Not been paid

[Mmmcheese89]

I work in the public sector and my pay slip is released a few days before I am actually paid.

This month I noticed my overtime payment due had not been processed, equivalent to more than 10% of my expected wage. I'm on a low grade so not well paid and this 10% is going to severely effect my budget for the month. (I'm currently buying my first house).

Managers who got it wrong don't care. Payroll don't care. Financially I don't know what to do. These are the options as I seem them.

1)pull out of my house purchase that I've already sunk lots of money into because I won't be able to pay needed fees for another month.

2. take out personal credit which could risk my mortgage and cause the whole house purchase to fall through anyway.

3. sell my late mother's jewelry, the only thing I have left of her.

I feel my employer has backed me into a financial corner. I'm not in a union and now can't afford one to get help because they've not paid me.

I don't know if I'm asking for advice on how to make extra money fast or how to make my employer fulfill their contractual responsibilities. I'm just so defeated and lost. I've never felt so disrespected and scummy and insignificant as a human with this work as I do now.

Sorry it's a long one.

Could you pawn the jewellery, any friend or family that could give you a short term loan - signed and witnessed?

I don't have any family. I don't feel comfortable borrowing from friends, I don't have many and don't want to put strain on those relationships.

I don't think I'd get enough from pawning. I need to sell on hold weight.

*gold weight

Anything you could sell on Facebook marketplace that you might want to sell for the move anyway?

Virtually everything I own is from charity shops. The jewelry is the only thing I own worth anything that wouldn't be working against myself (ie selling white goods, the bicycle i use to get to work).

I think I just have to accept I'll lose the house I'm buying and probably find a job where I count as a person.

It’s so annoying when that happens. Even a union rep couldn’t do anything as once the payroll has gone through that’s that.

Are they definitely paying you next month, as in theyve not lost it or something have they? Your line managers signed it off ok and it’s gone up to them ok? You want to make sure you’ll get it next month.

Do you have a credit card? I’d honestly use it if I had to. With a view to paying it off in full next month. I wouldn’t withdraw cash with it though as that can mess up your credit. But you could pay for the shopping or bus pass or whatever with it just this once.

Can you work from home for a couple of weeks to save money on commuting and lunch etc?

You can add the cost of your mortgage product onto your mortgage. Long term it’s not a good thing to do but sometimes you do what you need to do to get a house.

Do you have other things to pawn, tv, games console, heirlooms, etc as well as the gold?

I'd speak to HR. If they haven't processed your pay they can process it on an emergency payment run. There are ways around it if you need the money and you are owed it.

When you say public sector do you mean civil service? If so have you tried getting help from here foryoubyyou.org.uk/

They have everything, they always did. I am scared to put things on credit card in case they don't pay it again. I'd then not be able to pay it off. It's not the first time this has happened. It's just that this is such a pivotal moment in my house buying.

I have to go in to be able to do my job. I already take 'packed lunch', walk or cycle in. My TV isn't worth anything (tiny, from a charity shop, not even hd).

Sorry. I know I sound petulant.

I honestly have put years into getting to this point by having nothing new, making do or making do without. I have nothing. It's my dream house I'm buying. Just a little terrace but mine. I just feel so hurt that a workplace I loved has now shown how they feel about me.

I work for the NHS and try run a supplementary payment to rectify any omissions, are you sure that your employer does not do this? Can you speak to a payroll manager to explain that this mistake may cost you your house purchase? It’s bloody awful

If by public sector you mean NHS then they absolutely can do something about it. Are you sure you’ve got the cut off dates correct for the month though. I’m not entirely sure if the dates but your only get paid end of May for overtime done up until mid May if that makes sense

Is speaking to the bank about a temp overdraft an option? So sorry this is happening

Don't catastrophise. Deep breaths.

I would focus on getting your employer to sort it out as a priority.

Second, see if you can delay paying the fees.

Pulling out of the purchase or selling jewellery are far too extreme and that's your panic talking. Don't make any decisions in the heat of the moment or you might live to regret them.

Unfortunately I don't count as civil service.

I am NHS. The over time is from April. HR just tell me to speak to payroll. Payroll tell me they won't make payment sooner than end of next month without authorization from my dept. hr manager, who got it wrong, and he says payroll won't issue a payment. I'm trapped going round. They earn more than double in basic salary than me so just don't care. I've emailed the head of my trust directly but got no response.

Do everything you can not to loose the house - try and pawn the jewellery if you can, but if that really doesn’t raise enough, I am pretty sure your mum would want to have the house.

HOWEVER before you do any of that - go see HR put your case, if that doesn’t work sit there and cry, a lot, if you work for the NHS they can absolutely Put an emergency payment through. If crying doesn’t work then make a fuss.

Failing that, I wasn’t totally sure why taking a cc out would affect your mortgage if already agreed? Double check that with money saving expert of something

Failing that is there a friend you can borrow from? I know you don’t want to but desperate times etc.

I've booked tomorrow off as annual leave. I think I'll contact cab and acas. Maybe 3rd party involvement might scare them into doing something.

@Mmmcheese89

I am NHS. The over time is from April. HR just tell me to speak to payroll. Payroll tell me they won't make payment sooner than end of next month without authorization from my dept. hr manager, who got it wrong, and he says payroll won't issue a payment. I'm trapped going round. They earn more than double in basic salary than me so just don't care. I've emailed the head of my trust directly but got no response.

Ok, so payroll will pay you if your dept HR Oks it - but he won’t ok it?

In that case your problem is your dept HR - so email his boss, or his bosses boss (who is probably the Head of HR), and insist on an appointment to see them if they don’t sort it in a day or two.

Then go round there and don’t move till they do. Make an utter nuisance of yourself.

Oh yes - definitely any 3rd party you can.

You aren’t in a union at all? - or is there one you can join swiftly - they don’t usually mind that.

Just keep at it.

ACAS won’t be able to move in time, you need to get this sorted internally.

Go and sit on your dept manager until this gets sorted.

I'm also NHS and some things are done locally and others centrally and that's often where the confusion lies. Send emails to/ call whoever you can until you find the right person who can sort it.

How much are we talking? I work in the public sector but not NHS and there is always a supplementary pay run to clear up fuck ups.

I used to work in public sector (not NHS) and something similar happened to my team. Payroll didn't want to process an additional run until I went absolutely batshit was very forthright with them (I tried appealling to human sensibilities first re payment of bills and debts owing).

Long way of saying, there will be a process for making an additional payment but you may have to make a complete nuisance of yourself. Can you threaten to file a grievance on the basis that it's causing stress / costing you a house sale? What about your department HR manager's manager (ie go above his head)?

It's a few hundred.

It's dept.hr rep that's screwed up. He's new. I accept errors happen. I just can't accept the not rectifying it. I suspect that, as my missed overtime is part of a bigger error he's made, he's reluctant to let it get rectified in case people realise he's not doing very well.

I've gone to the CEO of my trust and everyone relevant in-between, by email, and gotten ignored.