# Compulsory Move to Monthly Pay



## Rose Violet (22 Dec 2008)

My niece has been told that effective from January she is being moved to monthly payroll from weekly and the company have offered €500 compensation.   She has been told she has not choice in the matter and it was more or less intimated that if she didn't like it should could move on.  Can this be imposed on her - it is in breach of her contract?

Many thanks


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## Mpsox (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

I doubt very much there is anything in her contract which says the company must pay her weekly and by offering her €500 her employers are being more then generous.


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## Towger (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

Most people find it better to be paid monthly, even those who originally did not want to change. Fro €500 what is she complaining about.


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## woodbine (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

i had to move from weekly to monthly pay frequency this year and i find it really hard to manage my money this way. would have liked €500 for the inconvenience though!

i can't understand how someone would actually prefer to be paid monthly.

it really annoys me that my employer can hold onto my money for three weeks it could be earning interest for ME!!


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## becky (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

I have been paid weekly, monthly, four weekly and two weekly. Monthly pay was awful but I was young so most of it was going behind a bar or a shop counter.

2 weekly is my preferred frequency by a long shot - its enough for unexpected stuff and the next payslip isn't far away. 

We had no option but to change but got a loan which has to be paid back.


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## chrisboy (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

i get paid weekly, wish it was monthly.. Mortgage, maintainance for kids gone straight away.. At least i'd know what was left!!


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## markpb (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



woodbine said:


> i can't understand how someone would actually prefer to be paid monthly.



All my bills are monthly so it's handy for me to get paid, pay bills and know everything left is for me. Weekly would mean I'd have to keep money from each weeks pay to cover the bills at the end of the month. I suspect most people would be the same.


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## Nutso (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

I've been paid both weekly & monthly (currently weekly) and I find it much easier to manage my money when paid weekly.  I just put aside a certain amount each week to a "bills" account and the rest is mine to do what I want with.  When I was paid monthly, I always had loads of money for the first week and then none for the rest of the month!  If I had to switch to monthly paid, the biggest problem would be how I would manage from week to week for the first month.  I guess the €500 would go some way to easing the pain!  As a business though, it makes much more sense to run a payroll monthly, rather than weekly - 12 payrolls vs 52 - much less administration.


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## baldyman27 (22 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

Maybe this is peculiar to my area of employment but isn't there something about your pay frequency being related to the amount of notice you have to give if you want to leave your job? I.E. if paid weekly then you only have to give 1 week's notice, etc. Does this work conversely if you're being let go?


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## micmclo (23 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



baldyman27 said:


> Maybe this is peculiar to my area of employment but isn't there something about your pay frequency being related to the amount of notice you have to give if you want to leave your job? I.E. if paid weekly then you only have to give 1 week's notice, etc. Does this work conversely if you're being let go?


 
No, a common myth
The notice you give or recieve is based on lenght of service, not how the payroll is organized


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## michaelm (23 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



Rose Violet said:


> My niece has been told that effective from January she is being moved to monthly payroll from weekly and the company have offered €500 compensation.   She has been told she has not choice in the matter and it was more or less intimated that if she didn't like it should could move on.


If it were me I'd accept it but I'd look to have the pay date set in the middle of the month.  Also for the €500, I'd ask that they give me a €250 voucher in December and another €250 voucher in January, therefore avoiding any tax or prsi on it; they might go for that as it would save them paying employer prsi also.


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## shipibo (23 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

If weekly pay is stated in her contract terms and conditions, they can only change payment with her consent.

If it is "custom and practice" it can be changed without he permission, but can bring a case to LRC if she feels strongly ....

Not the right climate to bring employer though


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## rmelly (23 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



crumdub12 said:


> Not the right climate to bring employer though


 
exactly - not being patronising, but she should move on and be thankful for the €500. With a bit of budgeting this shouldn't be a problem, certain not in medium/long term. If she can't manage it in the short term, then there is something wrong with her finances/budgeting - worst case she uses her overdraft or CC more for the month.


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## jasconius (23 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

Being paid monthly (say €36,000pa) is €3,000 per month
Being paid weekly in a 53 week year is €692.31 extra


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## Padraigb (23 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



crumdub12 said:


> If weekly pay is stated in her contract terms and conditions, they can only change payment with her consent.
> 
> If it is "custom and practice" it can be changed without he permission, but can bring a case to LRC if she feels strongly ....



I don't take a position on the original question, but I wonder if this is a correct interpretation of the law. My understanding is that custom and practice is part of a contract in the sense that the interpretation of a written contract of employment takes account of custom and practice.


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## buzybee (29 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

I have been paid weekly and fortnightly, and monthly.

When I was paid monthly I found it hard to save money.  When I am paid weekly it is easier to manage money, I put a certain amount away for bills & savings every week, and I know how much I have left for disposable income.

It is all right for some people to say that monthly pay is fine, but I bet they never earned only 20K to 25K and had to run a car, pay a mortgage and save out of this!!

Monthly pay works fine if you are earning a generous salary, but weekly pay is better if you are trying to make a little money go a long way.


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## Purple (30 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



rmelly said:


> exactly - not being patronising, but she should move on and be thankful for the €500.


Well said.


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## Purple (30 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



buzybee said:


> It is all right for some people to say that monthly pay is fine, but I bet they never earned only 20K to 25K and had to run a car, pay a mortgage and save out of this!!


Very few people earning close to minimum wage levels run a car, pay a mortgage and save since most of them are very young or the second household income.


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## crabbybear (30 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*

She might be thankful to have a job in a few months time. If her job was under threat she wouldn't be complaining about the pay timeframe.


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## micmclo (30 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



jasconius said:


> Being paid monthly (say €36,000pa) is €3,000 per month
> Being paid weekly in a 53 week year is €692.31 extra


 
Why 53 weeks? Did you mean 52?
Maybe I've missed something obvious but I can't understand it



buzybee said:


> I have been paid weekly and fortnightly, and monthly.
> It is all right for some people to say that monthly pay is fine, but I bet they never earned only 20K to 25K and had to run a car, pay a mortgage and save out of this!!


 
Few people on 20k-25k would be able to afford all that and it wouldn't matter if you were paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
They could have changed your pay to weekly and it would still be a struggle.


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## ClubMan (30 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



micmclo said:


> Why 53 weeks? Did you mean 52?
> Maybe I've missed something obvious but I can't understand it


Me neither! Surely the obvious thing would be switching from €3K p.m. to €682.31 p.w.? Maybe the extra 12 cent p.a. will come in handy.

If moving from weekly to monthly payment of salary is a problem then perhaps those affected need to start budgeting better? It's the same amount of money either way.


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## asdfg (30 Dec 2008)

*Re: Compulsary Move to Monthly Pay*



> _Why 53 weeks? Did you mean 52?
> Maybe I've missed something obvious but I can't understand it_


 
Most people who are paid weekly get paid on a certain day of the week thur or fri so at the end of week 52 (7*52 = 364) there are 1 or 2 days (leap year) left over which carries over to the following year, so every few years there are 53 pay day in the year.


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## buzybee (5 Jan 2009)

I have paid a mortgage and run a car for the last 7 years while earning 20-25K.  When I bought my house I was earning good money, but I got made redundant a couple of years ago, and couldn't get a well paying job.  I was single at the time, and only got married recently.  Took in a lodger to help with the mortgage but I still had to be very careful about bills etc.


I find that other people have never been in this situation so they obviously have no understanding of it.  It is easy to manage on 20-25K when people are living off their husbands


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## Chocks away (5 Jan 2009)

Moved to monthly pay two years ago and find it far more manageable. I found that the trick is not to go to the ATM for a couple of days after payday.


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