Does this sound right to you? Cutting hours at work

[TomWambsgansSwans]

I've applied for part time working and it's been approved to start on October 1.

Great. But I've been told I can't cut my hours before then as payroll has already run for this month.

But we are paid a month in arrears, so surely they are getting an extra months' worth of Fridays off me if I don't drop my hours now? I didn't get paid until a month into this job so surely if I do an extra months of Fridays I am missing out?

(Disclaimer - maths is not my strong point!)

They have already done payroll for your full time hours to be paid at the end of September. When you go part time in October you will be paid part time hours at the end of October. They are correct.

So they are saying payroll has been run for September and you will be paid it in October? Then in November you will receive your pay for the first month of reduced hours.

Paid a month in arrears to me means paid at end of Sept (or very early October) for work in September.
So, you will work September FT, get paid (as already arranged) at the end of Sept for that, then start your lower hours, with a lower pay packet, for October.

Nobody runs Septembers payroll on the 7th of the month. What if you left? Went off sick? Stopped turning up? Are they saying they’d still have to pay you full salary because they ran payroll 3 weeks early?!

A month in arrears usually means you are paid at the end of the month you've just worked.

So you'll be paid at the end of September for your hours you've worked in September
In October, you work your new shorter hours and receive your new smaller salary.

Likely it also worked that way when you started, although many places have a cut off quite early in the month, so if you start after about the 5th, any changes can't usually be accommodated until the following month's payroll.