of "economic duress"--that is, "illegitimate economic pressure". A threat to breach a contract is a pretty established category of economic duress, and the inducement or procuring of a breach of contract may give rise to a cause of action in tort.