To ask the owner to pay me

[SixPenceNonTheRicher]

I work in a small company made up of 3 directors who are the owner and his 2 sons and 3 staff one of whom is the office manager.

We always get paid on the 28th of each month, so on the 27th or the working day before the 27th the manager loads the payments and gets the owner to authorise them and then they hit our accounts on the 28th.

I checked today and there was no wage in my account, I spoke to the Manager and she said she was too busy to load the payments before today and the owner is in a bad mood she does not want to bother him today.

I have direct debits and standing orders that have come out my account today and I just received a text from my bank saying there are not enough funds to make the payments and I would need to pay funds in by 2pmm_ in order for the payments to be made and to avoid charges.

I told my Manager this and she said there is nothing she can do at the moment as she does not want to bother the owner.

AIBU to go to the owner myself and asked to be paid? I do not want to get charges or late payment strikes, I am not really sure where I stand with this.

I don’t really have much dealings with the owner usually he comes and goes and nods or says hello but that’s as far as communication goes with him and I.

Outrageous. 'the owner is in a bad mood she does not want to bother him today.' Is he a feudal-era lord or something?

I hope you don't get charged by your bank. I'd kick up a fuss about this anyway. And start job-hunting.

I'd be asking for a bit of paid time off tomorrow to get to the bank and sort out your banking that they screwed up. Dont go in all guns blazing...the charges are legal and applied correctly in this case however they absolutely have discretion to waive them if you go in and explain the situation. They may also help you move your payments by a couple of days in case you are ever in a similar situation. Any charges that your bank refuses to refund (hopefully there are none) should be covered by your work.

Consider any lending repayments that you have...this may show as a late payment which can affect your credit score. I would call them up and explain the situation and try and rectify that.

Good luck with everything!

It is difficult to argue the charges - the contracts says you get paid today, not what time, so if the money goes in today they have paid on time, even if that causes a problem because the DDs tried to go out earlier. If you do not get paid today then they should cover the charges, but as others have said if you can try to move them later to give yourself breathing room in case of bank issues in the future.

It may not be a cash flow issue with the business - it could just be that the office manager is really rubbish. I can imagine the same happening at work, not for cash flow issues but from 'manager' incompetence.

my DH's employer (small business) has this payment system...far too often he has been paid very late on the contracted day/day after so I have learnt to move the DDs to the day I get paid (I work for LA so on the date/Friday if falls on the weekend)

We have often had a meal out on his expenses to make up for it and his boss has been told exactly why!

If you contract says you will be paid on or before 28th (as opposed to by 28th) then your employer has until the end of the day.

Until we changed banks last year our wages (for the weekly paid people) were faded through on Wednesdays & paid by the Friday but it could be anytime between midnight and 4pm On the Friday depending on the bank.

Even now with faster payments all it takes is for theconline banking or something to be down or the internet slow, hence why we say by close of business.

Iv made sure my dd etc are due out a few days after my pay is due in so that in the unlikely event (never happened yet) they hit the account late there is a buffer.

The only thing to with that is to make sure you remember how much is due out so it is definitely still there to cover everything

Someone I know had this happen and so she took proof of the charges and the company had to pay the charges for her as they had breached the contract.

I would assume she fucked up and didn't get it done in time, so is covering her arse by asking you not to go to manager.

I'm another one that has had make my Direct debits and standing orders etc come out 2 days later than the date I used to get paid.

I used to work for a small business owner, who paid us by bacs and she has told us in the past, that she can pay the staff any time up until 12pm/midnight on payday..!!

At least twice in the past, I've had to email the owner on the following day to say I've not been paid.. knowing that my colleagues had been paid on the correct date!!

Wow. Talking about being a bad employer. What an unprofessional attitude.

If I were you I might be tempted to stay home until I got paid and when they would call, say: please don’t bother me, I am not in a good mood today.

I do the wages for my company, and come hell or high water, i make sure they get done in time. Nothing else is a priority and my boss (the owner) must approve them regardless of the mood they are in. YADNBU

I work for a fairly small company but payroll is always done by BACS three working days in advance and we get our payslip and a receipt sent to us the day the payment is sent. The only issue ever happened when we got a pay rise and a high bonus, the amount was over the daily limit so half of the staff were paid early on the Friday and the rest on time on the Monday.

The reason she doesn't want to phone the owner is because he will bollock her for for not sorting the pay out. I'd be sending a complaint to him anyway!

I would still, most definitely be bringing this to the owners attention. It’s simply not in

Have you finally been paid OP?

....how long have you worked for them? maybe late payments are recurring? of course ask politely and explain your situation ... I'm sure they will understand how you need your money today, and as suggested previously change your payment days if you can to give yourself breathing space in the future.

Wow! Totally, totally unacceptable. It doesn't matter whether you need the money - you have a legal contract. If you incur any fees, then they should pay them.

Having said that, it is a good idea to allow a few days between your pay going in and the need to pay DD or SO going out.

Hmmmm id be worried her shit excuses were a cover for lack of funds?
Is there a chance the business is struggling?

I thought employers legally had to have a date set for payments, for the exact reason you've mentioned, people have Bill's to pay!

It depends on the contract. Some employers pay weekly, fortnightly, four weekly or monthly and contracts can say anything from the last Friday of the month to a set date to the 1st day of the month. Or it can be so many days following submission of time sheet for hourly paid workers.

Surely if the Owner is used to approving the wages on the same date each month he would know that he should be doing this on or before the 28th? Paying staff is priority.
Is he in a 'bad mood' because of cash flow problems and the Manager is just making excuses for him.
Try to get a letter (or email) from your employer to take to the bank admitting their error - the bank may be more favourable to allowing direct debits to be paid, but agree that it should be the business that pays any bank charges and fees - it's not the bank's fault.

Your manager deserves to be sacked, that's completely unprofessional.

You've done the work they make the payment. You have a contract.

I imagine she doesn't really want you tying up work time by speaking to your bank either, so I think it would be perfectly reasonable for the company to pay your charges.

Ask your manager and the owner to pay you NOW; explain their bad mood will be a lot worse when hit with bank charges you have incurred due to their lazy, can't-be-bothered, in-a-bad-mood attitude . Not on at all - paying staff for work done is a requirement, not an optional transaction depending on the person or people responsible for paying wages 'mood for the day'. I'd be pissed off if treated like this - go over the office manager's head if you have to and assertively tell the owner you want the wages paid NOW. Good luck

That's a stupid excuse off your manager. I'd be wondering if they have the money to pay people. Check if your contract states you have to be paid on a certain date per month and go and see your boss,explain the situation and ask to be paid immediately.
I dunno about paying your charges though but I guess you could try.
I'd change the dates of your payments though. So if it happens again you'll have time to airt things before incurring charges.

We must assume they aren't paying because they can't pay. Staff wages aren't something an office manager just forgets about. Assume you worked last month for free. Sorry.