The first of many instances I wasn’t paid on time was as a full-time employee. Our payday fell on a Sunday so we were supposed to get paid on the Friday before. Due to human error that was blamed on a bank holiday, we ended up not getting paid until the following Monday. We were made aware of this at 3:00 on the Friday on which we were expecting to be paid.
The email that went out was factual and brief- something to the effect of, “You will receive your pay on Monday instead of today. Have a great weekend!”
My staff was primarily part-time, just above minimum wage workers, whose rent was due that same Friday. Frantic emails, calls, and visits to my office ensued. My staff were furious, nervous, and on a couple of occasions, in tears. Not only was the money a major concern, the lack of empathy, communication, and planning on the organization’s part was as egregious as it was blissfully unaware.
Unfortunately, this was not the last time this has happened to me. As a contractor, it has happened to me over and over again, so frequently in fact, that I plan not to get paid on time, just to be safe. In the vast majority of cases when I have not been paid on time, there is no communication whatsoever. The expected pay date comes and goes, and I am left having to follow up, trying to get answers, and ultimately get paid.
There are a lot of excuses people provide for not paying people on time, but they are rarely if ever legitimate reasons. It almost always- so close to always- happens due to human error, and I would argue, lack of caring. Because in most cases, the people who are not paying others on time, are themselves getting paid on time. The lack of caring results from no consequence to them or their paychecks. The lack of empathy is not understanding that missing one paycheck can cause serious harm to someone financially and often emotionally.
I have learned to put contingencies in my contract, but even with those, the time and energy that goes into receiving money I am rightfully owed is frustrating at best, and damaging at worst. There are many times throughout the years when a perfect storm of not being paid on time by multiple vendors has resulted in having to be creative in moving money around to make sure my bills are paid. In the end, I have always been fine and I am grateful for that. Not everyone is so fortunate.
Recently, I was contracted as a grant reviewer in a process that involved community members including youth as paid reviewers. We were promised to be paid by a certain date which came and went without said payment or any communication regarding it. It wasn’t until weeks later, during which multiple follow up emails went unanswered, that we received a mea culpa from the organization. It would be an additional month before we would finally get paid.
Not paying anyone on time is inexcusable. Doing so without any communication beforehand, without any response to repeated attempts at outreach, to people who may be relying on that money as more than extra pocket change is criminal. In many cases, it is.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it is illegal to not pay employees on time. There are damages employees can seek and organizations can incur. Employees do not always know this or have the time and energy to pursue it, and of course, it does not help when a bill is due and cannot be paid because they were not.
Contractors are in a different situation. Legally, they must be paid under the terms of the contract, but late payments are often left to the language of the contract, and the path of recourse is not as clear or standardized as with W9 employees.
Regardless of the legal designation of who the person is, paying people on time should be the standard at all costs- literally and otherwise. It is not just good business to keep your people around and satisfied- it is the right and only thing to do. If some extenuating circumstance should occur, you must do everything you can to communicate the delay with as much notice as possible and offer support- financially and otherwise- for those who will be harmed by the delay.
This is true for any organization and any person waiting to be paid, and seems extra important in the human service field where many are living paycheck to paycheck in a field that espouses values of equity and integrity.
As a leader in your organization, you must make it a priority to pay your people on time as standard practice. Should an extenuating circumstance occur, it is your responsibility to communicate with your people and offer restitution for the mistake. Anything less is inexcusable. As leaders, we must do better.
