Being paid 3 weeks in arrears - surely this isn't legal?

[Whenlifegiveslemons]

I recently started a new job & the payroll cut off is 8th/9th of the month - one week after I started. Which means, I worked a month and got paid a week. I didn't know this until I got paid 2 days ago, wasn't advised prior and isnt stated in contract.

Payroll have said that the run is 8th - 8th/9th of each month & have confirmed when asked, that yes I am always going to be paid 3 weeks in arrears, until I leave.

Surely this cant be legal?! Can anyone give advise on this?

I started on the 1st September and was paid on the 28th so 4 weeks after starting. I had moved jobs so wasn’t too bad but my previous job paid on the 20th so I went from the 20th August until the 28th September.

My first job after uni I started in the 1st Sep and was paid the 31st of whatever the last working day of the month was.

It seems usual that you get paid a month in arrears.

My precious job was slightly odd in that when I first started on the 1st of the month I did get paid on the 20th for a full that full month so 3 weeks almost in arrears and a week in advance. But that is very unusual

Edited to add that I also get mileage for travel. But we have to claim at the end of a month for that to be paid the following month in the salary. So September’s pay has no mileage and October’s pay included September’s mileage. Some months I’m up to £200 in mileage so that was a long wait as well.

Pretty standard tbh

I think that’s ridiculous tbh. A payroll cut off a week before payday is sensible. 3 weeks is taking the piss (even if it is common).

Op you are misunderstanding.

if you started on 1st June and payroll cut off was 2nd June with payment made on 30th June then in the first month you would receive one days pay on 30th June. But then the payment you receive on 30th July covers your work from 2nd June through to 1st July inclusive. And so on.

if you then left on 10th December you would get a one month payment on 30th December covering your work from 2nd November up to 1st December and then a further payment on 30th January covering the period from 2nd December to 10th December (your leaving date).

To do it any other way would mean having individual payroll dates for each employee depending on what day of the month they started.

I think you've got it right here @user927464 . Most people, especially in the public sector are paid a month in arrears, though I did once work for an LA that paid on the 15th 2 weeks in arrears and 2 in advance. Which seems fairer in some ways but is unusual and that was about 20 years ago so probably not the case anymore.

It might take an extra month to get the tax ironed out but by month 3 OP should be in the same position as anyone else

Eh? If you’re paid a month in arrears, which most people are, you’re paid at the end of the month, for the month you’ve worked, not the previous month. So if you start on the 1st June you get a full months pay at the end of June. Your 30th July salary is for 1st to 30th July, not June.

Well no, it depends on when payroll cut off is.

I work in this area. The payroll cut off date will be at least a week before pay date (generally more - typically you would expect it to be about 15th for a pay date at the end of the month).

The vast majority of employers pay in arrears. You get paid for the work you have already done as of payroll cut off date. The following month you get the next chunk.

This is completely normal.

All wages are paid in arrears, this sounds like they are paying a month in hand - withholding the first months pay - which is very old fashioned and ive only come across this in companies that tend to make unlawful deductions from wages when the person leaves or threaten to withhold it if notice not served etc.

The issue cant be due to payroll cut off as you have received pay, so they were able to add you on as a new starter.

Afaik its not unlawful if its clear in the contract, however not paying you NMW at least for the hours you have worked would be unlawful iirc.

It is correct that there are all sorts of different ways of doing it. The closer the company can get to having a payroll cut off date near to the actual pay date the better for the employee. But in cases where they outsource payroll for example it is more likely that you'll have a delay/lag like this. Companies are understandably reluctant to pay an employee money which they have not yet earned and they commit to the payment at the payroll cut off date.

The contract will set out how it's done though.

I think this is very normal, just sounds more strange because of the mid month date. If I started my job on the 1st and pay day is the last working day of the month, with the pay period being 1-30th, by the time I get paid I’d be 4 weeks in arrears.

It’s very common. At the end of November all employees were paid for work done 8th October to 8th November.
you had only done a week in that period which is a bummer but it’s not wrong.
At the end of December you’ll get pay for 8th November to 8th December.
if you leave on 1st January you’ll still get paid at the end of January for 8th December to 8th January so you get the three whole weeks even though you didn’t work at all in January.

That’s not what is happening though. OP is saying everyone is paid at the end of the month for work done during the previous, not current month. So end of November they are paid for work done in October. So two months in arrears. Which isn’t normal whatever others think.

Normal in my experience. Just a particularly early cut off.

Ours is the 15th

Eh? That's what I'm saying, sorry if I've been less than clear.

Anyway, OP needs to clarify with Payroll.

I work in local authority. I started on the 1st of October, cut off is 15th, pay day is last day of the month. So on the 31st of October I was paid two weeks wage and then on the 30th November I was paid a full month.
is that what’s happened to you except it was only one week due to your company having a earlier cut off date?
if yes that’s completely normal and has been the case in every job I’ve had.

Completely normal. We have a mid-month cut off date, and I have to ensure that my team's roster is up to date and signed off by then for payroll. I can arrange for a one-off payment in cases like yours - speak to your manager or your pay dept and see if there's anything they can do for you.

OP is saying end of November they’re paid for October….

No Op is saying that at the end of November they are paid up to 9th November.

It is an early payroll cut off date but its the way most companies operate.

Ah ok, sorry. My misunderstanding as that wasn’t how I read it.

That wasn’t how you read it because it isn’t how OP said it.

OP’s end of November payroll covers all work up to the 9th November, because that’s the payroll cut off. It’s quite an early one, but not exceptionally so.