Didnt get paid.

DirtyBollox

Hope this is the right place. So today in work I have just arrived in and read an email saying that my employer's bank had a screw up last night and noone on the company's payroll got paid. They said they are working on it and if anyone needs a 1 day salary advance to contact HR. As my bank account is empty and I have various direct debits and standing orders to be paid out I am going to get charged for non payment of said DD's and SO's.

What I was wondering was are my employer's responsible for covering the charges incurred on my bank account for failing to pay me?

Just want to find out if they have any obligation before i go to HR demanding it.

Thanks in advance.

coylemj

If you are a customer in good standing with the bank it's unlikely they will bounce the DDs and they will probably stall the SOs themselves but it's no harm to phone and explain the situation.

You really shouldn't have those happening bang on your pay day, you should allow for the odd screw-up by your own employer's payroll or the bank.

I doubt if you have any legal case against the employer for the consequences to you of being paid a day late and even if you do, I'd hold off until the dust settles before exploring it, I'd say HR are under enough pressure as it is right now.

aacs

You should talk with your bank to take your situation which is ofcoarse created by them into account before rejecting any payment advice coming before them against your account. Since it is their own fault they will consider it leniently otherwise they will open gates for legal action against them.

seamus

DirtyBollox wrote: »

What I was wondering was are my employer's responsible for covering the charges incurred on my bank account for failing to pay me?

None, really. Although being paid is part of the chain, the responsibility is on you to ensure that the funds are available to have these paid. The debts are not your employer's obligation, therefore your employer cannot be held liable for non-payment of such.

Now, I'm sure someone could develop a line of reasoning whereby the situation is out of your control, therefore there may be partial liability on your employer's part. But ultimately it would come down to who is responsible for the debt. And that's you. Responsibility for managing your money is yours, and it could be argued that such management should include contingencies where money may not be made available to you on the promised date.

Since you have been made aware that you will not be/have not been paid, it is now entirely your responsibility to make alternative arrangements for payment of your debts.

If you think of it in simpler terms; Company A owes money to Company B, and Company C owes money to Company A. Co. B says that they must be paid on Wednesday or there will a 10% penalty. Co. C promises to pay on Tuesday, so Co. A runs with that. Co. C fails to pay on Tuesday and Co. B levies a penalty when they don't get paid on Wednesday.

Co. C cannot be held liable for Co. A's additional debt. Because there is no dunning/penalty agreement between A & C, A also cannot charge a 10% penalty on C for failing to pay.

Now, all of the above said, the first thing you do is ask them anyway. You're always better off asking the question before even thinking about going down the legal route. The company may have even set a certain amount of money aside in this instance to cover any charges employees had as a result of their mess-up.

Victor

DirtyBollox wrote: »

They said they are working on it and if anyone needs a 1 day salary advance to contact HR.

How about a 1 week / month advance?

Are you certain the employer isn't about to go under?

Zambia

I think a lot of people would do what the OP does and pay all DD s before anything else.

DirtyBollox

Thanks for the replies folks. they eventually sorted it out, apparently they had to put through everyone's wages 1-by-1 so it just took a while. i think everything is fine now.

BrianD

Good to hear. My experience of the bank "screwed up" is that there's no money in the bank to pay the wages. Usually, this is pretty obvious if you're in a small business but still people protest and expect the money to come out of nowhere.

DirtyBollox

BrianD wrote: »

Good to hear. My experience of the bank "screwed up" is that there's no money in the bank to pay the wages. Usually, this is pretty obvious if you're in a small business but still people protest and expect the money to come out of nowhere.

well rumours are flying but there was no mention of no money in the bank. the main one at the moment is that the 1 woman who sorts the payroll for the entire company 3000-4000 is currently at home with 2 broken legs.

i dont really care as long as i get paid i'm happy.