Not paid for 5 weeks

[YanTanTethera01]

I started work at a new job on 10th Oct. From then until 8th Nov, I was on casual hours but now I am contracted to work a fixed number of hours a week. The company pay day is the 15th of the month when they pay 2 weeks in arrears and two weeks in advance for the month and they had my payroll details way back in October. I was therefore expecting to have my casual hours and my pro-rata Nov pay today.

My supervisor 'forgot' to approve my casual hours so I was informed I would not get paid for them until 15th Dec but that I would get my salary pro-rata on 15th Nov. I have received neither. The casual hours have not been submitted to payroll and apparently the rule about contracted hours is you have to start by the 1st of the month to be paid in that month, otherwise you don't get paid until the next month.

Essentially, I have been working for them since the 10th October and they won't pay me until the 15th December. I have bills to pay and am beside myself with worry. I would leave but need time to find another position.

I don't want to create a fuss or a bad atmosphere at work where I am relatively new and not sure what to do next. The HR department said they would look into it but that was at 9am this morning and I've heard nothing.

Create that fuss! Ring back HR. Don't wait for them. Spell it out that you can't eat, pay rent etc without at least an interim payment. If they say it costs them money to run an extra payroll payment, don't be intimidated, just say you need the money and need it immediately.

Yes they can solve this. It is your supervisiors fault for not submitting your casual hours or informing you of the policy of start dates/payroll. They can advance you a payment or can run payroll for you. Either way they cannot leave you without pay. Keep pushing.
Are you in a union - difficult I know in a new jobs - but a union rep will be able to help.

They made the mistake...... they should correct it.....

Be very firm (but polite) with them: you don't have the savings to wait until December, and you need an advance to cover the hours you have already worked asap. They should be able to do that within a day or so.

Payroll can do a BACS payment the same day. It may only be an estimate as it doesn't take into consideration tax NI etc but that can be corrected for the following month.

HR should be able to sport an interim, emergency payment almost immediately. It is your line manager's error, so it should be them apologising and rushing to correct it.

Make that fuss!

HR have contacted my supervisor and the area manager and neither have bothered to respond. My colleague is in the same boat and it looks like all the managers have been paid but the admin staff haven't.

My colleague is going into work now to speak to them but basically, if I don't get a promise of payment today, I decided I won't be going in tomorrow. I can't afford to work for free (and pay £15 a week for the company car park that they won't even give us for nothing).

It was a (genuine) mistake by your supervisor.
Payroll/HR know about it.
Contact them again and state clearly that it was not YOUR mistake, that you accept mistakes happen but that you, as the innocent party, are the only one suffering AND THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE.
Keep using the word unacceptable... and be clear... you want the money in your account by end of today... you really dont care how 'high up' you have to go to get it authorised.. you expect the money in your account.
And start looking at your employers website for bosses/directors names....

You need to go in tomorrow regardless.
Do NOT put yourself in the wrong.
Draft an short email outlining the problem and send it to your supervisor, payroll, HR area manager and anyone else higher up you can identify.
Basically make as much noise and as much of a nuisance of yourself as you can.... you dont sound particularly hapoy tnere so you dont have much to lose.
Dont back down.
This happened to me 3 months into my current job... I emailed the CEO direct... used the UNACCEPTABLE a lot!!.. money was in my account that day.

It's unlikely that the payroll system will be able back date itsself to run you through the payroll system for November.

A lot of companies outsource payroll so there can be a lot of steps in correcting the error.
This is going to be outside the normal parameters so it is likely that senior managers will need to sign off on the payment.

HR have had this morning to see what they can do.
Ask them what the process is, what people (their roles) need to be involved, why they need to be involved (authority to make decisions and make them happen) and if they are currently available.

You need to get HR focused on an "advance" payment.
They should be able to do a manual calculation and process a manual payment. HMRC will have notes on how to do manual payroll.
If payroll is in-house or out of house ask if there is a training mode get them to set you up and run November even if they underpay by a small amount.
The payment will likely have to move from HR to Finance with someone setting you up as a single manual payment.
You may have to sign something to allow HR to deduct the advance in December.
By now HR should have a plan and a timescale on when you get paid.
Make a fuss you are making the company money if not you would not be hired.

YanTanTethera01 I agree with Bonbon21 give it a day and escalate upward.

Can HR confirm what you should have been paid?

Can they confirm who is needed to authorise the payments?

If it is the 2 managers who are not replying who else can authorise payment?

Thanks everyone. Some really good advice given and I'm going to follow it through now.

They can make an immediate CHAPS payment as an advance of salary today. BACS takes 3 days CHAPS is same day.

Just insist on an interim payment today, don't start kicking off and not going into work. Its happened to me and it was sorted the same day.

I spoke to HR again who absolutely refuse to do anything unless they get confirmation from my manager that I am due a payment which they are happy to make. Fair.

They have emailed my manager twice and he hasn't responded to them even though I know he is working.

I messaged him to ask what was going on and he said he was trying to contact his manager to find out if the timesheets had been submitted. It is his job to submit them so if he doesn't know .....

He is fobbing me off, HR won't do anything without his say-so. He won't respond to them. I've put everything in writing and copied everyone in but nothing has changed since 9.30 this morning.

One of my other colleagues didn't realise (!) she had to fill in a time-sheet or even provide them with her bank details so she was never going to be paid.

The other two are happy to wait until December as they have husbands supporting them so it's only me fighting a lone battle to get what I'm owed.

Can you go higher than your manager? Someone needs to give him a kick up the arse.
..

They do need to correct the HMRC record or it will bite you over any benefits you get.
What they are doing is illegal. If they do not make a payment by the time you are due to start ring ACAS and they will tell you exactly what you are entitled to.

I would message you manager and tell him that if he wants you to work tomorrow he will need to sort out payment for the 2 months worked so far. Why the he'll should you work for nothing. You are admin you say, so I'd go to work, and then use the office phone to call ACAS, HMRC and anyone else who can assist you until this is resolved.

If you don't get a result by tomorrow lunchtime, raise a grievance. You need to do this incase you need to take it to tribunal which you will be able to as they are withholding pay / paying below the minimum wage (!)...

And your manager could have replied back to the FIRST email with that information to sve everyone a lot of hassle...
But then he would have had to admit he couldnt fix it either...
So do you know who he is trying to contact?? If so.. email them direct and push for a BACS transfer tomorrow....and point out that it is good practise for line managers to be contactable during core hours...
I bet none of them would DARE go home to the wife and say he is not getting paid this month....
Keep pushing...

Oh and I'd also now copy your timeshares, and any proof of submitting it (hopefully you do this electronically) along with the required bank details and payroll system set up details to HR. I'd also send your timesheet proofs to your manager and his manager and their manager all the way up so no-one can say they haven't had it!

In the meantime stick in a universal credit claim which will hopefully come through quickly if this goes on so that you at least have something to live on. Be aware that they will likely claim most of it back if you do eventually get paid.

OP I've worked with Payroll and HR systems for 30+ years - any of the guff about outsourcing, waiting for the next run, HMRC etc is just that - I bet you a sizeable sum if it was a senior person's bonus all these issues would soon melt away.

The fact is they can pay you something now and sort it out later - this is 100% possible and anyone who says it isn't is lying.

Who is the Area manager's manager?

I would send an email attach a copy of the time sheets and signed contract
and sent it to
The Area managers Manager
The Area Manager
Your Manager
And HR manager and whoever you were dealing with

NB First "To:" name is the Area manager's Manager and address the email to whom ever this is.

Header "Urgent re: Unpaid Salary"

Dear AMM
I have not received my October salary which should have been lodged to my account 15 Nov. This is due to an error which is being investigated.
(this allows a dog ate it excuse, you don't care)

However I would be grateful if the payment of the salary is prioritised and actioned by close of business today.
(delay kicking any dog manager untill after you pay me)

Failure to pay the salary on time [has resulted / will result] in a number of outward payment failing , these included [my rent and electric...] As well as placing these bills in arrears I [have / will] incurred bank charges and late payment charges.
(open invite for an offer to pay these charges, good employers will)

(Explain what happened)
Employed on X date
Supplied person Y / HR with bank details etc.
Worked x to x as per timesheets.
Submitted timesheets x
Accepted contract on X date.
Expected payment for timesheet x to x.
(short factual lines which the AMM can skim read and ignore)

HR confirm they have not received authorised timesheets nor any other instruction to process payment of owed salary.
(don't detail anything else)

HR confirmed they plan to lodge the salary once they receive authorisation.

I would be grateful if my manager confirms attached a time sheet are correct and that he approved it's payment by HR

I would be grateful if Area manager confirms that (s)he authorised the timesheet and authoises HR to process an immediate payment.

I would be grateful if that HR confirm they can process the salary as authorised by Manager and Area Manager and arrange for the money to be lodged in the account by close of business today.

If you habe any queries my moblie phone number is xxx xxx.

Yours ....

Adjusting your own style etc

Fucking disgraceful and frankly indicative of a bad company.

I run a smallish payroll (100 people) and would bend over backwards to sort out someone’s salary same day.

I can’t relax on payday until money hits accounts and I obsessively check the payroll inbox until after lunch to ensure there are no fuck up.

HR absolutely could do something but are choosing not to.

Hi OP - do you have a formal contract? If so, and if they haven't paid you in line with what's in your contract they're likely in breach of contract by not paying you on time. I'd include that in any formal email you send - there's lots of good guidance online about how to word it.

Try again tomorrow. I am a manager and payroll / timesheets can be a bitch. I’d expect to be able to fix it within a couple of days and would normally make something like this my priority to sort out for one of the team… amazingly it can still take me a day to line up all the ducks!