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Is this right? (Colleague asked to pay me out of her own money when I covered for her)

21 replies

alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 19:46

I have got a current post up about appraisals, this isn't linked although I suppose if it doesn't go well I may well bring this into it. Just wanted an opinion really...,

I co manage a charity shop ie I job share (we both work part time, and not together ie colleague works the days I don't. Occasionally we swap if something comes up, or cover holidays)

Recently her child was sent home sick from school . It was her day off but she was due to work the next day and knew he could not attend school. So she asked me at short notice if I could work the next day so she could stay home with him.
I did work that next day and thought that either the company would pay me or I'd get time off in lieu.

Colleague was very grateful and rang a few days later and said management had talked to her. Being a charity they didn't want to pay an extra day's wage. It was up to us to work it out between us. Either she should work a day for me when I needed one (ie owe me) OR she could pay me what would have been her day's wages for that missed day.

She felt she didn't want to work an extra day (she wants to be at home as much as possible with her autistic child) and therefore wanted to give me her wages, as they'd suggested. This didn't sit right with me and I said so to her.( I never talked to management about it)
I am friendly with this woman and I knew she really didn't want to work an extra day. In the end, I said forget it, I don't want the money either , it doesn't feel right with me (yes I do need it but it seemed wrong to me to take it)
The conclusion was that she did insist I take the money , she gave me her full day's minus the tax, in cash.
Only a few weeks before, I'd given her £40 donation as taken a rescue kitten from her (which is the standard donation) (this was out of work..separate charity). So it felt like I was having this money back plus about a fiver extra as I recall. It made me feel uncomfortable. I told her to take it back for the cat rescue charity but she said no. So I promised her I'd spend it on my kitten.

Should they have asked her to do this?

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ImperialBlether · 18/11/2015 19:48

Do you have compassionate leave as part of your contract? I don't know why she wouldn't just swap a day - isn't her child normally in school anyway?

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 20:01

Yes he's normally in school. But she says her days off are sacred (as does cat rescue too..she is busy, has two kids) and her (younger) child does come to the shop when he finishes school. He spend the end of the day there with her, which I know exhausts her. She just made it clear she absolutely did not want to work an extra day to make it up.
I need to find contract and check!

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 20:01

(I'm not saying I'm not busy!! I am!)

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 20:02

It didn't bother me whether it was either money or an extra day... I just found it weird management asked her to pay me (if she didn't want to make the time up)

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Shallishanti · 18/11/2015 20:06

seems very inappropriate
if they have no compassionate/parental leave policy that covers it surely they just pay her a day less and you a day more?

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rainydaygrey · 18/11/2015 20:06

But.. Why did they not pay you instead of her?

Apart from anything else, the way they've done it wouldn't please the tax department, not that they will ever know of course.

But what on earth is their reason for not doing it properly?

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mamapants · 18/11/2015 20:06

Don't see that it matters really. Its like she took a days unpaid leave.
Really she shouldn't have been paid for that day and you should have been. Meaning you both have the same amount as you do now.
It should have been done properly through PAYE for tax purposes. But basically the end result will most likely be the same. Toh shouldn't feel bad for having a days wage as you worked the day.

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cornflakegirl · 18/11/2015 20:09

I would expect them to pay you for the extra day, and her to take the day as unpaid leave (if not entitled to compassionate leave). It really ought to go through payroll so that all the tax is right. Very weird that they asked her to pay you cash in hand!

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NapoleonsNose · 18/11/2015 20:42

It does all sound a bit odd. Surely if they didn't pay her, they should have just paid you instead. Net result the same. Unless of course she was paid and they are keeping this from you for whatever reason and didn't want to end up paying two lots of wages. I'm a bit cynical like that. Comes from having an employer a long time ago who used to 'cherry pick' employees for more favourable treatment.

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 20:48

They did not pay me because as a charity they can't afford to is what they said. Less money for the charity

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 20:50

The fact that she did pay me , makes me think they DID pay her. They did not want to pay me too

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ElinorRochdale · 18/11/2015 20:53

Is it at all possible that she didn't speak to management about it and they don't know anything about it? They think she worked her day as she was supposed to?

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DoreenLethal · 18/11/2015 20:55

So she is now your employer?

Nah - give her the money back and tell the charity to sort it. This is not the way to do business!

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SocksRock · 18/11/2015 20:58

She should be paid less and you more. That makes no sense. I used to run a payroll for a preschool, and we did exactly that. Staff submitted time sheets every month which they would annotate who was covering who and I would adjust the wages accordingly.

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LovelyFriend · 18/11/2015 21:00

You should be paid by your employer for the work you have done for them.

How they handle paying the other worker, or not, for her day off is surely down to her employment contract. Perhaps she is not paid. Perhaps he can take a sick day (this is what my employer would do thankfully) or she can take paid or unpaid leave.

What the charity is proposing is ridiculous and you are right to question it. The notion that they are a charity and can't pay employees is just silly. They need unpaid volunteers if that is the case.

Next time the charity might have to close up for the day.

And yes of course there are tax issues - their solution is probably illegal/fraud.

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 22:18

Yes they did know. She rang them at the time she rang me. She wouldn't have been able to not tell them. .they ring the shop or drop in regularly

Yes that's my point Doreen... she's not my employer! Yet our mutual employers asked HER to pay me!

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Choughed · 18/11/2015 22:21

That is a terrible way to do business and contravening tax and paye rules.

Who is this charity? They sound shit.

They are a national org and they can't afford £40 extra?

I'd be looking for a new job asap.

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alltoomuchrightnow · 18/11/2015 23:13

It's a national charity but the shop is independent of others. Takings have been low in the last few months due to far less donations (a new charity shop opened up in town where people can park outside to drop donations off, unlike ours)

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Fizrim · 18/11/2015 23:20

You should have been paid for the day you worked, but through the normal payroll of the charity. Your colleague should have had the day's pay deducted.

It would have been easier if she'd just worked one of your days!

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Epilepsyhelp · 18/11/2015 23:26

Well it's a dodgy way to do it but financially she hasn't lost out - she didn't work but got paid, you did work but didn't get paid, therefore she owed you.

They should have deducted from her wages and added to yours rather than the way it happened but for you and her personally the outcome is the same, and the tax man will technically get the right amount of tax.

I really wouldn't worry about this, it's not a biggy it's just the charity being lazy about payroll.

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Seriouslyffs · 18/11/2015 23:38

Very very poor practice of the charity. I'd be looking for another job on the basis of that alone. They're hardly going to be efficient or careful about other issues that could arise if that's their completely bonkers attitude.

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