Part time work for teens - pay a month in arrears?

[Birdbrained13]

so my teen has finally landed a job for the summer, after months of sending out CVs, trawling round cafes etc. it’s a good job (holiday play scheme) but we’ve discovered they pay a month in arrears. It doesn’t start until 25/7, then any work in July isn’t paid until end of August, and August work paid end of September. I think this is very unfair for kids as he basically won’t receive anything until he’s back at college! Is this normal?

But he’s starting later in July which will be after the cut off for the end of the month pay and will roll to the end of the following month. That’s how payroll usually works and dc can’t be paid cash in hand, has to be legitimate. Cut off is usually 14th of the month latest.

Paying August in September doesn’t sound right. I wonder if they’ve misunderstood as July being paid in August due to cut off.

Of course if someone starts after the cut off date they get paid the following month but that's not what the OP is saying, she's saying in August he only gets July's pay and in September he gets August hours and so I

Now maybe there's been a misunderstanding but the OP isn't describing normal cut off dates, which of course can be any date, not sure why you think it has to be the 14th

Not normal in my experience.

Is it a council run scheme? Maybe they've misunderstood.

You get paid at the end of the month for the contracted hours of that month. Overtime might be paid the following month if not completed by time payroll hours are run.

I actually get paid mid month, two weeks I've worked and two weeks I'm yet to work.

I've only ever known weekly pay to be in arrears in the way you describe.

I'm in my 50s and had lots of jobs.

So in OP example August pay would be for whole of August and the days in July as after payroll close Have they said he'll get July pay in August and assumed incorrectly Aug to be in Sept?

It is for the YMCA. My older son a Uni student has also worked there the last 2 years but as he’d had other work in between it didn’t affect him so much so he hasn’t really mentioned it. He says it def is July pay paid end of Aug, Aug pay at end of September etc. it’s almost not viable for a 16 ye old to do it as he won’t see any more until after the hols are basically over!

It's normal to have a cut off but I've never heard about people being paid at the end of month 3 for month 2s work.

Perhaps you're misinterpreting 'in arrears' as at the end of the following month when it's actually at the end of the month worked, which is how it normally works?

@Birdbrained13 I find that shocking that anyone would expect employees to work like that.
So work done on the 1st August not paid to the end of September. How much money is the employer making in interest by delaying paying their employees. The only decent thing I can say is YMCA aren't likely to go bust, but a smaller employer id be very wary of them going bust near the end of a month when they are effectively holding two months money off all their staff.

I can't help wonder whats the legalities on making people work a months lie time. Its certainly common for people who are weekly paid to be paid this weeks money at the end of next week.

It’s definitely a month late as explained above as my older son confirmed. If there was any other employment available I’d tell him not to bother!

It’s how I get paid if doing supply. When my Dd works playscheme, she gets paid a month in arrears too.

Well they don't have much choice. They don't have to do the job. Not saying I agree with it, simply that it is very common. What is more interesting is the number of people denying that it is common. I suspect it is a class thing. I have always known loads of employers who pay "a month in hand". As I said, it prevents people walking out on pay day.

For clarity: "a month is arrears" is pay that is received at the end of the mopnth that has been worked; "a month in hand" is the first months wages are "retained" and not paid until the end of month 2, then month 2's wages are paid at the end of month 3 etc.

Never heard of it that late before. That’s not just a month in arrears but basically two months in arrears for the first day of work!!! Most common arrangement is if you do work in August you get paid end of month or at least a defined working day in the first week of September.

Those saying it’s standard- it really isn’t!! That used to be the case for weekly pay, but not monthly since HMRC went real time. Can you imagine the UC mess?!
I am paid in the last working day of the month for that month. So is everyone I know. This is not normal OP.

Most people are who are monthly paid work that month and get paid that month.
I get paid mid month, 2 weeks in arrears, 2 weeks in advance.

I think getting paid 2 month in arrears is very unusual.

My second job is zero hours. All the hours I work in a calendar month is paid the following month. However, our payday is 15th of the month. So if I work on 1 July, I would get paid for that on 15 August.

So many people are saying it's not common because it's not common

What do you mean by a class thing. Look at the biggest employers in the country, the NHS, the government, all the huge retailers none of them pay like that. It can't possibly be very common.

Can you give some examples of where you think this is going on in any measurable sector?

Utterly normal

Do they provide access to wage stream? Then he can draw down some earnings to cover travel

My son had this.

he got a job at a leisure centre on Saturdays.

no pay the first month as he hadn’t been put in payroll
no pay the second month as apparently some of his paperwork was wrong.

no pay the third month and then he quit and I had to threaten to take them to court before they actually paid him.

can’t imagine why they had trouble getting staff.

I have a second job where I will get paid in July for hours I worked in May. @cyvguhb , it's in the higher education sector

Surely he needs to start work just before the cut off point? If he starts on 13th July and cut off is 14th. He will be paid on pay day for 2.5 weeks.

Monthly pay in arrears is the norm. Unless he has a tax code he might have emergency tax deducted as well which he will get refunded if his wages don't exceed the annual allowance. Some employers will make a small advance to cover travel and subsistence costs which is then deducted from first pay check.