My colleague came to me in tears and asked to borrow 3k

[Motheroffive999]

She will lose her home and has 3 weeks to find it.
I didn't know what to say , I don't have that amount of money , I have some savings but not that much , and I may need it.
Today she asked for 1k which of course I still do not have at my disposal, but could get it in a few days.
I am torn , I don't want to be unkind but she has bought things recently , lots of small things , things that I do not have the spare money to buy.
What can I do ?

I would not tell anyone unless she starts harassing you. A firm No, I don’t have money to spare and would not feel comfortable lending to a colleague even if I did. That’s what is needed from you.

If she’s that new I think telling your boss about it is sensible.

edit to add: And while she might be lovely in some ways, buying stuff (that you can’t afford) and then making an emotional plea to you, twice, for a huge amount of money, is not lovely.

Only lend what you’re prepared to lose.
There’s a reason she doesn’t have access to any other lines of credit. You just have to ponder why that might be.

Saying no to someone isn’t unkind.

Don’t lend the money. It will change your relationship forever and it won’t help your colleague fix things.

I lent money to a friend. Not a colleague, an actual friend. Then she moved to South Africa without telling me and I'll never see it again.

It's never worth doing.

do not lend this money. However, if you work for a small or medium sized company, she’s worked there for a good amount of time and she’s a valued employee, she could consider asking her employer for a loan. She would be able to pay it back through payroll deductions or as normal repayments. As a small company director I’ve loaned about the same amount to an employee before when they were moving house and in a tight fix - it wouldn’t have been good for productivity if he had been homeless, and the worry was already getting him down.

You absolutely should not lend this person money. She simply isnt your responsibility and she's got a bit of a cheek asking IMHO.

Only give what you can afford to lose, which appears to be nothing.

Because the likelihood of her paying you back is slim.

Say no, but advise her she could speak to the employer about a potential advance in salary

And people in this situation typically ditch the person who’s lent them money, so it’s not as if you’re investing in a valuable relationship.

But the bottom line is simply- you’re not a bank!

Agree. It doesn’t matter if the op says loan firmly it won’t help.

Op don’t do it, your colleague needs to look at other avenues for help.

Yes agree.

Does your employer have a HR policy covering this? Mine does - we are not allowed to loan money to colleagues and if we are in debt we must let work know as there is the risk of being tempted to use work funds to solve issues.

If there is no policy I would tell her to ask work for an advance of salary as you do not have £1k at your disposal.

I have lent a colleague several thousand in the past but I’d known him longer than 5mths and he was a friend as well as a colleague. I still shouldn’t have done it though in hindsight. I’d have had no recourse if he hadn’t paid me, especially as it was against my employer’s rules.

Another No from me, a relative borrowed some money from me, it was several years before they paid it back, despite having lavish holidays each year.

I would tell your boss that she’s pressuring people to lend her a large amount of money, yes, because that is inappropriate conduct in the workplace

Don't do this, because it's not true. The colleague is pressuring the OP. not "people".

I lent £500 to a « friend » in 2004 and I never saw the money again. Op, do NOT lend her money. Tell her to try an unsecured loan or something else but definitely not your money

I think her being new is a red flag. She could leave tomorrow or be fired and you’d never see your money again.

Do not lend a penny.

Encourage her to speak to HR or her boss. Advances of salary, foregoing a week of holiday in lieu of payment, linking her to debt advice, all are options.

I wonder if there is more to this debt than is made out.

Nothing to be torn about. Just say no, I can’t help.

you will never see a penny of this again if you do.

Don’t get involved. I know it’s difficult for her.
But if you can’t afford to, and it sounds like you can’t, then don’t.

She should go to citizens advice or work out a deal with the bank.

It's not your place to do that.

Just tell her that you're not in a position to lend her any money.

It’s a no from me. You won’t get it back.

This is really inappropriate of her especially if you’ve only known her 5 months. I’d report it in case she is asking others.

I would mention it to your boss.

Never lend money. If she cant find that money herself then your never getting it back. I always make it a rule to never lend money. Im happy to help someone by buying them what they need, but I dont ask for it back and I keep it low but will never lend someone large amounts of money. Lending someone money is creating them with more debt, they are obviously already living out of their means and swimming in debt if they are trying to find a quick way out of it. Simply say your sorry for the situation she has gotten herself in but you cant help her. Someone else's emergency is not your emergency.