Starting in May, the hardware startup I work for has been having some money problems. They've deferred payroll a couple times, including the most recent pay period.
A couple days after the last missed payroll, I indicated I would be working from home but not in a full time manner. Since then, everyone else appears to continue going into the office and working full days even though they have not been paid. Am I wrong in my actions?
The most upsetting part for me is that on payday, no one in management mentioned we would not be getting paychecks. It seemed like they figured we wouldn't mind/notice and we would just continue working.
I have updated my resume, but have not sent it out yet. They keep saying money is right around the corner and I'd like for that to be true. So I've basically been waiting that out while keeping my eyes open for opportunities (which are sparse).
Does anyone who has been through this before have any advice? Or how would you have handled it if you could go back and do it again?
EDIT:
Thank you all for your insightful comments.
After hearing how often this thing doesn't turn itself around, I am going to start sending my resume out immediately. I guess I just needed a community kick in the ass to get me going!
It's really important to understand this. If you, as an employee, are not getting paid, then it's a pretty safe bet that no one is getting paid. You are just now finding out what the creditors have been dealing with for months. Missing payroll is deadly fucking serious. Get out now.
Government employee here. Many of us aren't working on the promise of payment - we've already been paid. My salary was already "paid" two years ago. Congress passed a bill, the president signed it, and the DOE gave us the money. Now, if the government shutdown lasts until May, we'll probably be out of that money then I'd stop receiving paychecks. Of course, I hope to have a new job by that point, anyway.
Ignore what geophile says above about being focused on pay. Not getting paid is a big deal and you should work it until it is resolved to your satisfaction. This is business, not charity. You work and are paid for that work. Period.
Go in tomorrow and ask for two things: 1. a summary of all your checks and withholdings since you started, and 2. your last check. If you fail to get either announce you are leaving on paid vacation (assuming you have some banked) and not returning until you receive your check. The no pay stub thing could be a red flag as well - I've heard of several companies who stopped paying taxes to stretch out the cash.
> Find a new job.
Start looking dude. It's time to make a choice for yourself.
I'm generous, so I might give them a week, and certainly Monday, but even if it's not their fault, if they can't get payroll running in a week, it is their problem. What else isn't going to get paid, etc.
Lots of stories about people working without pay start with explainable reasons and end with a huge missing amount.
For others who might be in the same position, it might be worth contacting your payroll processor. Ours, justworks, indicated that we could wire them the money on the invoice processing day and still make payroll. (That will be either Monday or Tuesday, I forget which - we somehow got really lucky; our payroll ACH got pulled right before the shutdown)
Additionally, salaries are usually paid in arrears, which means you already did the work when payday comes so if it does not and you keep on working you're actually going deeper into the red.
I would definitely stop working immediately and start lining up other work. If you can't get them to pay out what they already owe you, get in touch with whatever government agency in the UK handles employee pay issues.
Is it just late or have they given no info as to when you might get paid?
I have been in position of having to wait to get paid (in fact a volunteered to let those with mortgages and kids to support to get paid first)
My suggestions are
1 Make sure you have an up to date CV
2 Start looking for a new job NOW (just in case)
3 Make sure that your boss knows that he owes you one.
4 Use up any leave you have owning (again just in case)
5 Find out if the company owes money to social security
6 Check your pension contributions are as they should be I worked for one company and they had not been paying both their contributions and mine!
Given you seem to be cash short you may have to be brutal and look after number one as a priority. I could afford to forgo a month or so as I have savings and I know that the Government (I am in the UK) will cover the statutory redundancy if the company goes bad.
BTW from a legal perspective not getting paid can be deemed to have "frustrated the contract" so you need to check with a lawyer if any NDA etc are still valid.
If you keep someone at work for this long, you should pay them at contract rates.
I would really like this as an option. If I wake up tomorrow and have no job, it would be neat if there were companies out there willing to pay me contracting rates for a few days, because it would let me pay my bills.
I've been in a similar situation where pay checks were a month or so late. Eventually they showed up. Eventually we got more equity, but that equity was worth nothing in the end, as the company was "acquired" in a fire sale. I should've left and looked for a new job at the first sign of trouble (if not the second sign!)
Once you stop getting paid, forget about it: look for another job. It takes gross negligence to get into that situation in the first place.
If so, maybe you could take your next several checks and send them to people who are out of work.
You should be willing to do your part, right?
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