Month on no money

[User1123]

Hello
I don’t have any children so not sure if I’m allowed to post on here so please let me know if not☺️ Thank you for any replies.

Basically, I handed my notice in at the end of last month, due to lots of pressure and intimidation from my boss. I have managed to find a better paid job, with less stress. My boss became very aggressive with me, and I had quite a severe panic attack. The doctor signed me off sick for the rest of my notice period.

My problem is that I will only get ssp for this month, I am due to start the job on the 29th July, and will get my first pay check 1st September. So for August I will get about £80 a week- BUT my current employer has told me they will take any training fees out my wage. The training came to about £500, and so I’d imagine I will receive no money and they will invoice me for the rest.

I have tried to make myself go back to work for the rest of the month but i just freeze up, I’m too scared. I live alone, and my rent and bills come to about £650 a month. I have a savings account for emergencies which will just cover that, however for food and petrol I’m stuck. The new job is an hours drive(I’m hoping to buy a house with my partner who lives near my new work in the near future) and so petrol will be very high. I do have a help to buy isa but I really really don’t want to take anything out of it.

I already live very basically, I don’t eat out, i shop once a week at Aldi, don’t even have a tv. Does anyone have any tips on how to manage the next month? I am going to try and find a part time job as well for next month, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to do that whilst off on sick leave this month.

Thank you very much for reading.

Just to clarify, for August I would have £80 a week to live on(minus training) the money would be paid for July.

Congrats on your new job. Maybe they can advance you a weeks salary. Could your partner help you out.

Have you checked with HR about the training fees? How long ago was the training? My understanding is that they can not deduct if that will take you under NMW which this will so I would contact ACAS to check if this is legitimate.

Can you stay with your partner for a while when you start your job to reduce travel costs? Do you not receive any sick pay from your current employer??

Stay with your partner in the week to save travelling costs?
Sell stuff on eBay/Facebook

Or you will have to dip into your isa.

Can't imagine they'll be able to take the training fees out of SSP...they would only be able to deduct it if it was occupational sick pay

Thank you all.
I’ve not been thinking very clearly, due to being a bit stressed so probably missing simple ideas!

My partner has offered to loan me the money but I am aware that he is already struggling financially at the moment and I’d hate for him to go into debt because of me. I will definitely talk about staying with him to save petrol- however I would need to still pay for my own rent for a house I wouldn’t be living at?

My current/previous employer does not have a HR department, and they are giving me statuary sick pay, however they are taking my training fees( from last year) out of my sick pay. I will give Acas a call for advice.

I have tried to sell my keyboard(piano) and phone so I’ll keep my fingers crossed they sell.

Thank you so much for your helpful advice☺️

Definitely call ACAS. It might be worth asking if they are legally allowed to use SSP for training.

OP all sorts post here. Can you speak to new employer about paying back training starting from September? Highly doubt training money could be taken out of ssp. Do you get a certificate from it?

So just to clarify- the training is for AAT (accounting) exams from my old employer. Legally I’m still employed by them until 26th July, and I start with my new employer 29th July.
I think that paying back monthly is a very good idea- the boss is very very angry with me but I could probably speak to a different director and ask if they’d consider it.

I have a letter from them confirming that they will take training out of ssp- I will ring Acas first thing tomorrow and see if that’s allowed- I assumed they would have checked but maybe not!

Why is your boss so angry? How much do you owe?

I owe £500- in my contract it says any training fees will be taken out of my final wage.

My boss is angry I think because she believes they have put a lot of effort into training me, and she says that I am throwing it back in their faces and that I am ungrateful for that, and will never manage with the stress of my chosen career if I can’t cope with working for her. She also said I should have told her that I was looking for a new job.

I started working for them at 18, and they did pay for 4 exams, and aat membership last year- similar to how they support most of the staff.

I was employed in a basic admin position, and then basically was forced into doing maternity cover for a colleague, which I wasn’t qualified or trained to do. My colleague had a degree in the job area, and was 35 with a lot of experience, whereas this was my first job, and I have no qualifications. I then got yelled at by her a lot, when I made mistakes, and bullied into not following legal procedures. When I complained about this I was told I was being stupid, and they would try to help me more, but they never did.
I do feel like they are slightly unreasonable to be angry with me, since I had told them four times this year that I was uncomfortable with the job and would like to do the work on my contract and not the new work.

Can you get a roommate ? Give up your house and rent a room in a shared house? If one months lack of pay is putting you in so much financial difficulty then you should be looking to reduce all your outgoings until you’re back on your feet .
I’m sorry your last boss was / is so horrible and glad you’ve got something else lined up .

Also if you’re still training and money is tight , don’t for goodness sake get pregnant until you’ve finished your training and bought a house ( if you want to be a home owner ) . You’ll set yourself back about ten years if you do it the wrong way around . Training , house , kids in that order .

Ssp is not your wage