Not getting paid on time, not going to be able to pay my mortgage as a result

[AskingForAnEnemy]

I left my job in mid December. My ex employer always paid us on the first of the month, regardless of what day this landed on as he done in via bank transfer from his account to ours.

With the 1st of Jan being new years day I messaged him to see if we were getting paid on the 1st or would wage go in earlier. He has now informed us that his accountant is on holiday and as a result we will have to wait til the 2nd to find out about wages, meaning it could be any time after that we get paid.

My mortgage is due on the 2nd and I'm around £100 short for the payment as i was relying on being paid on time.

Has my employer broke the law or is this just "tough and it's my own fault for not having the right amount left "just incase" ???

I don’t think any las have been broken. If you usually get paid on 1st or nearest business day then this is all that’s happening.

I would have thought that if he’s paying you via bank transfer on 2nd and your mortgage comes out on 2nd you’ll be fine.

You can change the payment date on your mortgage, but I'm not sure whether they'd be able to do it at such short notice.

If I were you I'd phone the bank and explain, as you might be able to avoid bank charges.

I've changed my mortgage date before in the past but they could only change it for the following month if you know what I mean?

The thing is even if I get paid on the second he doesn't usually transfer the money til around 11am, my mortgage usually goes out early in the morning.

It's ok I am going to see if I can transfer money from a credit card into my current account

Your employer hasn't broken the law. However, you may have a case for breach of contract or even constructive dismissal. Having said that, taking your employer to court over this would almost certainly mean the end of your employment. Assuming you want to keep your job, a better approach would be to highlight to your employer the stress this is causing and any costs you have incurred as a result. You may be able to persuade him to compensate you.

I don't work there anymore, I left in mid December, this is my final wage including holiday pay, so I'd have nothing to lose, I already have another job

Maybe call and ask bank for an overdraft extension. I think planned is cheaper normally than unexpected overdraft or mortgage payment bouncing.

I don’t think banks are open on the 2nd, are they? Therefore I don’t think your DD will come out that day.

Edit..... I’m in scotland, just realised this may not be the case in the rest of the U.K.

Call your mortgage provider, they should change the DD date.

Was it always the plan for them to pay it on the 2nd due to the bank hol? Or is that just because the accountant is off? If it’s a sudden change in pay date most large companies offer to cover any bank charges you incur. I don’t know if they legally have to though or if it’s more of a good will gesture.

This wouldn't worry me. If the DD doesn't go the bank will charge you a tenner or something and the mortgage company will write to you and say they are going to try again on X date.

It will go down on your credit report as a missed payment Snowman which is not great.

Have you spoken to the mortgage company and explained the situation?

No I've managed to borrow some money so the payment should go out as planned. But I'm just really annoyed at my ex employer for putting me in this position, if I hadn't thought to message him then I wouldn't have even known. Can't say it's surprised me though, he cut my hours by half and threatened to sack me if I complained. I didn't have a contract to protect me so I left

I didn't have a contract to protect me so I left

Yes you did. If there was no written contract, your contract consisted of the terms in your offer letter, the terms in your particulars of employment (which should have been given to you before or shortly after you started), any letters varying your terms (e.g. giving you a pay rise), etc. If you were there for 2 years or more he could not have simply sacked you. He might have been able to make you redundant and pay you redundancy pay. But if he simply sacked you for refusing to reduce your hours you may have been able to take action for unfair dismissal.

I had no letter of job offer, no statement of particulars, nothing (I was there almost 4 month before leaving) other than pay slips I had not one piece of paper off him for any reason. Was not offered workplace pension either. Doesn't matter now, I'm working for a much better company now, but still not been paid my December wages!

Sounds like he has no regard for employment law. As you were only there for 4 months you didn't have any protection against unfair dismissal. But he should have given you your employment particulars within 2 months of you starting work.

When he asked about hours I told him that as long as I get 7 hours a day (35 a week) that id be happy. So he put me on 3-10 shifts, great, I told him I was happy with that as it's 7 hours, he said nothing, 3 weeks into my employment I found out I was only getting 6.5 pay as my breaks were unpaid, he never once told me that info, had I known I would have worked 2:30 til 10 !!