Exclusive: Slater & Gordon staff panic after not receiving paycheques

Panicking Slater & Gordon staff have told RollOnFriday they have not been paid today. "This could be the end", said one.

Hopefully not quite yet. A Slater & Gordon spokeswoman patiently explained to RoF that staff usually receive their salary on the morning of the 25th. Because it's a bank holiday this year, they are being paid today, a day early - but in the afternoon. Everyone will, apparently, have been paid by midnight tonight.

"Lend us a tenner for lunch"

Good news then? Not really. Staff may be getting paid, but they're clearly very worried. It doesn't speak particularly well of the state of the firm that its employees are crapping themselves when their paycheque is more than an hour late. With recent lay-offs, probes into the business, a plummeting share price and huge losses, the days when their biggest problem was a cuckolded husband emailing the entire firm must seem a long time ago.

At least the S&G social media team is keeping at it.

Comments

Loving your work, S&G. Stay classy.

@14:53

It may not be a big issue that it happened, but that staff will so readily believe that it is the end shows the overall state of the firm.

I don't agree - I am aware of a similar instance happening at a perfectly solvent law firm where payments were half a day late (bank error). The trouble (in that case) was that staff had set up their direct debits and other automated payments to go out the same day and those payments were being declined. The staff in question were up in arms despite the firm paying them - the same day - in accordance with their contract. It may of course be a different story for S&G but this isn't necessarily a big issue

What normally happens at law firms is the equity partners receive their drawings about a week before salaried staff get paid. Its therefore a good measure to watch the faces of equities' on the day their payment is due. If they are furious then you have a week head start on your colleagues with your job hunting!

Anon (14.53) - anyone who sets up their direct debits to come up the same day as their pay hits their account is not using common sense. I have mine set to come out two days after my pay is due to hit my account, just in case. If staff were complaining in the instance you've mentioned, it's their own fault in my opinion!

Well said anonymous S&G board member on 31 March.....when are they coming to repossess your board room table?

Dear anonymous user 31/03/2016 01:41, I'm so glad you live in a world where you can dictate when your direct debits are drawn out. Although some of us mere plebs live in a world where the firm dictates the date of payment (we have no choice in this) and our service providers dictate when they will take payments (eg Council tax, mortgage etc). Most of us are aware that banks muck things up regularly, and have tried to shift payment dates, usually without success. Given BACS transfers draws money out 3 working days in advance anyway, perhaps you've never had an issue as you never have to worry about liquidity in your current account anyway, unlike us plebs?

Stop whining: try being a locum, where firms decide when you're going to be paid: examples from Gray's Inn - "We pay accounts after 30 days"; Southampton - "We'll send it to you - now get out of my office"; EC4 - "Sorry - the order wasn't set up". Protests that the permanent staff wouldn't stand for it are met by the - unassailable - rejoinder, "but you're not on the permanent staff, are you!: