
Ask HN: How do you handle receiving your paycheck late? - alphanumeric0
I am a full time remote developer for a smaller design studio based on the west coast, working with Python&#x2F;Django for a well known client.  When I approached my manager for an explanation all I was told was that I would receive my paycheck a week late and that it was &#x27;in the mail&#x27;.<p>I am not interested in legal action.  I&#x27;m curious if others have experienced this and what actions you took, if any.
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brudgers
When a company doesn't pay on time without forewarning, it tends to be a bad
sign in regard to their financial picture. It is not uncommon for companies to
experience temporary problems with cash flow, but when the picture is positive
in the short term, there's less incentive to avoid the unpleasant
conversation. When the outlook is grim, decent people (and most people are)
want to avoid lying and so the conversation gets put off.

To put it another way, employees are usually the last people to not get paid.
Vendors, landlords, utility companies, etc. are much easier to delay, e.g.
landlords don't want to evict tenants because of the associated expense.
Employees are likely to just stop showing up.

On the bright side, if you always wanted to be a bank offering zero interest
loans to companies that don't pay their employees, this is your chance.
Because apparently the company cannot borrow money to cover operating
expenses.

Good luck.

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pyeng
I would start looking for a new job. There is no excuse for late payment.

And if you don't receive payment in a week, tell you them are going to send
the companies details to a debt collection agency. You don't have to do it,
but the threat will work.

Keep in mind that this _will_ burn bridges. However, if a company can't afford
to pay you and makes excuses (cheque is in the mail etc), perhaps it is time
to burn a few bridges.

Check out
[http://workplace.stackexchange.com](http://workplace.stackexchange.com) A
variant of this question has been asked many times, and there are a few good
answers.

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tonylemesmer
You should definately follow up. Otherwise you kind of look like you don't
mind. Make sure its polite and professional and don't jump to any conclusions.

Keep records of any correspondence and activities related to the matter so
that you can helpfully point these out at a later date should you need to.

If it happens again then you need to be more firm and notify them of your
intended actions which could include finding other employment.

The real reasons for the late payment could be many: no money to pay you, bank
administration problem, forgot to do payroll. There aren't many acceptable
reasons and if it is "no money to pay you" then I'd start looking for another
job.

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hellofunk
First, always try to make sure you don't actually need the paycheck on time to
meet your responsibilities, but stuff does happen occasionally anywhere that
can cause a payment delay.

Next, if this is the employer or client's first late check, don't worry about
it. If it happens again, worry about it and express your concerns that this is
not acceptable. If it happens a third time, I'd personally be looking for
other opportunities that were more stable.

Not sure legal action is even possible on a slightly delayed pay check,
depends on your contract. For freelance work, many places require by law a 30
day payment period after you issue an invoice; that's the case in my country.

~~~
cableshaft
I don't agree with this "Three Strikes and your Company is Out!" advice. A
company asked me to take a paycheck late once (basically giving us a form that
said we can stay and get paid late or we can quit and get our last check
late), and I agreed, especially after the client apologized personally and
said he'd wire the money as soon as it got freed up. I got two paychecks like
a week and a half later.

A month later the form got passed out again. That second time I really, really
considered, on principle, going with "quit", even though I didn't have
anything else lined up. Before I made the decision, though, I was called in to
the office and laid off, along with about half of the staff. And then I got
that check about two weeks later.

That first time is a harbinger of things to come. Don't ignore it. Start
looking for something else immediately. You might not get a second warning.

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msimpson
I say start looking for a new job, as well. Late pay is a prelude to a
nonexistent job.

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danielhooper
I am in agreement with others to be wary and consider looking for a new job. I
was in a similar, but worse position that ended up with a lot of my work not
getting paid for.

