Not been paid on payday :'( what to do? (rant inside)

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Hey guys,

Thank God it's Friday, I really need a drink after this week.

I usually get weekly pay but for the past few months I have been experiencing problems getting paid on time and sometimes getting paid less than I should get.

This has been causing much stress on my life as I keep having to contact my umbrella and agency to find out whether or not I'm getting paid as I have bills to pay and I like to budget my money.

This week has really pushed me. I never been an angry customer. I've contacted my umbrella and agency since Wednesday and not getting anywhere. I always been polite to them and respectful. I was promised it would hit my bank account today by 6pm but hasn't lol.

I don't get what I have done wrong? I always submit my timesheets on time and been polite to them whereas my colleague gets seriously angry when he doesn't get paid (he has had problems with them too) and he got paid this week.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What do I do? What would you do?

I feel like quitting with immediate effect and get a perm position so I can finally get away from contracting unless it's outside the IR35.

Cheers.

 

Firstly, Sparky is correct, contract is not perm, you should have 3-6 months worth of money minimum stashed for periods where you could be out of work. When the economy goes bad (and it will) you could be out of work for years worst case.

Secondly you must take it up with the umbrella / recruitment agency, after 2-3 weeks late payment you could threaten to charge interest or withhold services.

You seem to be expecting payment to the hour (6pm), this is unreasonable. I'd say its more a case of you not taking contracting seriously, you aren't permie anymore, you need to drop the permie mindset, you are running a business and billing for your services. When invoices get paid is largely down to the customer, generally they should be paid in an acceptable time window, this is normally within 1-5 weeks of receiving an invoice depending on whats in the contract.

I'd never take a contract inside IR35, I'd leave ASAP for that reason alone.

 

I feel for you, but being under a brolly ain't contracting. In fact, you're in both the worst worlds of contracting and permie-land.

I would have left on first failed payment. Believe me, I've met "contractors" who worked for Coal IT and were not paid for months...they kept coming in when I told them to leave site (in order to get the client's attention). All 3 lost 35k for their stupidity and had to cough up VAT for submitted invoices that were never honoured. They came out with excuses not to walk such as "the mortgage" and "the missus".

As for me, I had one agency muck me about on payments. I left site and let the client deal with it. When I returned, I got a £80 per day increase. Yep, I went on holiday for a week, let them fight it out and then asked for more money.

If you don't get paid, then walk.

P.S. join IPSE if you think the brolly or agency are about to go t*ts up.

 

Spoken like a boss! If everyone refused then .gov.uk would have to re-think...but then again, .gov.uk are rather keen on "immigration" for IT jobs. So we can all guess who is taking such roles: HCL, WiPro etc.

 

I toned it down a bit...I posted like I was posting on Contractor UK as my established self over there lolz.

 

Indeed, using an umbrella and taking an IR35 contract, means that you are basically an employee but with the drawbacks of being self employed. You have all of the risks and none of the benefits.

Perm - Good for career progression, lifers, free training, holidays, sick pay, paternity leave, pension, redundancy payment, bonus, share save, stock options, company car, etc.

Contract - Good for more freedom, ability to exchange all the permie perks for a higher hourly rate, get the full market rate and therefore maximum up front compensation.

 

Thank you for your support guys.

If it wasn't for the IR35, I would still be a limited company and things like this wouldn't bother me.

But as stated above. I'm technically an employee without the perm benefits. I went from earning quite good money for my age to less pay for the same job.

I have started applying for new positions now and then. I'm waiting get some interviews for 2 positions, a contract outside the IR35 and a perm job. Both decent salaries.

 

Good luck. I hope this pay situation works out for you.

 

Thank you Drum Dude.

This is not true. I usually get paid on Tuesday or Wednesday. My first contact was on Wednesday to find out what was going on.

I think what was upsetting to me the most was they promised I would be paid soon and my enquiry was top priority which was a load of bull haha.

Has anyone here left a contract without notice?

 

Yes, about 3 months ago

Your situation may indicate a cash flow problem with the brolly. If you're with an agency & your contract is with them, then you need to speak with them first and make it clear that if you're not paid within 5 days (including arrears) then you'll leave site. If you're working direct for the end client then you need to tell them the same thing.

If nothing happens and you don't get paid, then leave site and start looking for a new gig. Chalk it up as experience.

As a contractor, you should operate as a business and not an employee.

 

Interview confirmed for this week for the contract outside the IR35

 

Ugh, it's happened again this week and it's definitely the umbrella that's the problem (I forgot to mention they tried to pay me £50 for a full working week).

I had the interview yesterday and I am pleased to say I got the contract! Going back to limited company so I no longer have to deal with crappy umbrella companies

 

Congrats mate.

 

Well done, that's an excellent turnaround.

 

Thank you guys.

I can't wait to start.

If they don't sort out my pay on Monday, I'm leaving site until it gets sorted. I didn't submit my time sheets today for this week either.