Source
r/personalfinance•
rawbface

Wife is being switched from salary to hourly and losing a weeks' pay.

Employment

My wife works for a very large global company, and she is being switched from salary pay to hourly pay. In the long run, this could benefit us since she'll be making more money when she works overtime (2x pay instead of straight pay, 4 hours per week).

However, they are switching her from semi-monthly pay (on the 10th and 25th) to bi-weekly pay. And her paycheck would not include the week she receives it since those hours haven't been logged by payroll yet.

This means that her first paycheck in december will be 3 days late (December 13th) and it will only be for 1 week of work instead of 2. Instead of $1600 she will get ~$800 - we are losing one weeks pay, just before Christmas.

That's quite a heartless blow. She would get a paycheck for one weeks' pay after she leaves the company, whenever that will be, but that doesn't help us now. Right now it just feels like we're being robbed.

Do we have any recourse in the US? She is told that they have no choice and they can't opt out.

Edit: She knew about the change for a while but only found out about the delayed paycheck today.

Posted Nov 13, 2019, 9:22 PM UTC

032
Magnusg​•

You're not getting robbed. That also means that on the 27th you'll be 'flush with cash.'

Leading up to the end of the year, lots of things need extra work, volunteer to do extra around the office all the time and make it work for you.

But yeah, this is entirely fair, and NBD in grand scheme.

Don't like it that much then maybe it's time to find another job...

7
rawbfaceOP​•

Her paycheck on the 27th will be normal, around $1600.

She's going to be behind by one paycheck for the rest of her time working there.

Maybe there is nothing illegal happening here, but they are absolutely taking $800 of our income away just when it matters most.

-3
Magnusg​•

also, they aren't taking the income away...

4
Magnusg​•

ok, but if you consider the fact that getting paid bi-weekly instead of 2x month results in actually 2 extra paychecks a year it's kind of a win...

3
rawbfaceOP​•

Her hourly rate is based on her salary, divided by a 37 hour work week. So no, the two extra paychecks are not extra money. The only way for her to earn extra money is through overtime.

There is still some potential, since she averages 4-8 hours of overtime a month, and now it's more profitable to do more. But we have a baby at home and my wife will be reluctant to spend more time away from her.

-1
Magnusg​•

do you see the frivolity in the argument yet?

To you, her income is being taken away because her pay cadence is different, so I mention she gets paid more and then you say it makes no difference.

IGU IDGAF anymore.

6
Diesel-66​•

That's how most hourly people are paid

1
wickedkittylitter​•

She won't lose a weeks pay. It will just be paid later than you are used to. And if that means you can't afford Christmas, you have bigger problems to deal with money wise.

7
rawbfaceOP​•

We can afford the hit. We'll be fine. That's beside the point to me.

It just seems like a monstrous thing for the company to do, especially since they are proud of what they are doing and still trying to market it like they're doing their employees a favor.

"Later than you are used to" will mean years and years from now, since she won't see an extra weeks' pay until after she quits.

-3
wickedkittylitter​•

She's getting 26 paychecks getting paid biweekly instead of 24 getting paid twice per month. Have you considered that?

4
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
rawbfaceOP​•

That doesn't result in more money unfortunately. Her hourly rate is based on her salary divided by her office hours.

0
Werewolfdad​•

So her pay is unchanged

3
BartFly​•

from a guy who works hourly and see's how bad salary does, be thankful she's going that way, i make a killing in overtime.

2
rawbfaceOP​•

We were looking forward to it at first. I think part of what pisses us off so much is that they had this catered lunch to announce it, where some bougie Administrator tried selling it like the company was taking a hit for the sake of its employees. It's nice to be treated fairly with overtime but her income is going to be delayed forever.

-2
BartFly​•

have her talk with HR to make sure you understand whats going on, and that you might be seeing that "missing" money in a later payment.

3
ShadowBook​•

Inconvenient? Yes. Anything worthy of “recourse”? No.

3
rawbfaceOP​•

That's the consensus I'm getting. Can't say I'm surprised but hopefully you understand why I object.

0
tacotruck2112​•

Get over it as quickly as possible, and tell your wife she’s awesome and you support her hard work. This will be far better for both of you in the long run than forever holding a grudge against the company she works for. Also, for what it’s worth, presumably her hourly pay rate will be higher in the future, so the final payout will be higher than it would be today.

2
ShadowBook​•

Totally get it, man... when she DOES leave the job though it will be nice getting one last paycheck after she stops working.

1
cajunman4life​•

This is normal for hourly employees. Why? Because it takes payroll some time to, you know, actually process payroll. Every company I’ve ever been a part of pays hourly employees this way.

In the long run you’re not actually losing anything. It’s just shifting when you receive it.

2