Wasn't paid on Friday and waiting. Do I go into work tomorrow? (please read before replying)

[PensionPanic123]

Hi all,

Wasn't paid my fortnightly wage on Friday as the director who sorts wages is saying he's locked out of his online banking due to attempting to pay from his phone rather than laptop (which I'm not sure I believe for reasons I won't go into now).

All the advice online says you should keep going into work to avoid being in breach of contract. However, the commute costs me £30 a day in my pickup truck and I currently have only £50 left in my current account, £20 of which I need to use to get home.

If I drive to work tomorrow I'll literally end up completely broke and I'm at the stage where I need to do some shopping (just have a few tins of beans and some porridge left).

Most of my money goes into my ISA and I usually keep back a bit for emergencies. This was a few grand a year ago but various expenses knocked it down to £500 and I've just spent most of that getting my car through it's MOT so I can sell it (needed some welding and CV joint done).

So I was desperately waiting for my pay this month, more so than usual - can't take money out of the ISA.

The company is a small subsidiary of a medium sized construction firm which has over 300 staff and is profitable. However, this side of the business has only been going two years and they try and keep the finances separate. They also don't like covering wages from their own pockets so on a couple of occasions previously I've had to wait a couple days for my pay - only twice in two years though.

However, it sometimes takes a lot of chasing to get my fuel payments/expenses and sometimes ends up being next pay cycle (I spend £150 a week on fuel so can be a fair amount).

I suspect the issue is that they've overspent on a project on the other side of the business and the directors don't want to use their own money (they're all millionaires with £150k cars). This happened before and they told me client hadn't paid (not my problem tbh) but I later found out they had paid and the real reason was that my employer had spent too much on a big charity event and couldn't back out as had hundreds of people already confirmed to attend.

I like my job and get on really well with the company who I'm contracting for - day to day I rarely speak to my bosses. However, I'm getting fucked off now tbh. I get paid well and like the job but my skills are in demand and I already have two companies who pester me to jump ship almost weekly when I see them onsite. I could also likely find another job within days if I picked up the phone.

So, I'm a bit torn tbh. I was hoping they'd just pay me today but director isn't answering phone and my boss is saying he can't do anything. References aren't a concern as I already know companies that would employ me immediately but I don't really want to change jobs over this. One of my best mates runs the plant I'm based out of and it's great working there most of the time. What to do!

Change jobs. These guys aren't a professional outfit. Seems like you've given them enough chances. First rule of business: you don't mess with people's money.

YANBU, you are owed your wages whether they have been paid or not, and your contract will state that you are paid on a certain day each month. It is up to them to find the money to pay you on time.

Regarding fuel - can you ask them if they will give you a company fuel card to use? then you wouldn't be so much out of pocket each month.

Expenses should also be paid as per contract terms, so if you have them in by the required date , they should be in that months pay.

I've done payroll for years and on a couple of occasions we've had issues and pay have been a couple of days late. Computer issues both times

The late reimbursement of fuel expenses is bullshit. Why should you be covering them, you’re not a credit facility.

I also do payroll and it is possible to get locked out of online banking so maybe give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

However, does sound like you should look for another job, doesn’t seem to be a great place to work overall.

Hope you get it sorted and get any cash owing X

Tell them you can’t afford to get to work until you are paid as you don’t have any money left for fuel.

I had a job for 6 months in the 1990s in a smallish call centre in Bristol. We logged on the phones at 9AM and we were expected to be there unpaid from 8.45 to be in time for that. We were paid weekly by bank transfer. On the Thursday before Good Friday the manager told us there had been a 'computer problem' that meant we weren't going to be paid that week. Luckily my partner was paid monthly and we managed until the next Wednesday when I finally got paid. I later found out that the 'problem' was that the company owner had been juggling money and emptied the payroll account for some deal that didn't come off. About three months later half of us got told on Friday we were 'redundant' and we shouldn't come in any more. I went to an agency and got an interview with an employer, and was offered the role, with a start date about two weeks away. Then the call centre manager phoned me to find out if I was interested in coming back! I just said 'sorry, I'm fixed up OK now'.

I think you should look into the potential job offers, if your skills are as in demand as you say then you should be able to negotiate a better salary and benefits anyway. The pay/expenses problem sounds like it will arise again at this current place. I would explain that if you don't receive your wages today that you will not be able to come in and will be looking for another job

Tell them “sorry, I can’t afford to work until I get paid.”

Then once you have your money, take up one of the other job offers.

I work in payroll for a smallish construction firm and I can well believe about being locked out of the banking app.

However what we would do would offer the option of being paid by cheque or ew would offer a cash advance to get you through until it was sorted.

If you work in construction you shouldn't be scrabbling around trying to get paid and going without money. I assume you are a freelancer/contractor from the OP? If so you should at the very least get yourself another client or piece of work to offset this issue.

They sound extremely dodgy and I would be running a mile! Don’t work until paid as a rule

In terms of tomorrow, write an email saying that since you relied on being paid on xxx date, you're now without petrol money for the commute tomorrow, so unless the money is transferred to you be 17:00, you'll need to take a day off tomorrow. That way they're on notice, and it's their decision.

No need to get into the ISA, MOT etc.

My ex-boss kept bouncing my pay cheques and I had to keep chasing to get paid. I left. Sorry OP it's not going to improve.

Chase payment, explain it will prevent you from getting into work. Definitely jump ship and be clear why. Its utterly shit and you shouldn't have to carry their incompetence at finances.

Also for new role ask up front about how expenses are handled.

The fact of the matter is you do not have enough money to get to and from work until they pay you. Let them know that they can either pay you as agreed or you won’t be able to attend until as you literally do not have the money. That £50 is irrelevant, none of their business, that’s your food shopping money and you can’t starve because they’ve messed something up (internet banking or otherwise). You can’t pull money or fuel from thin air.

It's a tough one.

My line manager (who is part of the family but not rich himself and not responsible for the issues) transferred me £200 from my personal account as he felt bad but that's almost gone on bills already.

I think another issue is that I'm one of only 2-3 white people in the whole 300+ employee company. Most of the workforce are builders/labourers but all the office staff and management are related or know each other from the temple. It's a bit different for them as it's like me telling my sister I can't pay her back for a few days.

They've invested in my training and it's down to them that I can now walk into a £50k+ job. I didn't even expect to get an interview when I applied tbh. Part of my role is driving trucks but despite drivers being in demand most construction companies want two years construction experience.

I later found out that 36 people applied for the job, many with experience, but they gave me a chance because they liked me personally and also that I'd been at most previous companies for a few years and had glowing references. Also that I have office skills (former bid manager) and have offered to train me as a site manager if I get bored of current job. They also knew it was a very male dominated sector and wanted to give me a chance to get the experience.

Aside from that, they've been very generous in other ways. They have a box at a big football stadium and they let me use it whenever I want. I'm not a big footy fan but I've been there multiple times with friends and family and every time you get free luxury dining and loads of free drinks as part of the contract.

They also bought a huge 28 bedroom stately home/mansion in the country last year (this is part of what keeps killing their cashflow as they've spent loads renovating it). It's going to be a charitable enterprise for disadvantaged schools etc to use and I really respect them spending million on this. They've said that once finished I can have the keys any weekend it's not being used, and I was planning on going away with my mates for a Downton Abbey style weekend in the summer.

Line manager is also selling me a car at cost price as his family business is a car dealership. I mentioned that I was looking to get something like a Passat as a runaround as my pickup truck is a bit thirsty as a primary vehicle. He actually had one in stock and is selling it to me. On Autotrader they're at least £7k, often more for a good one, and he's going to let me have it for between £4-5k. And with a year's warranty despite making no money off the sale.

So you see, they do treat me very much like family and have invested in me, but ultimately when you need paid you need paid.

This is unbelievable! I've being doing payroll in a small firm for over 30 years and have NEVER paid our staff late whether weekly or monthly and despite a few months of appalling cash flow. Why are they leaving the payroll run so late in the day before completing it? I either fit my holidays around the payroll run or, easier now its all done online, make sure its done before I go away.

Renovating a mansion but not paying you for work done. Paying for an expensive hospitality box but not paying you for work done. Sorry, I wouldn't be hanging around.
You can get back into online accounts in minutes if you have been locked out because of a mistake or using a different browser or device, if it is only that. You phone security online and they go through what is required. It's a rubbish excuse which is just that, an excuse. Do you seriously believe they have done no banking from Friday to today and the bank has stopped all transaction because they logged in from an unknown phone.
It might be frozen, but not for those reasons.

Seen your update. All sounds dodgy as fuck. Deprived schools don't need a Downton Abbey style country mansion so I call bullshit on that. But if you've chosen the occasional use of an executive box over getting paid, that's on you.

I'm sure this breaches the employment act

Sounds really dodgy. The fancy extras shouldn't be paid for if they can't pay staff. I have my mortgage set to come out of my account 2 days after pay day Id be well and truely screwed if I wasnt paid, surely that applies to most people (eg big direct debits automatically go soon after pay day) not being paid even once is unreasonable but more than once then time to leave I think.

@OngoingConfidence
Which part specifically.

Work haven’t paid you, keep going in if you can. Get looking for an alternative job. But also your investments have made you short. You need to set aside a rainy day pot for times like these.