HR/Payroll/Employment Law type query!

[Harry'sMom07]

I dno't know if anyone can help me, but we're a diverse bunch here so I thought I'd ask!...

At my place of work we are paid monthly. This used to be by BACS, to arrive in our account on the last working day of the month.

A few months ago, our employer began paying us by cheque - we had to physically pay it in a few days before the last working day, so the money would be cleared in time.

In January, we were informed that we would now be receiving our cheques ON the last working day of the month, meaning the money won't clear until a few days later, depending on banks.

Obviously, this is a tad inconvenient at the best of times, but even more so this month: we receive a cheque on Wednesday 31st March, pay it in that day if we can get out to the bank, then it starts clearing on Thursday. Of course, we then have Good Friday, Sat, Sun and Easter Monday for the cheques to be sitting in the bank doing nowt and we don't get any money until at least the following Wednesday or Thursday at a guess?

(Still with me?!) Does anyone know if this is legal? My contract states that payment will be made "by credit transfer on the last working day of the month" ( I think - I don't have it to hand).

We are sick of being messed around. We've all had to change direct debit dates etc, only to find that with the bank holidays we may not have money to pay them!

Thanks for reading - hope I haven't bored you to sleep!!

 

[sugar_lipswales]

You'd need to check the gov website Website of the UK government : Directgov

 

[chrispy82]

Jeez, that's terrible. I've no idea if it's legal but it's definately unethical. I don't mean to scare anyone here, I'm ever the pessimist but if the company I worked for started messing round like that in the current economic climate I'd be worried about my job not just getting paid! XXX

 

[snuggle69]

Firstly check your contract, if it does state that you will be paid by credit transfer on the last day of the month then they have broken the terms of your contract, if they wish to change contracts they have to consult with you....well legally they should anyway! But unfortunatly that doesnt mean they cant do it! I dont understand why they have changed to cheques as it is a more expensive method, although if they have cash flow issues it does keep the money in their account a little longer.

 

[Harry'sMom07]

Firstly check your contract, if it does state that you will be paid by credit transfer on the last day of the month then they have broken the terms of your contract, if they wish to change contracts they have to consult with you....well legally they should anyway! But unfortunatly that doesnt mean they cant do it! I dont understand why they have changed to cheques as it is a more expensive method, although if they have cash flow issues it does keep the money in their account a little longer.

Yes, it is to do with cash flow, which was all explained to us when our employer told us of the changes. Basically, I work in a private day nursery and parents are supposed to pay in advance on the first of the month. However, several don't and the owner has been having issues with not having enough money in the account by the right date to pay all of the staff by BACS...

 

[*EB*]

As previously mentioned, check your contract -if it states by BACS/Elec pay method by last wking day, then they will be in breach of contract.

Do you know if this is a permanent change? if so, it will need to be a variation of your terms and conditions of employment, and these should be communicated to you with 30 days notice of any change.

Consultation should happen as well, to enable you to voice your opinion, however for smaller companies I am not sure this is a legal requirement. I am also assuming there is no union involved, as they can sometimes help in matters concerning pay.

If you need any more advice I would suggest contacting ACAS.

xxxx

 

[yohanna]

hiya we are going through the same kinda thing in work with changes of terms and conditions to our contract firstly they have to write a letter to you stating the terms of your contract are going to change they then can give you a months notice on doing this they shouldnt be able to do this without giving you notice first but check with your local citizens advice beurau ( soz cant spell just done night shift) or with your union rep ( thats if u have one) with my terms and condition they r lowering the shift times and we r losing 250+ a month because of this term and conditions were told to us that they were changing and it wasnt until we spoke to the union that we realised they couldnt just change it with our contracts they had to give 1 weeks notice for every year we had been there so we had 3 months notice to get used to the change of hours i hope this helps

 

[Harry'sMom07]

The thing is, our contract says 'by credit transfer' - I assume this does not necessarily mean by BACS or electronic transfer only? Also, we did have some notice (I think probably just under a month?) notice and it was discussed with us beforehand (although it didn't make a difference as her mind was made up!)

I think what I need to know is where we stand when it states in the contract "made by credit transfer on the last working day of the month". Does this mean we should receive the money cleared in our account by then, or does physically handing us a cheque on this day mean the 'credit' has 'transferred'?

 

[snuggle69]

I am pretty certain that credit transfer is a direct payment into your bank. I would ask the bank they will explain it