Messing up payroll - advice?

[cj.23]

OK here is the situation. End of the month payday and for some reason a day late: however on friday, and a payslip comes through with a total payment of £230 for 128 hours work. This is clearly an error - it is about £700 short of the usual figure, after tax and NI. So employee goes to company who say "oh sorry payroll at head office have messed up -- we will pay you out of the ill till it is sorted, so you can pay your rent".

Rent of £640 due 3 days later - but it's a weekend, and the Standing Order has gone through today - so the rent is paid, though all the direct debits bounced (tehyw ere technically diue on Monday too). The money has been taken out of the account leaving it about £400 overdrawn, and the Direct Debits have all bounced leaving about £190 (5 times £38) in bank charges.

Furthemore the household has no money to live on, and is down to a baked spud between three and half a loaf of bread.

The employee considered going to the shop and asking for some money as an advance, but the row between the managers and payroll yesterday has already resulted in disciplinary procedures being brought aginst the payroll people, and the managers have managed to get the money for monday. Still, at the moment that is not helping. Unfortunately the area manager who is hangling it is away.

Another household member has suggested walking in, taking the till, burning down the shop and singing comic songs on the ruins and blood eagling the managers if they resist. Fortunately they are currently distracting themselves elsewhere, so this is not practical till tomorrow at the earliest.

So question, in UK law is the employee entitled to compensation? Does this whole situation with being paid late and then completely wrongly soujnd odd to you? (It definitely happened I was aprty to some of the phone calls yesterdsay, saw the wage slip, and spoke to the managers going ballistic at payroll because they could not just pay the employee out of the safe or till.) Can we get the bank charges back?

Any advice welcome! And to anyone thinking of sending me a fiver, thanks but we will have the money by the time i can get it from paypal! lol
cj x

[Boo]

Can't offer any advice, only commiseration. Last month we were told by HR that we would be paid on Friday although scheduled payday would have been for Monday. No paycheck on Friday and lots of people ended up overdrawn with scheduled payments being taken out. As far as I know the company is under no legal obligation to re-reimburse employees when this happens, although you can appeal to your individual bank and explain the situation asking them to waive the overdraft fees. Some will and some won't.


Sorry to hear about your payday troubles and hopefully your employer wil step up and do the right thing to help out but I wouldn't count on it.


Boo

[balrog666]

Is it possible that your company is going under? (Ha, is it a bank?) If so, you may never get your lost pay.

Can you find another or better job easily in your field? Time to consider it before you are forced into it.

In any case, going into the till and burning down the place is a bad, bad idea.

[cj.23]

Is it possible that your company is going under? (Ha, is it a bank?) If so, you may never get your lost pay.

Can you find another or better job easily in your field? Time to consider it before you are forced into it.

In any case, going into the till and burning down the place is a bad, bad idea.


I was not being serious about the arson, oddly enough!:D It was a reference to Jerome k Jerome's Three Men in a Boat where one of the characters jovially suggests as I recall murdering someone who has annoyed them, along with their entire family, burning down their house and singing comic songs on the ruins. :) This rightly appalls the others, because George has a terrible singing voice, even for comic songs. Or something like that. Besides there are much more efficient ways to legally distress a company if you need to... (My finest was sitting outside my ex-unversity i with a sign "hungry, soon to be be homeless, I only have four postgrad degrees and one undergrad degree from this fine institution - please give generously!" on Open Day. I went home with my unpaid pay and a gift to help me sort things out within 20 minutes.)

I have spent some time negotiating and they have agreed to pay all costs. :) In fact they will also pay some compensation for the distress caused, and as the person concerned has a new job starting in a couple of weeks already, it was resolved amicably enough.

cj x

[balrog666]

I was not being serious about the arson, oddly enough!:D It was a reference to Jerome k Jerome's Three Men in a Boat where one of the characters jovially suggests as I recall murdering someone who has annoyed them, along with their entire family, burning down their house and singing comic songs on the ruins. :) This rightly appalls the others, because George has a terrible singing voice, even for comic songs. Or something like that. Besides there are much more efficient ways to legally distress a company if you need to... (My finest was sitting outside my ex-unversity i with a sign "hungry, soon to be be homeless, I only have four postgrad degrees and one undergrad degree from this fine institution - please give generously!" on Open Day. I went home with my unpaid pay and a gift to help me sort things out within 20 minutes.)

I have spent some time negotiating and they have agreed to pay all costs. :) In fact they will also pay some compensation for the distress caused, and as the person concerned has a new job starting in a couple of weeks already, it was resolved amicably enough.

cj x


You've gotten a wake up call. Don't let it go to waste!

[Edwin]

It's often worth talking to the bank. If you point out the money going into your account a day or so later, and explain what happened, they might be willing to cancel the charges.

[Esperdome]

You've gotten a wake up call. Don't let it go to waste!

I agree. Do whatever it takes to save at least 3 months wages in an emergency fund, 6 months or more if you are a highly paid professional.

[cj.23]

I agree. Do whatever it takes to save at least 3 months wages in an emergency fund, 6 months or more if you are a highly paid professional.


Well my income for the last three months has been £192 total, so sure I can do that.:) My mother usually gives me fifty for my birthday. I'm assuming this normally applies to people who have some personal income though!

cj x

[cj.23]

It's often worth talking to the bank. If you point out the money going into your account a day or so later, and explain what happened, they might be willing to cancel the charges.

Yes, my housemate has done this but the company has agreed to pay them anyway.Money goes in tomorrow - touch wood!

cj x

[Morrigan]

Word of advice: never, ever stay with a company that screws up your pay more than once. One lateness or mistake can be forgiven, but the second time, it's a sign that the boat is sinking and you need to get out of there, fast.

/still never got that one grand my first employer owes me... thank you Canadian bureaucracy for not doing s--t to help except sending out worthless "threatening" letters

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Yes, my housemate has done this but the company has agreed to pay them anyway.Money goes in tomorrow - touch wood!

cj x

Does the company know the bank is waiving the charges? If not, I would suggest they should be told.

Making a claim for a loss that you have not suffered is not generally a good idea.

[learner]

I was not being serious about the arson, oddly enough!:D It was a reference to Jerome k Jerome's Three Men in a Boat where one of the characters jovially suggests as I recall murdering someone who has annoyed them, along with their entire family, burning down their house and singing comic songs on the ruins. :) This rightly appalls the others, because George has a terrible singing voice, even for comic songs. Or something like that. Besides there are much more efficient ways to legally distress a company if you need to... (My finest was sitting outside my ex-unversity i with a sign "hungry, soon to be be homeless, I only have four postgrad degrees and one undergrad degree from this fine institution - please give generously!" on Open Day. I went home with my unpaid pay and a gift to help me sort things out within 20 minutes.)

I have spent some time negotiating and they have agreed to pay all costs. :) In fact they will also pay some compensation for the distress caused, and as the person concerned has a new job starting in a couple of weeks already, it was resolved amicably enough.

cj x
Their annoyance was brought about by the amount of "private no entry" signs on tributaries of the Thames. Very funny book, One of my favorites.

[fuelair]

Their annoyance was brought about by the amount of "private no entry" signs on tributaries of the Thames. Very funny book, One of my favorites.
R. Heinlein and I quite agree with you!!

[a_unique_person]

Direct Debits have all bounced leaving about £190 (5 times £38) in bank charges.The Australian Consumer and Competition Comission has investigate the explosion of "fees and charges" by banks. The charges have nothing at all to do with the cost of processing the bounced debits, and everything to do with charging you as much as they can without actually causing you so much pain you leave the bank. But, hey, they are only thinking of the shareholders.