Payday pay time

marcm89

Hello everyone first time post.

This may seem a silly question but it is getting me into a little difficulty.

Once you hit a payday is there a latest time your employer can pay you from a legal standpoint?
Every employer i have ever worked for has always had my pay in overnight or 1st thing in the morning on the correct day of pay as set out by my terms of contract.
My current employer is really random with the payment times be it late into the day (ie 9pm/10pm) or a day or 2 late.

I have the understanding it should be in by latest the end of your contracted working day but not 100% sure if i am correct? (i am in the UK if that helps)
I have done my own research but it seems a really grey area and i cant seem to get a definitive answer.

If anyone has any inside knowledge or links to anything useful it would be highly appreciated.

Comms69

The issue you have is that there is nothing you can do about it realistically.


Any action you would like to take would take weeks

Undervalued

marcm89 wrote: »

Hello everyone first time post.

This may seem a silly question but it is getting me into a little difficulty.

Once you hit a payday is there a latest time your employer can pay you from a legal standpoint?
Every employer i have ever worked for has always had my pay in overnight or 1st thing in the morning on the correct day of pay as set out by my terms of contract.
My current employer is really random with the payment times be it late into the day (ie 9pm/10pm) or a day or 2 late.

I have the understanding it should be in by latest the end of your contracted working day but not 100% sure if i am correct? (i am in the UK if that helps)
I have done my own research but it seems a really grey area and i cant seem to get a definitive answer.

If anyone has any inside knowledge or links to anything useful it would be highly appreciated.

If your contract specifies a hard and fast pay date then they should pay by 23.59 on that day. I have never seen a time of day specified in an employment contract but, in the unlikely event there is, then obviously they should stick to it. I am not aware of any requirement for it to be by, say, 5 o'clock if that is you finishing time.

In theory if they are late they are in breach of contract and you could claim against them for any unavoidable losses this causes (which you have a duty to minimise as far as reasonable possible).

Whether that is wise or practical unless the problem is extreme is another matter!

Les79

Agree with the above.


Also, I think in *some* jobs being paid late is pretty much expected; maybe smaller companies who rely on weekly cashflow to pay wages (so you only get paid when there's money in the till). In those circumstances it MAY be breach of contract (depends what it says!), but you'd be fighting a raging fire with a wooden stick if you were to escalate.


In others it could be a potential red flag for future problems. You may be better considering whether the job could go south and seek alternative employment ("Jump ship").


But I'm speculating. Remember, though, it is always a good idea to figure out WHY you are being paid late (being paid at different times of the day isn't an issue unless the contract SPECIFICALLY States it). That leads to "bigger picture" solutions.

Fireflyaway

Most contracts will just state the day, so as long as it is in that day I don't think you can do much about the timing.
You mention being paid a day late. That's a breach of contract if a particular pay date is stipulated in your contract.
Speak to work and explain that being paid late may incur you costs.
If it happens a lot could it be the company is in trouble?

[Deleted User]

You can be paid anytime - the old fuddy duddy advice there is a specific time is just an old wives tale.

Yes of course if you have the same bank as your employer that might help all the better.

But since being told in 2014 by a company that would become a household name that payment happens when the accounts staff wanted to press the button I believe that. It was the same in a depot when the woman doing accounts went into labour. Just unfortunate.

The worst had to be when I left a company when payday was said to be the 31st but apparently changed to the 3rd when not present - very, very little I could do about it. I wouldn't like to share the email I received that called me rude as I think the politest term I could give it, for enquiringly as to where my wages was so very good luck! (I did get wages on the 3rd but it was for the grace of someone not wanting to be ashamed and still quite scary)