Not been paid

I'm not being a drama queen, but I haven't been paid yet for November. My rent is due tomorrow, I have about 80 euro in my account as I moved into a new flat a month ago and paid deposit + rent. What on earth am I going to do? I need to pay my rent! Not to mention eat, pay for my bus fare. I can forget all about Christmas presents now. Nobody has been paid as far as I know. Some people are talking about refusing to go in until they get paid - is that reasonable? I'm really desperate.

feylya

You could talk to your boss/finance department and ask what's happening

We don't really have a finance department. It's a small school. Nobody has been paid including my boss, as far as I know, and the woman in charge of everything is never around.

John Mason

err...i would be seriously finding out why you havent been paid and i would be refusing to go in to work until i was paid or had an explanation as to why i hadnt been paid

Eoin

Also, either talk to your landlord and explain the situation, or try ringing your bank and asking for an overdraft - even if it's a short term one.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

pink fluffy bunny wrote: »

err...i would be seriously finding out why you havent been paid and i would be refusing to go in to work until i was paid or had an explanation as to why i hadnt been paid

Take this advice and find yourself with no job

Do continue to work, you will get it even if it does take a while. Longest time I went without pay was 3 months... People do mess up you know.

The rent comes out of my (new) flatmate's bank account so it's really awkward. I'll text him now and see if there's anything he can do. I know people mess up but this is awful - it's not a matter of not being able to go drinking. I can't pay my rent and I can barely afford lunch today. I doubt my employers would be so understanding if I 'messed up' and just didn't show up for a few days.

Eoin

Well, either you or your flatmate may be able to extend the overdraft briefly - it would be in place for tomorrow if you ring today. Hope you get sorted out.

seamus

You're entitled to be paid. Ask your boss what the story is. If they would normally pay by electronic transfer and it takes a few days, then tell them that's not good enough and you want at least a quarter of your pay in cash to deal with immediate issues.

If it's a small school, I'm guessing that it's not an issue of funding and just "the woman in charge" being lazy/incompetent. If your boss hasn't been paid, I'm sure he's stressing about his mortgage payments at this point.

I'm surprised though that you can barely afford lunch if you've €80 in your account. Where are you eating?

The only issue with an overdraft is that you will pay charges on it.

kayos

Ahhh do teachers not get paid by the department of education?

AARRRGH

[quote=[Deleted User];58125164]The rent comes out of my (new) flatmate's bank account so it's really awkward. I'll text him now and see if there's anything he can do. I know people mess up but this is awful - it's not a matter of not being able to go drinking. I can't pay my rent and I can barely afford lunch today. I doubt my employers would be so understanding if I 'messed up' and just didn't show up for a few days.[/QUOTE]

You need to pay your rent. Get a loan off your family or use your credit card. There are no excuses for not paying your rent. I have been in your flatmate's position numerous times and it's really frustrating.

Ring the owner/head of the school today. Don't wait for your boss to do it, or for the problem to get solved, you need to act on it immediately.

grahamo

You are legally entitled to be paid on time and in full. Not being paid on time can be regarded as an illegal deduction of wages. (See NERA website). Why should you have to go looking for overdrafts etc. to pay your bills? Your employer should be ashamed of himself.

cmcsoft

It's really a delicate situation you are in. Try talking to your employer, don't make any rash decisions without talking to them. Get a credit card to short out your short term finance problems, usually you'll get one interest free for 6 months so the minute you get paid you can pay it off and it'll cost you nothing.

Hope it works out for you

My boss is even worse off than me, she has 2 kids to feed. I don't have a credit card, I was declined when I applied for one apparently because I haven't really had a steady job for long/wasn't with the bank long or some other stupid reason (I've been living in other countries on and off for the last 4-5 years).

I have obviously tried to talk to the manager of the school but she's overseas at the moment and not answering phone calls! :eek: Everyone is in the same boat and apparently the only option left is legal action. There is talk that the employer may not have the money to pay us and is trying to stall. It's appalling. I'll be handing in my notice as soon as I do get paid.

Mrs OBumble

grahamo wrote: »

You are legally entitled to be paid on time and in full. Not being paid on time can be regarded as an illegal deduction of wages. (See NERA website). Why should you have to go looking for overdrafts etc. to pay your bills? Your employer should be ashamed of himself.

Legally true, but not helpful in the situation.

I don't know if they can help or not, but you could try visiting the Welfare Office, explain the situation and ask if there is any way that they can help you. Don't name any specific beneifts (if you do, they just answer questions about that benefit) - just ask in general.

I'm guessing that you school is a small private operation, perhaps a language school. If they are going under, then the sooner you find out about this and either sign on or find another job the better. It may be worth your while to "risk" your job and insist on finding out.

This may hurt your pride, but is there a family member or friend who can help you out short-term? I'd hate to do this myself, but it's better than getting evicted: maintaining somewhere to live is crucial to getting this sorted out.

I don't know if MABS can give advice in this sort of situation, or whether they're about people in long-term financial difficulty only.

Best of luck.

AARRRGH

[quote=[Deleted User];58134774]I'll be handing in my notice as soon as I do get paid.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I can understand that alright!

The best thing to do in the meantime is to look for a new job. Note December is always a very slow month for recruitment (and it's doubly worse due to the recession) but you may as well start now.

Best of luck.

seamus

Izzy, in these times I wouldn't hand in your notice until you're set up in a new position, regardless of what the existing place is like. Getting paid late is better than not getting anything at all.

There has to be someone above the school manager - a sponsor or a CEO or something. It's time to talk to them. If necessary, get everyone together and decide that if you're not paid by X date (I would say tomorrow), then you're all refusing to come to work. That should get the attention of whoever's at the top. If they're not listening, then follow through on your threat.

See if you can arrange to move all of your standing orders and things like your rent until the second week in any month. Everything in my account comes out in the first week, but that's only because I know for a fact that I will be paid before that. I could pay myself if I had to . If I worked in a smaller or less organised company, I would leave all outgoing payments until mid-month to allow for screw-ups like this.

Still leaves you in a ****ty position with your rent now though. If I was your flatmate, I would be suspicious, but I'd give you the benefit of the doubt. So long as you pay your rent on time for the next 6 months, you should be OK.

John Mason

you dont say what kind of school.

if it is a regular school or a playgroup etc. attached to the school you need to go to the chairman of the Board of Management, as they employ rather then the school